Being overweight can have a large impact on your heart health, but losing weight can help to reverse some of the damage. Here is a look at some of the benefits that you can expect when you shed those pounds:
Lower Cholesterol Levels
When you lose weight, your body begins to produce less LDL cholesterol, which is known to cause health problems because it sticks to the walls of your arteries. This can lead to a build-up of plaque, causing atherosclerosis, a narrowing of your arteries that can lead to heart attack or stroke. In addition, when you reduce your weight, your body produces more HDL cholesterol. This is considered to be the good form of cholesterol, as it helps to transport cholesterol away from your arteries, reducing the risk of these problems.
Lower Blood Pressure
Being overweight or obese can put strain on your heart, causing your blood pressure to rise. Lowering your weight by even a few pounds can make a big difference in terms of your overall blood pressure levels. This is an important step in maintaining optimal heart health.
Reduce Inflammation
Chronic inflammation is known to contribute to various cardiovascular diseases. When you are overweight, your body produces more substances that can cause inflammation. Through controlling your weight and introducing anti-inflammatory foods into your diet such as fresh fruits and vegetables, you can reduce the risk of developing chronic diseases of the heart.
Improve Heart Rhythm
Excess bodyweight can put strain on your heart, leading to an irregular heart rhythm. Shedding some of those pounds will lower the strain on your heart and help to regulate your heart rhythm.
Lower Risk of Diabetes
Being overweight increases your risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Excess bodyweight causes your cells to become resistant to insulin, a hormone that is responsible for controlling your blood sugar levels. Losing weight is one of the best ways to reduce the risk of developing this serious condition.
Overall, losing weight is not only important for improving the way you look and feel, but is also essential for maintaining optimal cardiovascular health. By controlling your weight and following a healthy lifestyle, you can enjoy a healthier heart for many years to come.
It is often said that if you want to lose weight, you need to eat healthy. But why is that? What is the connection between eating a healthy diet and losing weight? The answer lies in understanding how to lose weight and the importance of having a balanced diet.
Calories
The most fundamental way to lose weight is to take in fewer calories than your body needs. Eating healthy can help to reduce the overall number of calories consumed. Foods that are packed with nutrients and low in calories, such as fruits and vegetables, are a great choice for weight loss. They provide essential minerals, vitamins and other nutrients to the body while helping to lower overall calorie intake.
Foods to Avoid
Some of the worst offenders when it comes to calories include fat, sugar, processed foods and refined carbohydrates. Eating just one of these foods can easily put a person over their daily calorie limit, so it is important to stay away from these types of foods as much as possible.
Nutrition
Eating healthy also provides the body with essential nutrients such as protein, vitamins, minerals, and fiber. These are necessary for the body to function properly, allowing it to burn fat more effectively and prevent any nutrient deficiencies. A well-balanced diet can also help to reduce cravings, allowing you to more easily stick to a healthy eating plan.
The Benefits
Overall, eating healthy can have a number of benefits on weight loss. It can help to reduce calorie intake, providing essential nutrients, and help to reduce cravings. Combining a healthy diet with improved exercise and other lifestyle changes can dramatically impact your overall health and the effectiveness of your weight loss efforts.
Healthy Foods To Include in Your Diet
Fruits and vegetables: Fruits and vegetables are packed with essential vitamins, minerals, and fiber. They are also low in calories and can help to fill you up without adding too much on to your waistline.
Whole grains: Whole grains are packed with fiber and are also a great source of carbohydrates. They can help to provide you with energy during the day and can even help to reduce cholesterol levels.
Protein: Eating lean proteins such as chicken and fish can help to boost the metabolism and decrease hunger. Protein is also essential for the body to build and maintain muscle.
Healthy fats: Healthy fats such as olive oil, avocados, and nuts are a great source of healthy calories that are necessary for the body to function properly.
