Health Tips: The Importance of Maintaining a Healthy Weight

Look Good, Feel Better

How we look on the outside very often reflects how we feel on the inside, if we know we look good on the outside and are getting praise and compliments this automatically gives us a boost and makes us feel good on the inside. Ways to looking better on the outside and ultimately feeling better on the inside include dieting, eating a well balanced diet, exercising, and taking general care of your body and also taking care of your mental health.

Staying active

Keeping active by exercising not only helps you to lose those few extra pounds but also tones your muscles leaving you looking better but also feeling healthier by helping to ward off diseases. There are many forms of exercise and it doesn’t have to be expensive, you can buy cheap basic gym equipment to use in your own home or even take up a form of great exercise which doesn’t cost a penny, walking. In order to maintain the peak of health you should aim to exercise for at least 30 minutes per day every day of the week while maintaining a healthy balanced diet.

Eating right

A well balanced diet consists of eating at the right times without snacking in-between and eating plenty of fresh fruit and veg, which are rich in vitamins and minerals. If you are trying to lose a few pounds then it is essential that you don’t eat more calories per day than you are burning off and cutting down on foods rich in salt, fats and carbohydrates is essential to maintaining a healthy body. A well balanced diet is considered to be one that includes bread, cereals, fish, lean meat, chicken, potatoes, and dairy products, this along with exercise not only makes you look better but can help to counteract the onset of many health related problems.

Taking general care of your body includes numerous small things which go towards making you look good, for example having a make over by way of changing your old hairstyle, getting it cut and dyed can make a huge difference to how you feel and give you a much needed boost. Paying a visit to a manicurist or pedicurist will give your hands and nails a treat, having your teeth whitened at the dentist can give you good reason to smile more. It’s all the little things that can come together to make a big difference that you have to take into account when looking for ways to make you feel better on the outside.

Mental health is important too

Your mental health, your feelings and thoughts can also make a huge difference to how you feel on the outside and inside. If you have negative thoughts and feelings on the whole then your outlook will be one of negativity that leads to low self-confidence and low self-image. Daily affirmations can help you to change your pattern of thinking and help you gain self-confidence and are an enormous confidence booster.

All of the above when combined together can lead to a healthier and happier person who not only looks good on the outside and oozes self-confidence, but is also healthier and fitter on the inside with a better outlook on life in general and so is better able to cope with life.3

The Importance of Maintaining a Healthy Weight

Being overweight not only looks unsightly and makes you feel less attractive it also poses a far greater risk, a risk to your health. Therefore, there are many reasons why it is important that you maintain a healthy weight by eating well-balanced meals and getting regular exercise. 

Being over weight has been linked with many conditions affecting not only our physical health but also our mental health, studies have shown that those people who are overweight and don’t get regular exercise are more at risk of developing depression than those that exercise on a regular basis and eat a well balanced and varied diet. 

Experts have agreed that the more overweight a person is then the more likely they are to suffer severe health problems, however once the person takes steps to start losing weight and changes their lifestyle, then the percentage starts to drop.

If you are overweight then even just by losing 10 or 20 pounds you can begin to reduce the increased associated risks to your health and make improvements. You should defiantly consider losing weight if you are overweight and any of the following conditions apply to you.

If there is a history in your family of certain chronic diseases – people who have relatives with heart conditions or diabetes have been known to develop these conditions if they are overweight.

There are any pre-existing medical conditions – high blood pressure, high cholesterol and levels of high sugar are all signs of illness due to being overweight.

Having an apple shape – if you carry more weight around your stomach then you are at a higher risk of developing diabetes, some forms of cancer or developing heart problems.’

Illness associated with being overweight

Problems with the gallbladder and especially gallstones

High blood pressure

Developing certain types of cancer

Developing diabetes

Developing gout

Developing problems with the breathing such as sleep apnea, which causes a person to pause when breathing while asleep

Chest problems such as asthma or bronchitis

Gallbladder problems

Although it is not clear why, being overweight can have an affect on the gallbladder, gallstones are a very common problem in someone who is overweight and causes severe problems with those who are obese.

Heart disease

If you are overweight you are twice as likely to suffer from high blood pressure that is the major cause of and a big risk factor in heart disease and strokes. Being overweight can lead to a condition known as angina, angina is felt as pain in the chest caused by a decrease in oxygen to the heart. If you are severely overweight or obese then this has been linked to causing sudden death without any warning signs from a stroke.

Diabetes

Being overweight has been linked to type 2 diabetes and is a known contributor to health death, heart disease and blindness; people who are overweight are twice as likely to suffer from type 2 diabetes as those people who are of normal weight.

Lowering your cholesterol

Keeping an eye on your cholesterol levels and maintaining a healthy level is essential if you want to remain healthy. There are many ways in which we can reduce the amount of cholesterol to ensure it remains at levels within the guidelines and to avoid illnesses such as heart disease. Here are some ways you can successfully lower your cholesterol level.

Changing your diet and eating your way to a lower cholesterol level is the easiest way, tips for doing this include:

• Burn off at least as many calories as you eat during the course of a day
• Make sure that you get at least 30 minutes of exercise every day of the week
• Eat a wide variety of foods that are rich in nutrients
• Include at least 5 portions of fruit and vegetables per day in your diet
• Eat lost of high-fiber, wholegrain foods in your diet
• Include fish in your diet at least twice a week
• Cut foods poor in nutrients out of your diet
• Cut down on the amount of trans-fat and saturated fat foods in your diet
• Remove the skin from chicken and eat only lean meat in your diet
• Only include fat free and low fat dairy products in your diet
• In order to reduce trans fat in your diet cut out foods containing partially hydrogenated vegetable oil
• Include very little or no salt in your diet
• Only drink alcohol in moderation
• Always read nutritional labels on food

You can keep your levels of cholesterol under control by exercising on a regular basis and here are some tips for getting started on a fitness program:

Start off slowly and gradually build up until you are getting 30 minutes of exercise per day

Make your daily workout become a part of your life by doing it at the same time everyday whenever possible

Make sure you drink enough water to ensure that you don’t dehydrate

Enjoy your workout by joining a gym or working out with a friend

Keep a journal of your workout and write down the benefits you feel after exercising

Walk instead of taking the elevator, leave the car at home or walk or cycle to work

Vary your routine, go swimming one day, cycling the next, walking e.t.c

If you feel unwell then take a break from exercising and pick up your routine when you are feeling better

You should also aim to make changes to your lifestyle in order to keep your levels of cholesterol down and here are some tips for making those changes:

Get nutritional and physical advice from a healthcare professional

Always read food labels so you know how much fat, sodium and other ingredients you are eating in your diet

If you smoke or drink then seriously consider giving up