why should i lose weight?

Many people think weight loss is like emptying a bucket with a ladle. A scoop out of the bucket today, tomorrow, next week will eventually empty the bucket. Not so with our bodies. When we decrease our food intake, our bodies try to absorb and store more calories the next time we eat in excess of what our body needs. So, even though we are cutting down most of the time, we will not lose weight if we get extra calories part of the time.

The rule of weight loss is easy: you must consistently burn off more calories than you take in. Any type of  diet can work as long as calorie intake is consistently reduced, every day. A diet that is balanced with small quantities of vegetables, fruit, grains and lean meat or fish is the healthiest. Exercise helps, but unless you are an athlete, you will have to cut calories as well. And remember, it’s OK to be hungry when losing weight. Once a goal is achieved, every day is for maintaining. If you go back to eating more and exercising less, the weight will go right back on.

The prevalence of obesity has now reached epidemic proportions for both men and women in many industrialized populations.¹ An extensive literature exists on the effectiveness of interventions to achieve and maintain weight loss, but information on the reasons why individuals elect to try and lose weight is more limited, particularly amongst men. Successful weight loss depends on many factors, however many dieters are most successful when they have access to continued support.² For that support to be effective it is important to understand the motivating factors behind an individual's desire to lose weight. A clearer understanding of the reasons motivating weight loss should help the development of strategies to combat the increasing incidence of overweight and obesity.

Aside from the health effects of obesity, it has been suggested⁹ that motivating factors, ultimately the reasons for an individual to want to lose weight, differ between those who are successful at weight loss and those who are not. Successful dieters were motivated by psychological factors relating to confidence rather than health and symptoms relief.⁹ The role of weight loss in improving self-esteem was also reported by a North American study of successful weight losers who were able to maintain their weight losses for at least 1 y.⁵

Given the epidemic of obesity, and the need to encourage weight management, this study provides information that will be of use to those encouraging the lay population to lose weight.