How Losing Weight Helps The Whole Body

You love the way you look in the mirror when you reach a healthy weight. It feels great to fit into your skinny jeans or slip into a smaller dress size, but the real magic happens on the inside.

People who maintain a healthy weight are less likely to experience depression or develop Alzheimer's disease.

Losing 10 pounds over the course of six months can have a similar impact to some medications, lowering your blood pressure and leading to a reduced risk of heart disease and stroke.

Losing 7 percent of your excess body weight and exercising 30 minutes a day reduces your risk of developing diabetes by 60 percent.

Having a waist measurement of more than 35 inches for women and more than 40 inches for men has been linked to increased risk of heart disease, diabetes and premature death.

Each pound of weight you lose reduces the amount of pressure on the knee joint by four pounds.

Ditch the weight and save your feet. Those with the weight-related diabetes are 15 times more likely to have a foot or leg amputated.

The first step to achieving a weight or fitness goal is knowing where you want to be. Your aspirations have a lot to do with whether or not you are successful. Choose goals that are:

• Realistic. Don't let weight loss competition shows give you the wrong impression. Losing a pound or two a week is considered better for your health and more sustainable than rapid weight loss.
• Incremental. Setting short-term goals on your way to a big goal will give you an excuse to celebrate your victories. Motivation is everything.
• Specific. It's not enough to say that you want to "get healthy." Instead, commit to being active at least three times a week or work on lowering your blood pressure.
• Evolving. Even the best-laid plans can sometimes go off track. Give yourself permission to weather setbacks and make new goals as needed to fit your changing needs.

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