By following a healthy diet and combining it with regular exercise, you can easily see how eating healthy can affect your weight loss journey. Eating healthy doesn’t have to be boring either; there are plenty of delicious and nutritious recipes to try. So, start incorporating more healthy foods into your diet today and see the positive effects it can have!
Funny the way a “healthy living challenge” is a concept so often cast off to the end of the calendar year. There’s something about that January 1st “clean start” that is so appealing…and so permissive of slacking until the new year rolls around.
And what do we all know about those lofty, procrastinated goals? Most people don’t get even two weeks in before hanging up their gloves. Nearly 55% of New Year’s resolutions are health-related, and 80% of those who set them don’t follow through on them.
Part of the problem lies in the way goals are set — and why they are set in the first place. Crash courses and quick fixes are just as quick to fizzle.
But healthy living challenges us from the inside out…day in…day out. It’s about steadiness, consistency, and a mindset of staying the course for the right reasons.
You may know that your life needs an overhaul. Perhaps you have used food and alcohol as an antidote to stress. Perhaps you work so much that your only exercise is falling into bed for five hours of sleep at night. Perhaps you don’t have a support system and don’t feel the motivation to do anything good for yourself.
Perhaps you’re just not ready to show up at the gym at 5AM five days a week for its 3-month, $10,000 fitness challenge.
The good news is that you can create your own healthy living challenge, and you don’t need to wait for a new year to take the plunge. You can learn new habits, make daily changes, and have all the support you need for sustainable success.
The first step involves some introspection and fearless self-honesty. Why do you want to create a healthy living challenge? Why is this healthy change important to you? Common sense stuff at quick glance, but not really so easy when you start examining how you value (or don’t value) your own life.
In the SprintSet system, we talk about embracing the challenge of getting to your best health and weight. No healthy living challenge can succeed if you are at odds with your own goals and the plan to achieve them. When you embrace the challenge, you essentially become one with the changes you are making for a healthier life.
When you both identify and embrace the challenge, you pledge your intent to live a better life. You set your mind and heart in the right direction, and thereby open yourself to the right energy and opportunities from the Universe.
Even if you’re not ready to start training for your bucket-list marathon, it’s still important to have a support system that can provide support and guidance. There is powerful energy in camaraderie. An online community can provide both education and support for your healthy living challenge, even though yours is customized just for you.
Once you have made the commitment to your best health and weight and have shared your intention with a support system, you have a lot of options. Your fundamental goals will be to learn how to properly nourish your body, to renew your thinking about food, and to add sustainable movement to your life.
Here are some ideas for improving your health, not just for a couple weeks in January, but for the rest of your life.
Eat mindfully. Put down your phone, chew slowly, think about the food that has been provided for you, and be present.
Make simple, healthful food swaps. There is beauty in simplicity. You don’t have to change everything in a day. Find a few nutritious items from each food category that you will enjoy having on-hand, and get used to using them to replace your old “poor eating” choices.
Add resistance training. Even a 20-30-minute circuit 2-3 times a week can give your heart a boost, help maintain bone density and build fat-burning muscle.
Stretch. Open up your joint spaces, elongate your muscles and connective tissue, and give the cells of your body a much needed, oxygenating “aahhh”!
Hydrate! Get into the habit of drinking 16 oz. of water first thing in the morning and drinking at least 8 oz. before eating anything throughout the day. You’ll be amazed at how water curbs your appetite and your cravings for things you shouldn’t eat. And that’s just one of countless health benefits of water.
Aim for half your body weight in ounces every day during your healthy living challenge. Your body will thank you!
Get enough sleep. Start designating and honoring your sleep time. Sleep isn’t called “nature’s nurse” for nothing.
Keep a Healthy Living Challenge Journal. The routine and discipline of documenting your food intake and activities are therapeutic and reinforcing. They are also a great exercise in delayed gratification. It won’t be long before you look back and realize how much you have accomplished.
No matter what your health and weight goals are, you deserve a healthy living challenge that aligns with who you are and directs you toward your best self. Once you commit to yourself, you will find the Universe opening its abundance to you.
