Here’s an interesting fact – there are more obese people in the United States than there are people at a healthy weight. This is quite alarming, especially when you consider the fact that obesity is linked to a reduced lifespan and is also classified as the primary cause of preventable deaths. The United States isn’t the only country finding obesity to be a damaging public health concern. Even in the United Kingdom, obesity affects over 50% of the national population, as reported by the Government Statistical Service UK.
Losing weight is often possible through a healthy, balanced diet and through participating in weight loss exercises. For some, however weight loss is not as simple as it seems to be for others. There are many people who maintain a regular physical activity routine and sticks to a healthy diet, but still find it almost impossible to reduce their body fat percentage and reach a healthier weight. We would like to discuss seven interesting facts that people need to realize about weight loss – especially those who are having a hard time losing weight effectively, even when they do exert effort from their side.
1. Sleep Contributes To Weight Loss
This is probably a fact about weight loss that will be surprising to most of our readers, but it has been proven through scientific research that sleep contributes to a person’s ability to lose weight. Firstly, it seems like sleep inhibits the control that genes may have on a person’s weight. Men’s Fitness reports that a recent study provided evidence that the genes of people who did not sleep at least seven hours a night contributed to around 70% of the individual’s weight. Amongst those who slept for longer than seven hours per night, gene control on weight was only around 32%. Sleep deficiency also causes an imbalance in the hormones that are involved in satiety and hunger, which may lead to overeating.
2. Quick-Fix Diets May Do More Harm Than Good
You’ll often read about quick-fix diets that guarantee you will lose a lot of pounds in a very short period of time. While some of these diets may help to lose some weight quickly, it is important to know that quick-fix diets are almost never the option. For example, these diets often restrict the person from eating a lot of calories and may even tell the person to avoid high protein food and some other foods that can be beneficial to their weight in the long run. In many cases, people also tend to pick up more weight than they lost when they follow these quick-fix diets.
3. Your Diet Has A Major Effect On Your Weight
A lot of people think that joining up at the gym and exercising regularly will help them lose weight effectively. Unfortunately, it is wishful thinking in quite a lot of cases. A person would join the gym, exercise frequently and discover that, even with hard work and dedication at the gym, they are not losing any weight. Women’s Health reports that weight loss is not only about exercise – in fact, exercise only contributes to weight loss around 20%. The other 80% is all dependent on the person’s diet.
4. Alcohol Count As Calories
Alcoholic drinks do not contain any nutritional values on their labels, which causes a lot of people to think that they are not really required to count the calories they consume through alcoholic beverages toward their daily calorie intake. Quite the opposite is true as the calories do count towards your daily calorie intake and alcohol can cause weight loss to become much harder, especially if you drink too much alcohol. A glass of scotch, for example, can contain as much as 105 calories. A glass of brandy contains around 115 calories, a glass of coffee liqueur approximately 137 calories, a large glass of wine can contain up to 125 calories and a glass of beer contains as much as 145 calories.
5. Intensity Can Beat Time
If weight loss seems difficult or you need to up your calories burned per day, then the first thought would be that you may have to spend more time at the gym every day. This may be inconvenient if you are already on a busy schedule and hardly getting the time to exercise each day.
6. A Gym Is Not A Definite Requirement For Weight Loss
A lot of people postpone their journey to a healthy body weight because they do not have the time or money for a gym right now. This is quite common, but people tend to forget that they do not need a gym to lose weight effectively. While a gym may certainly make things a little easier, thanks to the guidance offered by the trained personnel, it is not a definite requirement. Instead, you can follow some professional trainers that post videos on YouTube and on other platforms to get a good workout in the comfort of your own home.
7. The Easiest And Best Time To Lose Weight Is Now
People do not only postpone their weight loss journey because they do not have enough time on their schedule or not enough money to join a gym. There are many reasons why people postpone their weight loss journey, but what they do not realize is NOW is the best time for them to get started. The body’s metabolism naturally declines with age, especially with a sedentary lifestyle, which means postponing will most definitely make things much harder in the future.
Conclusion
Losing weight is beneficial for obese individuals, as obesity causes a serious increased risk of reaching mortality at a premature age. Unfortunately, weight loss seems to be a struggle for many people who are putting in effort. What many fail to realize is that weight loss is not always as simple as exercise and healthy eating, as many factors may contribute to stubborn fat that simply won’t go away with the traditional weight loss methods.
About the Author
Ben Arnold is a freelance writer and health advisor from past 6 years. Through his advanced studies, he has gain enormous experience in this field. In his free time, he loves to read books and enjoy music. You can Follow him on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Linked-In.
