What problems do you solve when you lose weight?

People with a weight problem and overweight people have many reasons to decide to lose those extra pounds. Working on a weight problem is a good way to start taking care of your body. The results for some people are immediate, but for some it takes more time before the change starts to show. Changing a life style in order to become healthier and fit demands a lot of motivation. After getting the wanted results, there is also a lot of work on keeping and maintaining the weight on the same level.

Those who want to lose weight need to be well prepared for a long term process of changing the way of thinking, changing the way they see food, changing their eating habits and their lifestyle and, also, working on one's personality. It is common to many psychologists and psychiatrists that obesity is not a strictly somatic problem but rather a psychological one.

People who have eating disorders usually have issues in the core of their personality that cause gaining weight. It is known that depression can lead to weight gain because sufferers from depression engage in comfort eating. People who suffer from social phobia want to lose weight and think that the phobia will be gone. They do not realize that losing weight will not help them feel good about themselves and won't boost up their self-confidence.

People who decide to lose weight should ask themselves why they want to lose weight. The question is where will it lead you emotionally and what do you really want to achieve. You should look deep inside yourself and find the real reasons or work on the reasons why you gained weight in the first place. Also, it is important to determine how to lose it. There are many crash diets that give drastic results and after a certain period of time all those pounds come back. So it is important to choose a safe way to lose weight. Losing weight usually leads to a positive bill of health, but not necessarily. Crash diets and starvation can lead to many heart and kidney problems.

Working only on your appearance might give you external results but losing weight will not make you a happier person.

What is a healthy weight loss?

It is important to determine what an overweight person is and what an obese person is. If you are an individual who thinks that you have to lose weight, it does not necessarily mean that you are overweight. You should consider the amount of fat in your body and where the fat is built in so you can determine if you are overweight. Sometimes people make mistakes and do not consider that their muscles and bones can be quite heavy.

The common way to determine if a person is overweight is to calculate the body mass index (BMI) and waist measurements.

BMI determines how much your weight is related to your body height. Waist measurements show how fat is distributed in the body. People who have BMI over 30 are considered obese and people between 25 and 30 are considered overweight.

Many people who are overweight do not have health problems. Being overweight can cause problems if a person already has some health issues (he or she is ill or has other conditions).

Depending on a person's body mass index and other factors, losing weight can be healthy and necessary. In some cases it is not necessary and can even lead to problems, if not physical then emotional.

If you want to lose weight you should first consult a specialist. It is important that you really have to lose weight and to find a healthy and safe way to do it. Sometimes people confuse dieting and the hygiene of eating. It is a big difference if you are dieting and trying to lose weight by starving yourself and extensively exercising. Dieting might mean that you are changing your life style by changing your eating habits and exercising on a regular basis. It means that you are taking care of yourself and your body and not just exhausting it with diets.

A healthy weight loss is changing something in your life that is keeping you unhappy. Working on the reason why you gained weight in the first place is a good start. The main reasons for weight loss are psychological in nature. A person is usually not aware of them and that is why people want to lose weight for the wrong reasons.

What are some benefits of weight loss?

Being overweight or obese can cause many health problems. Those long-term problems can shorten your life or make it very handicapping. Cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes can be prevented in some cases and if diagnosed before completely developing. Gaining weight can prolong them or even cause them. Some of the reasons why people try to lose weight are, logically, to prevent these illnesses.

The main benefit from losing weight is reducing the risk for all those life threatening diseases. Other benefits that people may feel are feeling healthier all in all and being full of energy. The safest and the healthiest way to lose weight are combining exercise and good nutrition. That will help you increase your fitness. Losing weight is not always going to make you a healthier person. It can cause many other issues you would have to work on. If you use weight-loss drugs, you can suffer from many side effects. A drug called "rimonabant" was suspended because its main side effect is depression. Another drug, called "sibutramine" has some positive effects but they do not state all the harmful side effects like cardiovascular disease, for instance. A drug called "orlistat" causes yellowish skin, itch, darker urine and upper-abdominal symptoms that can all be signs of liver damage.

If you have osteoarthritis in the knees, you can feel an improvement by losing weight. Your weight puts on a lot of pressure on your knees and joints which can cause strong pain. Losing weight releases you from that pressure and pain, while gaining more weight increases the chance of developing osteoarthritis in the first place.

If you suffer from some kind of illness, like type 2 diabetes or cardiovascular diseases, losing weight can improve your condition. Your doctor might decide if you should be taking less medication or if you should stop.

There are also some psychological benefits from losing weight. It has been said before that people with weight problems have specific emotional issues that are in the core of their personality. Getting healthier and fit is not only external. People who are on a journey of losing weigh should first of all work on their personality and the problems that caused the weight issues.

How to keep the weight off?

Losing weight with just dieting is not a safe and a healthy way to lose weight. Also, all that weight off will be gained back if the work on the weight problem was superficial. In order to lose weight and to maintain it permanently, the best way is to change certain aspects of a person's life style. It is important to change eating habits and to exercise on a regular basis. In order to make exercising and dieting permanent, a person should find the habit that he or she enjoys most, or the one that is practical to keep up with.

Researches show that people who diet and exercise to lose weight, in comparison to those who only diet, lose 20% more. A year later, all the people who dieted and exercised were still fit.

I need to add that, if you like to walk and you chose walking as your exercise, it is not beneficial for you if you just walk slowly. Moderate-intensity exercise is a rhythm that can give some effects. That means that, if you want your work out to benefit you, your heart rate needs to be increased. You do not have to exercise up until you run out of breath, but you will have to exert yourself at least a little to get some results. Brisk walking is very beneficial, especially to those people who have been very inactive. People who work full-time are recommended to walk briskly for 30 minutes every day (for example to work and from work).

How to stay motivated?

Losing weight is a long term process that has its ups and downs. You should have somebody to encourage you in the process of dieting and exercising. You can get support from your doctor, therapist or your family and friends. You can also join special groups to talk to people who are in the same situation like you and that can understand you the best.

The diet and exercise plans you make should be suited to your state of health. You should consult a specialist to see your options. Sometimes, after you lose a certain amount of weight you reach the peak, where the process stops. In order to continue with your plan and not get discouraged you should start trying something new.

If you start losing strength or will, it is important not to give up. You can call on your past successes and see the reductions in your weight so far. That could help you get motivated again.

For people who are at risk of heart disease and have high cholesterol and sugar levels in their blood, the reduction of those levels in their body does not necessarily mean that they are not at risk any more but it certainly means that they are on the right track. It is encouraging to see levels of cholesterol and sugar going down.

Usually, when people notice losing weight, they feel better emotionally and physically. If you are not satisfied, or you are disappointed with your progress, remember that weight loss is still making you healthier.

Some people expect life to be easier by losing weight which is rather unrealistic. Being overweight causes many problems, but the weight itself is not responsible for all those problems. Getting to know yourself, your body and accepting yourself in general, is more important than losing weight. After being in peace with your inner self, it will be easier to plan your weight loss.

Author Bio:
Ivan Dimitrijevic is a blogger with strong roots in health industry, with many published articles on the various subjects, from weight loss supplements to exercise equipment. He has done a lot of research in the field and his social network connections bring him the latest news from the industry.