No matter where you are in your journey towards optimal health, if you have weight you’d like to lose, it can seem like a daunting task and one which we know from trying to lose weight previously that it can be HARD, right? Tell me if this is you, because it sure has been me at times: we can often find ourselves doing it for a while, even with some success, but then we give up and slide back into our old, unhealthy habits because the weight loss mountain seems just too hard to climb, and the summit too far to reach. It’s very normal to feel this way! And there are definitely ways around this and to make it a happy process when we work on our mindset. But first…..

Sometimes it’s really easy to NOT start something because we are only looking at the (seemingly) huge challenge in front of us to get to where we want to be. With weight loss, this means that we may know we have a fair amount of weight to lose so we can be in what is medically considered to be somewhere within the healthy range for our age, gender and height.  While it may be true that it is a large amount for some of us, if that becomes so daunting that we give up or just don’t even start to take the steps we should to lose the weight, we hurt ourselves more before we even begin the weight loss journey. 

Something I want you to know that may really help you mentally  (as well as physically)  is that losing even very small amounts of weight, while gaining new eating habits, very quickly gives you health benefits. 

Losing just a few pounds can make a big difference. Losing just five percent of your body weight - 10 pounds for a 200-pound person - can improve all kinds of health problems, and will make you feel much better also. 

Here are some health benefits that kick in with losing just 5% of your body weight!

 1. Gives us a good mood: Weight loss can help get rid of those low, “blue” feelings. Even a small amount of weight loss gives us Improved energy, better health indicators (meaning your body is functioning at its best, including your brain), better body image and improved sleep and these are all factors in improving our general mood. One large study showed that depressed people who were very overweight felt better after they lost an average of 8% of their body weight. Other research shows you’ll continue to feel better, even after 2 years -- as long as you keep the weight off.

2. Lets us sleep longer and better: Research has shown that not getting enough good quality sleep can make you more likely to be obese. Others show that losing at least 5% of excess weight can lead to better sleep. But don’t overdo it because sleeping TOO much isn’t good for your weight or your mental or physical health either. We should get between 7-9 hours of good, uninterrupted sleep daily.

3. Decreases our chance of getting some cancers: Overweight people who slim down have lower levels of some hormones linked to cancer, like estrogens, insulin, and androgens. One study showed that older women who lost at least 5% of their body weight lowered their chances of breast cancer by 12%. There’s promising research showing that losing weight changes impacts your health enough to protect you from other types of cancer too.

4. Helps prevent Type 2 Diabetes: Weight loss and moderate exercise can prevent or delay it. If you are overweight, losing just 5% of your weight starts to give you preventative benefits against developing Type 2 Diabetes. Moderate exercise - 30 minutes on 5 days a week - also helps give you these benefits. If you already have diabetes, losing that weight can help you take less medication, keep control of your blood sugar, and lower the chances that the condition will cause other health problems.

5. Helps to reverse Insulin Resistance: Body fat, especially in your belly area, gives off chemicals that make your body stop reacting to the effects of insulin, a hormone that keeps the level of sugar in your blood normal. Even though your pancreas works harder to make more insulin, your blood sugar can get too high. A little bit of weight loss can help reverse this effect.

6. Helps to lower levels of Triglycerides: Triglycerides are particles in your body that transport fat for storage and energy. High levels (more than 200 mg/dl) mean you’re more likely to have a heart attack or stroke. Losing even 5% of your weight can bring you closer to healthy levels (around 150 mg/dl).

7. Helps to raise levels of “good” Cholesterol: You can lower your LDL or “bad” cholesterol with healthier food and medications. But it’s harder to raise levels of the “good” kind of cholesterol, HDL. That’s the type that clears bad LDL from your blood, so the more you have, the better. Exercise and losing body fat can get you into the ideal HDL range: above 60 mg/dl, which lowers your odds of having heart disease.

8. Helps to reduce High Blood Pressure: Extra body weight makes your blood push harder against your artery walls. That makes your heart work harder, too. You can lower the pressure by about 5 points if you lose just 5% of your weight. Diet is key to help with this and you can lower it even more by eating lots of vegetables, fruits, and whole grains and by cutting back on your salt intake.

9. Eases your joints and lowers inflammation in your body:  Having just 10 extra pounds of weight adds 40 pounds of pressure on your knees and other lower body joints! That can wear them out quicker. Extra weight in the form of fat (not muscle) can also cause inflammation. Inflammation in your body means chemicals in your body that form and damage your own tissues over time, including your joints. Inflammation also causes other health issues and disease. Fat cells, especially those around the belly, can release chemicals that irritate and inflame tissues all over the body. This is linked to health problems like arthritis, heart disease, heart attack, and stroke. Losing even a little of excess weight can ease these effects by lowering the amount of these chemicals that cause inflammation. If you keep it off, you’re much less likely to get arthritis and other health issues, illnesses and disease later on in your life.

10. Helps reduce Sleep Apnea: People who are overweight gain extra tissue in the back of their throat. When your body relaxes when you sleep, that tissue can drop down and block your airway. It makes you stop breathing over and over all night, which causes all kinds of health problems, especially for your heart. Losing just a little excess weight can often help with sleep apnea - sometimes even enough that you can stop using the breathing devices that treat it.

11. Helps you feel more confident!: When you start to see yourself losing weight through proper nutrition and  exercise, not only do you start to feel better physically but you also start to gain confidence as you master new healthy habits. Becoming comfortable with your new healthy eating and exercise habits often leads to wanting more - wanting to learn more, wanting to try more and up your game more. And most importantly: knowing - because you have already done it - that you CAN do even more gives you a wonderful sense of confidence in yourself even when things are challenging.

Nutrition Spark! We all start where we are. Comparing yourself to where others are in any moment in time is self destructive. You are on your own journey towards good, sustainable health. But knowing that even small changes, leading to just a 5% loss of your body weight, will lead to better health outcomes and disease prevention should be a great motivator! This is why it is so impactful to acknowledge and celebrate even the small steps we do consistently to achieve even a small goal. We know we can do it. Repeating the process, will lead to even better health outcomes!

For more on helping you learn to be the healthiest you through better nutrition, check out my helpful courses here!