There are many people out there who know that they need to lose weight. However, the majority of the time this is because they know of the physical implications often associated with overweight, for example, being more susceptible to some diseases e.g. cancer or heart diseases, and in general, living for a much shorter period of time. What many people don’t realise however is that there are a number of emotional benefits to weight loss. Let’s take a little look at a couple of them.
Perhaps the biggest emotional benefits is that weight loss (and the exercise associated with it) can help relieve stress. This is because endorphins are released into the blood stream, and these endorphins are known to ‘perk’ you up. Therefore, losing weight, and keeping to a regular exercise regime should help boost your ‘happiness’ levels. Studies have also shown that those who exercise regularly are much better equipped to deal with stress in the future.
Of course, there are a number of self-esteem issues related to losing weight. For example, the majority of people out there who consider themselves to be overweight are incredibly reluctant to go out in public, let alone ‘show off their bodies’. They often fear going to the beach, or swimming pools were they are exposed to the public. However, when people start to lose weight, they will find that they become much more confident in how they look. Every time they look in the mirror they get a small self-esteem boost, knowing what they have accomplished and what they are working towards. Ever notice people who have lost a lot of weight tend to be more outgoing? This of course will have benefits for people that find it difficult to enter relationships as they feel they aren’t worth anything.
Many people love the success of losing weight. There is just so much pleasure you can get out of feeling as though you have ‘beaten’ something in your life, whether it is an eating disorder, or simply the feeling that you have beaten anything that was causing you to gain weight in the first place. Achieving your first success is a great motivator for the future.
Many people that are overweight tend to place an ‘over reliance’ on food, and instead of expressing how they are feeling, they use food as a ‘crutch’. However, once they lose weight they will turn to food less and find other and much better ways of expressing themselves, much more positive and building ways.
Finally, it will make you feel absolutely wonderful knowing that you can lead your life in the same way as much ‘slimmer’ people. For example, overweight people tend to feel persecuted, for example, having to buy multiple seats to enter a sporting arena or fly on a plane. They often have to shop in special places for their clothes and furniture. However, once they lose weight, they can start living a normal life, and this of course helps them feel much better as a result.
So there you have it, when you are losing weight, look forward to the long term emotional benefits that you are going to be provided with as well as the physical benefits. It really will help add to your motivation!
Happy Weight Loss !
Written by Jim Cowan
For Weight Loss and Training see http://weightlossandtraining.com
