Modern psychology has made us aware of the emotional consequences
of being over-weight and how it affects our self-esteem. More recently
the medical community has recognized the multiple consequences of
being overweight.
To determine if weight gain has an emotional effect on you, read the
questions below and write down your answers so you can go back and
review them when you are done.
Are you conscious of your physical appearance when you are out
in public? If so, why?
Are you comfortable with looking at yourself in the mirror or do
you avoid it? If you avoid looking in a mirror write down how you
feel when you do look into a mirror.
Are you concerned with what others think of your body? What
others think about us plays a significant role in our lives. If you
are concerned about what other people think of your body write
down what you imagine they are thinking and how those
thoughts make you feel.
Do you feel that the only way you can truly be fulfilled and live a
contented life is to change the physical things you don’t like
about yourself? If you answered “no” to this questions write
down other ways you can feel fulfilled and contented.
If you answered “yes” to any of the above questions then it’s possible
that your weight has an emotional influence over you. Your
appearance shouldn’t keep you feeling unfulfilled or discontented. Your
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appearance really should be the icing on the cake to the person you
are within.
You have the power to do something about it. You can either continue
to live with it or make the changes you believe you need to make.
The fact that you are searching for a solution means that you are
ready to take action. Take pride in the fact that you have the courage
to make changes in your life when it is always easier to allow things to
stay the same.
Just remember this book aims to re-educate you so that you can
unlearn all of the bad habits you may have picked up over the years.
It won’t happen overnight, but it WILL happen. You are about to
experience life-changing truths so just persevere and absorb as much
as you can.
Health Issues
It is common knowledge that excess weight puts stress on our joints,
backs, and bodies but we don't think about the damage we are doing
to our internal organs.
In a study undertaken in Sweden, a group of men were followed over
four decades. An excerpt from the study is below:
“Having accounted for age, socio-economic status, muscle strength and smoking, the
researchers found that men who were overweight (body mass index, or BMI, from 25.0
to 29.9) during adolescence at the point they joined the Swedish military in 1969 and
1970 had a 33% higher rate of mortality during the study period, as compared with
their counterparts in the normal weight range (BMI from 18.5 to 24.9). Obese men
(BMI of 30 or more) had even higher risk - a whopping 114% elevated likelihood of
death during the period. Similar relative estimates were obtained when smokers and
non-smokers were analyzed separately. Figures also did not differ by much when
smoking was not adjusted for.”
To read more about this study click on the link below.
http://www.naturalnews.com/025927_overweight_health_smoking.ht
ml
In an article the following disturbing relationship between being
overweight and cancer is discussed.
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“Perhaps the most alarming health effect is cancer. Obese and even overweight
persons are more likely to be diagnosed with cancer of the breast, esophagus, colon,
uterus, and kidney.
To read the entire article, click the link below.
http://www.professorshouse.com/family/health/effects-beingoverweight.
aspx
There is so much evidence and medical science to prove that being
overweight/obese can ruin your health. It isn’t a lost cause, you CAN
change your eating habits and you CAN lose the weight but you need
to be 150% committed to the journey and have a good plan of attack.
The most harmful fat is the extra fat we carry around our abdomen.
Abdominal fat interferes with how the heart, liver and intestines work
by secreting chemicals that inhibits these organs from functioning
properly. Abdominal fat can also be an indicator of Type II diabetes.
For women if your waist is more than 35 inches at the belly button and
for men if it is more than 40 inches then you lie within the “high risk”
category of heart disease, diabetes, blood pressure and stroke and
must lose weight.
Another harmful effect of the extra fat is that this fat gets into our
bloodstream and over time it can clog our arteries. As the arteries
become clogged it is more difficult for your heart to pump the blood
through your body. The extra effort your heart needs to push this
blood raises you blood pressure. It can take only an extra 30 pounds
to force your heart to work twice as hard to do the same job it did
when you were just 30 pounds lighter.
Higher than normal blood pressure damages the blood vessels in your
kidneys and can cause them to fail. Another possible effect of high
blood pressure is blindness which is caused when blood vessels in the
eyes burst and bleed from the increased pressure.
When you think of high blood pressure you might not think of the
damage it can do to your blood vessels. The excess fat that makes
your blood vessels smaller causes the pressure of the blood against
the vessel walls to increase. Over time this added pressure weakens
the walls until the wall cannot withstand the pressure and it bursts.
The result is a stroke which can be life threatening.
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If you have diabetes your blood thickens which increases the risk of
blood clots forming and when blood clots are present in your body you
are a prime candidate for a stroke or heart attack.
As you can see being over-weight affects all aspects of your health.
Your body is very resilient but when you burden it to a certain point it
cannot function correctly and begins to break down. Once you get to
that point, the point of your body failing under the stress of the extra
weight, your organs begin to fail and your health begins to decline.
There was a medical trial to determine the long-term effects of excess
weight on individuals. The study followed approximately 600 people
over 14-years. The results of the study were that those people in the
study who were considered overweight had a 34% increased chance of
heart failure. The people who were considered obese were determined
to have a 104% greater chance of experiencing heart failure. Those
numbers are shocking and should provide the impetus for anyone to
begin a weight loss program.
The simplest solution is to just lose the weight. For some reason we
believe that not having that piece of chocolate cake is almost
unbearable but that is the point at which we need to change our
thinking. Is the piece of chocolate cake more important than your
health? Is it more important than life?
