There are so many reasons why you should focus on improving or maintaining your health and most of them have little or nothing to do with your outward appearance.

What???

It’s time to stop focusing on our looks and start focusing on our physical and mental health.

Think of improving your outward appearance as this wonderful side benefit instead of the goal.

Why???

Because we all lose pounds and inches differently depending on our metabolism. If we make our outward appearance our goal and let it be our only indicator of success, we can get easily frustrated and quit.

We need to think of lifestyle changes in the same way we think of home renovations. Most home renovations start with at least some demo. We must get rid of the things that no longer work or no longer fit our needs.

If you can’t do the things you want to do in life because of your weight or fitness level, it’s time to demo what’s holding you back. Take a good look at your diet, what you eat, when you eat, how much you eat, and how eating makes you feel. Keep a food journal and be brutally honest. Consult your doctor and ask to be referred to a nutritionist, so you can start making positive changes to get rid of the eating habits that are blocking you from living your best life. They are probably affecting your family members as well.

Keep an activity journal and be honest about how much sitting you do during the day and in the evenings. What’s keeping you from being more active? Can you see ways to be more active? Do you ever take the stairs instead of the elevator? Can you park farther away when you go shopping? Do you take a morning or afternoon walk? If so, how far do you go? You can purchase a pedometer or fitness bracelet to record your daily steps. You will be surprised at the number of steps you don’t take on some days. Start making changes to your routine.

Many of the initial changes we make during a home renovation include upgrading electrical, plumbing, and insulation. These changes will help keep us safe and reduce our monthly energy bills. They are things an outsider will never see, and they claim a lot of our budget.

In the beginning, the lifestyle changes you make may not yield a substantial difference to your outward appearance, but the benefits to your health are amazing. This is what you can do for your health:

1.    Carrying an extra 10 pounds of body weight can add 40 pounds of pressure to your knees and lower body joints. Every pound you lose helps reduce this strain on your joints.

2.    If you have Type 2 Diabetes or are at risk of developing it, weight loss and moderate exercise (30 minutes for five days a week) are the two best two ways to prevent or delay it. If you already have diabetes, losing weight helps with insulin resistance and can help you take less medication, keep control of your blood sugar, and lower your risk of complications which can cause other health problems.

3.    You can lower your LDL or “bad” cholesterol with healthier food and medications, but the best way to raise levels of your “good” cholesterol, HDL (the type that clears bad LDL from your blood) is to exercise and lose body fat. When you hit your ideal HDL range (above 60 mg/dl) you will lower your odds of having heart disease.

4.    Trimming 5% of your body weight can lower your blood pressure by about 5 points. Making healthy changes to your diet like reducing your salt intake, eating more fruits and vegetables, whole grains and low-fat dairy can help lower your blood pressure even more.

5.     Losing weight (typically 10% of your body weight) can help reduce inflammation in your body which can help reduce your risk of arthritis, heart disease, heart attack, or stroke.

6.     Losing weight will help you manage your triglyceride levels. Triglycerides are particles in your body that transport fat for storage and energy. High levels (over 200 mg/dl) mean you’re more likely to have a heart attack or stroke. Losing weight can help you get down to healthy levels (around 150 mg/dl). 

7.     Losing weight helps with sleep apnea and can reduce or eliminate the need for a C-Pap or Bi-Pap. Exercising and losing 5% of your body weight will help you sleep better, however, don’t exercise right before bed.

8.     Losing weight and developing a positive body image helps with depression and exercise helps the body produce endorphins which make you feel happier. Losing weight and developing a more positive body image can also improve your sex life.

Once you have put in the work to make these internal changes happen, it’s time to put up the drywall, paint, and stage your newly renovated home.

Think of your body in the same way. You must make improvements inside your body to get the outward benefit. I guarantee feeling healthy will make you happier and more appreciative of the outward changes that will come. It’s the icing on the cake and remember you can’t frost a cake until it cools, so don’t try to rush this.

Source for this article:

https://www.webmd.com/diet/ss/slideshow-five-percent-weight-loss