The Benefits of Weight Loss Series Benefit #1
Posted by Posted in Benefits of Weight Loss Series Posted on 12-10-2007
Tags: Benefits of Weight Loss Series, changing habits, exercise regularly, improved self confidence, mental health
Now whenever I have seen an article or post on the benefits of losing weight they are presented in the usual list format. Each point is not given too much detail.
Over the coming weeks I will be posting on some of the tangible and intangible benefits of losing weight. These will be based mostly on what I have witnessed and experienced during my own transformation.
Benefit # 1
Improved Self Confidence
As an overweight guy I was always embarrassed about the way I looked. Sure I’d make light of it and crack a few jokes about my gut, ” I have washboard abs, there’s just a load of laundry on them right now” or “I don’t have a six pack I have a keg“ Everyone would get a good laugh and I would use it as an excuse to eat whatever I wanted, which almost felt like It was expected of me.
I would also do the little things that all self concise overweight people do. Wear baggy clothes, constantly pull at my shirt so that it didn’t cling to my gut for all to see, avoid eye contact with people and I even made fun of other overweight people in an attempt to take the attention way from myself.
Now that I’m no longer overweight I have changed all that behavior. Most noticeably lately has been the eye contact. It’s an amazing thing to look right into another person’s eyes and not worry about weather or not they think you’re fat.
I know that I work hard, watch my diet, exercise regularly and have taken control of my health. I have already proved to myself that I’m worthy and deserve a better body, a better lifestyle and a better image of how I should act.
Weight loss and self confidence go hand in hand. As your weight goes down your confidence goes up. You being to realize that you are capable of more than anyone has given you credit for.
You may start out wanting to lose weight in order to prove something to someone else. But in the end all that matters is that you prove to yourself that you can do it. No ones opinion of you is as important as your own.
Very well said. When I lost my 75 lbs my self-confidence went through the roof. Now that the weight is creeping back on the self-confidence is going away. I think one of the hardest things about losing weight isn’t losing the weight, it’s keeping it off.
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Very true. Keeping the weight off can be difficult. I am currently changing up my goals and my focus. I think constantly setting new goals when you’re trying to maintain your weight is key it keeping it off for good.
Great comment, Thanks.
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[...] admin created an interesting post today on The Benefits of Weight Loss Series Benefit #1Here’s a short outlineWeight loss and self confidence go hand in hand. As your weight goes down your confidence goes up. You being to realize that you are capable of more than anyone has given you credit for. You may start out wanting to lose weight in order … [...]
I totally agree with Lorelei’s comment. Losing is the easy part, so to say (well, alright, save for those last ten pounds, but these tend to be a problem for lots of people anyway). Never regaining it is harder, and what I would consider my ‘true’ goal in that. I can live with being 130 lbs instead of 120 or 110–it’s the thinniest I’ve been, anyway, so I’m already extra happy. But regaining… No. Never again. It was a miserable time.
Of course, it tends to be the problem of the chicken and the egg, too. We build self-confidence when slimming down, but for some people, self-confidence is necessary to start slimming down as well. It can be hard.
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Thanks for the comment Kery,
Keeping it off can be a real challenge as it’s easy to slip back into that comfort zone.
Also once you have reached your goal you tend to lose some of your motivation. Maintenance isn’t as exciting as losing the weight.
I never had the self-confidence to make that healthy lifestyle change. I was afraid of failing again and thought well you can’t fail if you don’t start, right?
The key for me has really been to look at my past non weight related accomplishments and use them to build enough confidence to at least commit to making a change in my life.
For example: I built my own deck and finished my basement all on my own, not knowing how to do either one before I started.
Little things like that can really get you going.
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