In the last article “For every kilo you lose” we talked about the challenge to shift excess weight and why we want to keep it off. Apart from the obvious reason of feeling and looking better, part II of this article continues to highlight the reasons we need to keep it off.

Lets examine these reasons.

1. Prevent Type 2 diabetes – Weight loss has been proven to be one of the most effective ways to prevent or delay the onset of diabetes Type 2. Throw some exercise into the mix and you're pretty well on your way to avoiding it all together. If however you already have diabetes, losing weight will help control your blood sugar, take less medicine and increase in the odds in your favour that you wont fall prey to related health problems. 
2. Reverse insulin resistance – Insulin is the hormone responsible for keeping your blood sugar levels normal. Fat cells (especially around the belly area) release chemicals that hamper your bodies ability to stop reacting to the effects of insulin, thus the pancreas works even harder to make more insulin & your blood sugar skyrockets. This is not healthy, yet even a teeny bit of weight loss can help reverse this effect.
3. Lower your chances of cancer - According to scientists a Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research centre in Seattle, post-menopausal women who lost 5-10% of their body weight while taking 2,000 IU of Vitamin D daily, had significantly reduced levels of a pro-inflammatory cytokine that’s linked with a higher risk of ovarian and endometrial cancer.
4. Better sleep quality - Some studies have shown that the less sleep you get the more likely you are to carry excess weight or to be obese, with other studies showing that losing at least 5% of excess weight can lead to better quality and longer sleep.
5. Stop sleep apnoea - Extra tissue in the back of the throat is quite common with people who are overweight, so when the body relaxes while you're sleeping, that tissue can drop down, creating a blockage in the airway. This wreaks havoc with the body because you stop breathing over & over all through the night. This can cause a devastating ripple effect in the body leading to a myriad of health problems, especially for the heart. Slimming down a little will go a long way to alleviating this problem.
6. Natural mood boost – A study conducted with people who were depressed & very overweight felt a lot better after they lost an average of 8% of their body weight, which is why losing weight can help chase the blues away.  By keeping the weight off,  the body releases DOSE (Dopamine, Oxytocin, Serotonin and Endorphins) our natural anti-depressant, and continues to help us feel, look and sleep better, as long as the weight stays off.
7. Have more sex (did she just say “have more sex?”) - Yep, I did. When we are feeling fat we typically have less sex, have virtually no libido, and feel totally not sexy. When we lose weight, we feel better,  we gain confidence, feel sexier and may be in the mood more often than when you’re overweight. SO! One of the best ways to burn calories, lose weight AND limber up is to have sex, so double bonus!

• Portion sizes; use a smaller plate and load it up with over half in the fresh stuff (veggies & fruit).
• Protein;  keep it LEAN and unprocessed. If you are a carnivore, avoid saturated fatty meats such as beef, lamb and pork & stock up on omega 3, in the form of deep water fish *remember SMASH (S-salmon, M-mackerel, A-anchovy, S-sardine, H-herring).
• For vegetarians; eat plenty of healthy fats, nuts & seeds, eggs, avocados, beans & pulses, healthy oils – olive, primrose, macadamia, avocado & sesame.
• Carbohydrates; avoid refined grains (anything white, flour, bread, pastries, wheat, pasta, white rice) and replace with whole grains such as brown rice/pasta, quinoa, buckwheat, rye, root vegetables.
• Water; drink lots of it, not so much that your kidneys float out of you, but keep hydrated.

If you want to lose weight or just feel better, we can help. Pop into VaVa Health, lets chat over a cuppa or give us call.

Namaste,  Ashlí

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