Over the past few decades, obesity rates in the United States crept up steadily. Owing to a great deal of working in offices and the diets most of us eat, obesity causes many different adverse health conditions. People suffer from diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, and more. During the coronavirus pandemic, we saw that obese people were many times more likely to deal with severe symptoms and die from the disease.
Almost everyone knows obesity is bad for you. It puts extra strain on your body’s systems and limits your ability to move and exercise. Thankfully, in all but the most extreme cases, obesity is something that can be managed and avoided. Staying in a healthy weight range is one of the best things you can do now and for your health long-term. That said, fighting obesity is anything but easy. It takes years of work, incredible discipline, and often the support from a range of health professionals, family, and friends.
If you or someone you love is struggling with obesity, here are some things you can do to get on the right track. Different people will experience varying results and different times along the journey to health. Stick with it and start seeing a real change in how you look and feel.
Step 1 – Be Ready for Resistance
We all have friends or relatives who seem to always be on a diet. They tell you, over and over again, that they’re serious this time, and they’re trying to lose weight and get in shape. What kills most diets is that results in the first week or two are often very impressive. You’re essentially surprising your body by eating fewer calories or working out. You see the scale drop and it feels great. However, once your body recovers, it holds on to those pounds stubbornly. Some people even gain weight after dieting for a couple of weeks because of water weight and other factors. Then, they quit.
You have to stick with a diet or a change in lifestyle for longer than a few weeks. For many folks, fighting obesity becomes a lifelong endeavor. It changes who they are. This isn’t a problem that you can fix in a month or two.
Step 2 – Make a Plan
An obese person isn’t not going to lose all of the extra weight overnight. It’s important to set realistic expectations and milestones along the way. You should celebrate successes and keep yourself accountable. There are several free apps and paid services designed to help people with their health goals. You can track weight progress, keep account of calories eaten, track your steps and daily exercise, etc. Make a plan and tackle the weight in stages.
Step 3 – Ask for Medical Support
In some instances, fighting obesity requires the help of medical professionals. You may have a medical condition that prevents you from exercising or a hormonal imbalance that is making it harder for you to manage your weight. Go and talk to a doctor to ask for advice on where to begin. They can typically recommend resources like nutritionists, trainers, etc. to get you started.
Step 4 – Focus on Your Diet
Exercising is great. When you walk, run, start lifting weights, or get on a bike, your body will feel better and you’ll have more energy. It’s a must for anyone trying to live a healthy, active lifestyle. However, most of the fight against obesity happens in the kitchen. The changes you make to your diet will make the biggest difference on the scale and how you feel. Start cutting out sugars, limit your eating window each day, avoid carbohydrates and increase your protein intake. Often, people who struggle with obesity can make small changes in their diets and see a massive difference. Unfortunately, eating unhealthily has become too easy and affordable in the country. It takes more work and sometimes money to eat whole foods and vegetables. Still, efforts in dieting pay off. They’ll change how your body interacts with food. Dieting doesn’t mean starving yourself. It means choosing the right foods and enough of them.
Step 5 – Supplementation
Fighting obesity typically requires more than diet and exercise. We’ve already mentioned the benefits of seeking medical support on your journey. There are, though, a plethora of other supplements, vitamins, and other things you can take to make dieting easier and get inside of a healthy weight range faster.
Peptides are used in conjunction with weight loss according to recent studies. With peptides, you get short chains of amino acids designed to trigger specific reactions in the body. In research, peptides have shown they can boost metabolism and fat burning. Considering using research peptides can be part of a larger strategy aimed at helping you see results faster based on the studies done on the rodents.
Step 6 – Stick With It!
WIth fighting obesity or losing just five pounds, persistence is key! You have to be disciplined and keep moving in a forward direction. With any diet, and especially for people trying to lose a lot of weight, there will be ups and downs. You’re trying to undo years or decades of bad habits. Be patient with yourself and recognize your achievements along the way. Fighting obesity will take years, but it’s worth the effort.
