Bringing about changes in the way you live your life can help to move the weighing scale’s needle move left, says Ruchi Sharma
You will do much better if you set your goals that have more to do with health rather than weight. Putting all your efforts in lowering the numbers on the weight scale can lead to fluctuating cycles of losing and regaining weight, lower self-esteem and a complex relationship with food and body image. A permanent challenge cannot be fixed with quick fixes like crash diets. Focusing on finding positive results in lifestyle changes will help you ace in the long run than just lowering the points on the weight scale. Instead of fat loss, setting wellness-related goals will result in the best of both worlds; you will get healthier, energised and will be able to lose weight as well. Here is a guide to some of the reasons for you to concentrate more on making lifestyle changes than focusing on mere fat loss.
Compromised immune function
People often run after crash or fad diets to get overnight results rather than following a healthy route for weight loss. Following various crash diets deprives them of essential vitamins and minerals which eventually weakens their natural immune function. An extremely fat-restricted diet results in insufficient intake of fat-soluble vitamins such as vitamin A, D, E and K. Since these vitamins are involved in thousands of bodily processes, their deficiency leads to weakening of immune function which can make you more prone to illnesses. Hence, making sustainable choices that last longer will have a positive impact on your health along with supporting you with weight loss.
Stress management
The majority of people go straight to the diets that claim to help them lose fat without taking note of the habits that cause them to binge eat. How well you manage your stress is one of the most important lifestyle changes that has a direct effect on your weight. Chronic or poorly managed stress is believed to increase the levels of cortisol in the body. Higher levels of cortisol stimulate your appetite which eventually leads to either weight gain or it may cause difficulty losing undesired pounds. So, instead of swiftly shifting to fat-loss diets, make the lifestyle changes that will help you in the long run as it is said; a permanent challenge cannot be sorted with quick fixes.
Wellness over fat loss goals
Being healthy and taking care of your wellness is way more rewarding than just focusing on losing fat. Being conscious about your wellness will not only help you stay healthy and focused, but it will help you lose that unwanted fat as well. Wellness is all about taking care of your sleep, managing your stress, and keeping yourself relaxed and fit through physical activity and meditation. Making these true lifestyle changes is going to take a bit of your hard work but in the end, it’s totally worth it. Fixing your sleep cycle together with proper physical activity is the healthiest approach towards losing fat. It will give you the best of both worlds; you will stay healthy and focused and it will support sustainable weight loss as well.
Hair and skin health
Your hair and skin are two very important parts that define your appearance and need to be taken some extra care of. However, your extreme obsession with fat loss may lead to a deficiency of essential vitamins and minerals that your skin and hair need. This can hamper your skin and hair health by making your hair look dull and fall out easily and by making your skin dry and pale. Here’s your sign to gear up for long term lifestyle changes instead of just focusing on losing fat.
Long-lasting lifestyle modifications enable them to lose fat alongside maintaining their overall well-being. Health should come first and you should make sustainable and healthful choices to support both your wellness and fat loss.
(The author is a nutriotinist and founder, Eat Fit Repeat.)
