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If you’re trying to lose some excess weight, you aren’t alone. More Americans are overweight than are not, and losing weight is a common goal.
At MyNP Professionals, Dr. Rosalyn McFarland and Dr. Clarissa Lawrence support our patients’ efforts to lose weight. We offer weight loss services, and we’re happy to answer your questions. Misinformation and bad advice abound, so we welcome the opportunity to help you understand how to lose weight in a healthy way.
It’s understandable to feel frustrated if your goal is to lose 20, 50, or a 100 pounds, and it seems like the needle on the scale barely moves. In reality, even modest weight loss garners some big health benefits. In this post, we discuss what you can expect from a health perspective if you lose a few pounds.
By a “few pounds” or “modest loss,” we mean around 5% of your body weight. That means if you weigh 200 pounds and you lose 10, you are likely to see improvements in some key health markers.
When you lose a few pounds, your risk of developing type 2 diabetes, heart disease, sleep apnea, and a host of other chronic conditions drops. Weight loss doesn’t guarantee you won’t develop a chronic disease, of course, but it does statistically improve your chances.
Obesity is associated with a variety of health issues, and many of them can be life-threatening. If losing 10 pounds can make it less likely you’ll have a stroke or develop certain types of cancer, it’s well worth the effort.
If you have insulin resistance or pre-diabetes, losing weight may help you avoid developing diabetes. Diabetes can cause damage to your eyes, your nerves, and your blood vessels. It can be difficult to control and expensive to treat, so losing a few pounds now can save you from numerous problems in the future!
When you visit our offices, we look at several data points that provide information about your overall health. Your respiration, blood pressure, and heart rate are all markers that we measure to better understand your health. When you lose weight, most of those numbers improve—which means you’re healthier.
Sleep is restorative, necessary, and linked to better health. Similar to obesity, poor sleep is associated with a long list of chronic conditions, so when you improve the quality of your sleep, you protect your health.
Losing even a little bit of weight is likely to improve your sleep. You may be more comfortable, and you may be able to breathe better. Obstructive sleep apnea is a common problem, but one that often improves with weight loss.
Every extra 10 pounds of weight on your body adds 40 pounds of pressure to your weight-bearing joints, like your knees. Osteoarthritis, which is sometimes referred to as “wear-and-tear arthritis,” often affects the knee joints.
Arthritis is painful and makes it difficult to do the things you need to do and the things you enjoy doing. Losing a little weight can extend the life of your joints.
If you’re struggling to lose weight, or you aren’t sure exactly where to start, schedule an appointment at MyNP Professionals. Our providers can give you expert advice, suitable for your situation. Your goals, lifestyle, overall fitness level, and other factors all play a role in what kind of weight loss program is most likely to work for you.
