9 Hard Truths About Weight Loss That Can Help Your Slim Down

It is a well-known fact that a large section of men and women are insecure about their weight and how they look physically. According to World Health Organisation’s 2016 data, 39% of adults were found overweight, and 13% were obese.

Being overweight is associated with multiple health problems and diseases like hypertension, type-2 diabetes, high cholesterol, stroke, heart issues. Such situations lead to long-term suffering, reduced life expectancy, poor social and family life and increased expenditure on healthcare.

Along with dangers of physical health, being overweight or obese also has strong connections with poor mental health. Being overweight is linked with social isolation, depression, frustration, chronic stress and poor self-esteem. A recent survey has shown that around 52% of Americans believe that obese people are body-shamed, and around 34% say that they have faced such body-shaming or witnessed it happening first hand.

On the brighter side, a human's body weight is alterable if the proper steps are followed and some facts are known.

Here are nine hard Truths About Weight loss That can Help you Slim down

• The human body resists the weight loss efforts − Although this fact sounds extraordinarily harsh and demotivating, it’s true. Studies have found that when a person tries to lose weight, the hormone ghrelin, responsible for stimulating hunger, increases, and the hormone leptin, responsible for telling the brain that the body is full, decreases. This increases food cravings and makes it very challenging to keep up with the weight loss process.

• It’s a slow process − The section of people expect significant changes in their body and weight within a week of starting their weight loss journey; the reality, however is pretty different. Weight loss is a slow and gradual process, and it might take months for significant results to reflect. Health experts worldwide suggest that losing 1-2 pounds per week is a healthy approach. One must trust the process and do the right things over a longer period to achieve the weight loss goals.

• Spot reduction is a myth − Spot reduction refers to targeting specific areas of the body to lose fat. There are areas where a human body stores more fat than other areas, like waistline, thigh, arms and more; people would like to lose fat from those areas as early as possible, but experts all around the globe have discarded this idea as a body cannot be programmed to lose fat from specific areas. Losing overall body fat percentage is a realistic and healthy approach.

• Exercise is as essential as diet − Doing either dieting and exercise is not a good approach as weight loss is a balanced combination. Relying solely on a diet would mean an extremely low calorie diet as there is no exercise involved to burn calories; the extra calories an hour of exercise would have burnt has to be cut down from the meals, which ultimately would make weight loss more challenging that what it is.

• Lifestyle modifications − In the longer run, to successfully lose weight and sustain it over the years, change in lifestyle is essential. Working out regularly and eating healthy should be the part of one’s lifestyle and not the means of reaching a particular number on the weighing scale. Even if a person manages to reach a healthy weight, an unhealthy lifestyle would not allow them to sustain it, and all the progress made would start to depreciate.

• Diet supplements are not a great option − The pills and soluble powders that claim to make alterations in metabolism to trigger weight loss sound like easy shortcuts to reach the destination of a healthy weight, but research has yet to find a very much evidence of these working. Such supplements may make someone lose weight, but that is not real weight loss as no fat is burnt and the body regains its water weight, increasing the body weight back to what it was.

• Consistency is the key − It is fairly easy to get motivated and get on a workout regime and a healthy diet for a week or two, but it is much more difficult to maintain consistency and keep following the process for longer durations. Many do not see results in the earlier stages, lose their willpower to keep up with the strict routine and either give up or take a break. Therefore, being consistent and making the process a part of life is important.

• Sacrifices are needed to be made − The weight loss journey involves either completely eliminating or drastically reducing junk food, going to parties, long hours of inactivity and many other things that a person finds ease and comfort in. Such sacrifices require mental toughness, determination and are needed to be made despite being difficult.

• Weight loss in females is slower than in males − Many females would find this fact unfair, but that is how we have evolved as a specie. Males are usually larger in size than females, have more muscle mass and much higher testosterone levels, and are genetically built to possess more muscle mass and less fat. These factors help males lose fat quicker compared to females. Females are also found to carry around 11% more body fat than males, and genetic or evolutionary factors like these cannot be altered.

Conclusion

The facts mentioned undeniably make losing weight seem challenging. Still, the purpose of these facts are not to demotivate one from putting on a pair of running shoes and step on the treadmill nor to discourage one from eating a healthy meal after a long time. The purpose is to bring clarity and spread knowledge so that the person is aware of the do’s and don’ts, does not create unrealistic goals or standards and does not get demotivated or lose patience if the results take time to display itself.

Every person on this planet should look forward to be physically fit, stay at a healthy weight and consume nutritious food without compromises or excuses, as there is nothing more valuable than one’s health. This idea benefits society as a healthy, disease-free society destined for progress and greatness.