Should I Lose Some Weight?

Maintaining a healthy diet and following an exercise regime are the best ways to ward off disease and live a long, full life. Unfortunately, gaining weight and obesity have been a growing problem not just in the United States, but all over the world. With our ever increasingly busy lives, we rarely leave ourselves enough time to eat a balanced meal or make time for exercise. In this article we’ll discuss why maintaining a healthy weight is so important and how to know if you need to lose some weight.

Losing weight and maintaining a healthy lifestyle are very important in preventing a number of different diseases and disorders. Being overweight can put extra strain on the heart, causing high blood pressure and can eventually lead to heart disease. Exercising helps build healthy bones and can prevent or slow down the onset of osteoporosis. Not only is exercise good for the body, but it’s also good for the mind. Exercising releases serotonin, which regulates the mood. It can leave you feeling elated after a good workout and can relieve stress. Exercise can also relieve tense, stressed muscles after a long day.
Getting in better shape will not only help you in the long run, but will give you a better sense of self confidence. Let’s face it – there’s plenty of discrimination out there for people that are overweight. Getting in shape will make you feel better about yourself.
If you’re not sure if you need to lose weight, try calculating your BMI, or your Body Mass Index. This calculation, based on your height and weight, can give you an approximation of how much fat is in your body. To calculate your BMI, multiply your weight in pounds by 703, and then divide by your height in inches twice. The target is to have a BMI of between 18.5 and 25, while 25 and higher indicates being overweight, while over 30 is obese.