What Could Losing 5% of Your Body Weight Mean to Your Health?
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At Weight Watchers we like to focus on small targets before
that big one. While Silver 7s are handed out for each half stone (7lbs) a
person loses, there is also the focus on losing a certain percentage of your
body weight. 5% and 10% are the two that you get small awards for.
They sound like small goals, but they do so much for your
health. 5% could be 7-14lbs, but you gain a lot of benefits from that small
weight loss. Of course, it could be a lot more if your starting weight is
higher.
Working Out 5% of
Your Body Weight
To start with, you need to know what 5% of your starting
weight is. I like to work in pounds, but you could work in kilos. When I
started, I was 14 stone 4 lbs. That works out to be 200lbs in total. Five
percent of that is 10lbs. So my 5% target was to lose 10lbs of weight. That
would take me down to 13 stone 8lbs.
It was so much better as an initial weight loss goal than
saying I needed to lose over 3 stone.
But What Does 5% of
Your Body Weight Mean to Your Health?
I’ve mentioned there are health benefits.
By losing 10lbs, I was getting to the point where everyday
activities no longer seemed too much of a hassle. I was also in a dress size
smaller!
There are health benefits that you don’t see by losing 5% of
your body weight. One of those is your blood pressure. That decreases as you
lose more weight. You could just need that 5% or 10% to get to a healthy blood
pressure so the doctors are no longer on at you about it.
You also reduce your risk of developing type 2 diabetes,
which is often linked to weight. This is one of the fastest growing health
problems around the world, especially the Western World. While it isn’t always
linked to weight, being overweight can lead to being at a higher risk of
developing it. If you already have type 2 diabetes, losing weight can help with
the managing of it.
Sleep Better With a
Lower Weight
One way that you can find losing 5% of your body weight
helps is by sleeping better. You don’t feel all the aches and pains on a night,
and it makes your breathing much more stable and easier. By getting a good
night’s rest, you’ll feel more energetic the next day, and you can focus on a
better diet and more exercise.
You’ll also want to do more exercise. Walking up the stairs
won’t be as hard, and with each 5% you lose the easier it will become. That
gives you the encouragement to do more and try harder, so you lose weight quicker
while toning your body.
Isn’t it time you took care of your health? Losing 5% of
your body weight can do so much for you, and it’s a great initial goal to focus
on.
That is a good way to look at weight loss. You have to provide numbers and targets that sound achieveable as well as provide info that backs up the positve reasons to keep at it.
ReplyDeleteGreat post Alexandria.
Thanks, Victoria. It's so easy to get demotivated when you see small figures on the scales, so yes, looking at the benefits of going on is important.
DeleteGetting rest or lack of it while sleeping can also work against you. So, it's kind of a catch 22, huh?
ReplyDeleteOh, I had responded to this before I thought! Ok, here goes again: 10% would be ideal; however, even 5% by the sounds of it helps too in matters of increased energy and the like. I'm not there...yet! ;) <3
ReplyDelete