Am I body-shaming someone who is fat? Overweight? Obese? No. I’m genuinely concerned when I see an overweight person because I know what the future holds for them. I’m not claiming that slim people will never succumb to any diseases (that depends on their eating habits, lifestyle, etc. too) but I’m sure for a fact that people who are overweight are surely undergoing some illness or the other. It could be a minor diabetic condition, period pain, allergy, breathing issue, etc. Whatever it is, they are all mostly connected to an unhealthy lifestyle.
Time and again we keep forgetting that if we don’t take care of our body, our body will stop taking care of us. But do we really make it a point to remember this and implement ways to stay healthy? No.
Did you know that how our body functions totally (or rather mostly) depends on how we nurture it, how we take care of it and how much we torture it? Illnesses, headaches, mental trauma, etc. are all results of what we do to our body.
Likewise, weight gain is also one of the common results of not caring for our body. Yes, we casually blame pregnancy, age, genetics, responsibilities, etc. despite knowing that these are natural occurrences in everyone’s life. So, whom should we blame then? Ourselves.
There are several factors that encourage our mid-sections to expand. Read below and you will know that weight gain happens mainly because we ignore all or some of these 4 important things in our lives:
I’ve realized that our tongues can be evil if not controlled properly. Besides gossiping, it can, many times, crave certain foods that are unhealthy for our body. Think about what you would love to consume every single day. And ponder on whether it is healthy for your body or not.
What about drinks? Drinking liquids is good for health but are those yummy store-bought juices, filled with sugar, good for everyday consumption? No. But, don’t most of us generously consume them? Yes, we do.
So, remember – The next time you consume anything, ask yourself if it is healthy or not. Better still write on a sheet of paper every food or beverage that enters your mouth and understand how many of those items come under the unhealthy category. Even one bite.
When we live an almost sedentary lifestyle, it is difficult to keep minor illnesses away. Why? Because God gave us legs and expected us to move around every day. We are not trees. So, when we sit in one place, we accumulate fat deposits in our body. And this eventually causes various discomforts and illnesses.
Also, when we are unwell and visit the doctor, he gives us a list of medicines as well as instructions. We go to a pharmacy and buy all those medicines (because we can now happily afford them due to our sedentary work life). But how many of us follow the ‘instructions’ religiously? Don’t you think those ‘instructions’ given to us are important? Sometimes, even more important than the medicines? Then why don’t we follow those instructions? Perhaps because it could mean changing our lifestyles, disturbing our schedules or leaving our comfort zones?
Remember – Our bodies need to move every single day. Put in that effort, shift a few responsibilities, delegate and exercise (walk, swim, skip, hula hoop, learn a dance form, etc.). Try to do this every day or every alternate day without fail. Your body will eventually love you for it.
When we ignore the fact that we merely have 24 hours in a day (whether you’re the Pope, President or Peon), it is impossible to find the time to eat right, sleep well or exercise for our health. With unhealthy food habits and a sedentary lifestyle, we gradually tend to gain weight.
We should especially avoid excuses like ‘I completely lost track of time’, ‘it’s too late now’, ‘I have to finish this assignment, I cannot sleep’, etc. because it only shows how our body is NOT our priority.
So, remember – Try and manage your time efficiently for the benefit of your mind and your body. Stop giving excuses and schedule some time to take care of yourself.
In ancient Chinese medicine, emotions play a massive role in the way our organs function. When we are stressed, depressed, upset, sad, etc. we tend to sit and continuously eat or drink anything and everything that makes us feel better temporarily. Ice-creams, chocolates, alcohol with sweet mixes are some of the things I can think of as examples. Unstable mindsets can, therefore, encourage weight gain and other diseases.
So, remember – Accepting how we feel and helping ourselves get out of negative zones in the right way is the first step to having a healthy mind and body. The key is to think positively and handle our negative feelings so that we can avoid ailments associated with weight gain.
Some people may be genetically predisposed to store fat in certain areas of the body. At times, fat distribution is influenced by heredity and hormones. But that is not the case with everyone. When the parent is slim and the child is overweight, it cannot be given the ‘hereditary’ excuse. When no one in the family is obese, an obese person cannot blame ‘genetics’ for their condition. In both the above cases, the concerned person either needs to visit a doctor or is wholeheartedly ignoring the 4 important things stated above.
So let’s try and avoid weight gain which can be a portal to a plethora of diseases. Let’s be mindful and adopt a healthy lifestyle. Let’s start taking care of our body now, and forever.
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31 Comments
I guess consistency is important to follow all the tips you have mentioned. , I try to do a lot of things at a time to reduce weight, but when I fail, I stop working on everything. Time to rethink and restart again to shed some extra pounds.
All the best, Pamela! It’s more for health than size!
True all these factors highlighted by you can cause weight gain and one should be wise and watch out and be careful to lead a healthy life.
Your keypoints are so on-point! While most write about how to lose weight or reasons why you gain weight, you’ve mentioned those things that we mostly forget about but play a vital role on how our body respond to our actions (physically and mentally). Great read!
Thanks, Jeannine!
I never realized how much my mental state affects my body. I appreciate the tips on staying healthy. It’s easy to forget how much our habits affect us.
Yes, please take care of yourself, Felicia!
As someone who advocates a healthy lifestyle with special attention to quality me time, this post had me nodding all along. Very important to keep weight in check. It’s not like saving it is going to give us any returns.
True, Varsha. Some of us know the real deal with weight gain!
After reading your post I can surely make out what is adding weight on my body. I am losing my me time, peace of mind and my work nature makes me sit for long hours and yes that’s adding up weight and I am trying hard to sort it. Lets see when I achieve.
All the best, Samata! Do take care of yourself!
I am a conscious sinner. I have never been this heavier even during the last day of my 2 nd pregnancy. I am a foodie who’s often in depression, so that’s a lethal combo. Thanks for the reminder, I will try to be mindful the next time I reach for the jar of cookies.
All the best, Mandira!
I completely agree with the post. We hardly bother about what we are eating amd how much we eat especially when we are feeling low or stressed out. To lessen our anxiety for sometime we ignore our precious health.
True, Shifali!
We often underestimate the effect of mental health and stress on our weight. Stress eating tops the list. The mind and body needs to be in sync too. A great topic, Cindy, and a necessary reminder.
Indeed at a time when information and resources are at our fingertips, we have no reason to ignore our health. Good health should be the ist. Everything else comes after that.
In a nutshell, this is the essence to not just weight management, but also good health. I know that if I dont pay attention to all 4, it is easy for me to pack on the pounds.
Me time is most important specially once you have a busy schedule in whole day. Your all tips are important to have a healthy life.
You are correct. It is a combination of all these. Many times we don’t realize that our state of mind also makes us gain weight.
You have hit the nail on the head with your crisp yet exhaustive discussions on the four important elements connected to weight management. Me time is something I need to work on in my life. Am bookmarking this for regular reference.
Glad to be of help, Ratna!
I appreciate this post and the way you highlight the impact of our food choices on our health. It really made me think about what I eat and how it affects me. It feels like you wrote this just for me, as I’ve noticed some weight gain after returning from my mom’s place this summer.
We don’t realize it with all the love and yummy food around us, Anjali. But that’s one of the most important things that affect our health!
🙌I strive to stay healthy and I eat healthy most days so that I can indulge sometimes.
Btw, there is one category of people you forgot. The ones who say, ‘I have done everything but I still don’t lose weight.’ Trust me, they would have done nothing apart from giving up a few meals and walked for a day or two.
Hahaha, one line struck me the most… ‘if the parents are slim and the children fat, can it be blamed on genes?’.. . does the first part of the sentence remind you of anyone? 😜
Hahahhahaha!
I’ve figured out that we need to school ourselves into good habits and discipline. Prepare the mind and the body and then walk on it, come what may. Excess weight does bring a lot of problems with it and needs to be taken care of.
True, Ambica!
An extremely important and informative article with simple to follow tricks
Mental health is so important for physical fitness. I’ve come to realize its importance and am consciously trying to maximize that ‘me time’. Great post with very honest and practical povs
Thank you, Manali!