What are the great benefits of losing 20 pounds?
Changing your lifestyle habits to achieve a healthy weight can have remarkable results for your health and fitness.
Even losing just 20 pounds can make a big difference.
And if you are 20 pounds or more overweight, you are not alone.
Seventy-five percent of the adult population in the United States is overweight or obese.
Unfortunately, the problem is growing worldwide.
This article reveals the great advantages of losing 20 pounds and how that can set you on the path to freedom from obesity.
What Losing 20 Pounds Does for Your Body
Here is a look at 15 of the most incredible benefits of losing 20 pounds:
#1. Lower blood pressure
High blood pressure, properly called hypertension, is often known as the silent killer.
That’s because it gives you no warnings, and only a blood pressure test will reveal if you have hypertension or not.
High blood pressure can increase your risk of:
- Heart attacks or stroke
- Coronary artery disease
- Heart failure
- Aneurysm
- Kidney disease
- Vision loss
- Memory loss and dementia
Obese people have an increased risk of developing hypertension.
Losing weight, eating healthy, and exercising can lower blood pressure. This also reduces your risk of complications from hypertension.²
#2. Reduced Risk of Heart Disease
Heart disease leads to a narrowing of the arteries that keep the heart muscle supplied with oxygenated blood.
This progressive damage to your arteries is the leading cause of death in the developed world.
Research shows that losing 20 pounds or 10 percent of your body weight can lower heart disease risks.
Losing 20 pounds will help you lower triglycerides, lower high cholesterol levels, reduce high blood pressure, and lower resting blood glucose.³
And that’s without medication, how good is that?
#3. Prevent or Cure Obstructive Sleep Apnea
Extra weight on the belly and chest can cause a sleep problem known as obstructive sleep apnea.
This condition leads to pauses in breathing while you sleep.
As a result, your body does not get enough oxygen.
This lack of oxygen puts a lot of strain on your heart and, if undiagnosed, could cause death.
Losing excess body weight takes the pressure off your chest and abdomen, allowing more comfortable breathing.
People diagnosed with sleep apnea often have to wear oxygen masks to keep their airways open.
Such devices are invasive and can be cumbersome.
The bottom line is that losing weight is an effective treatment for sleep apnea. 4
#4. More Energy
Imagine strapping on a 20-pound backpack for the whole day, similar to rucking.
This fitness trend is new and burns a lot of calories.
It’s based on training used by the U.S. Army.
No matter what you do—shopping, playing with your kids, or climbing stairs—carrying an extra 20-pound backpack will drain your energy.
Even getting up from your chair will be more challenging than it needs to be.
And all the more so, starting a beginner deadlift program, which can lean out your body faster than a speeding bullet, will be next to impossible.
Now imagine taking that backpack off.
Suddenly, all those activities will feel a whole lot easier.
Losing weight will have much the same effect, and, as a result, you will significantly improve your energy levels.
Tasks that used to leave you exhausted will be much less demanding, and you’ll have more energy as a result.
Excess body fat is nothing more than dead weight.
Losing it will make the tasks of daily living much less tiring, so you’ll have energy left over for activities that bring you enjoyment.
#5. Less Pain
Being overweight can cause pain in a couple of different ways.
For starters, carrying extra weight puts a lot of stress on your bones and joints, mainly your knees, hips, and lower back.
Losing weight means less joint pain and fewer aches and discomforts.
You’ll also find it easier to get around as excess weight can impede mobility.
Secondly, being obese or overweight increases inflammation throughout your body.
Inflammation is the swelling and reddening of tissue – like a rash on your skin.
Inflammation can affect the tissues and organs inside your body.
Losing weight will reduce inflammation, and that means less pain.
Less pain will make life a whole lot more enjoyable! 5
#6. Reduced Risk of Developing Type 2 Diabetes
Excess body fat can worsen insulin resistance.
As a result, blood sugar levels can stay elevated.
If left unchecked, this can increase your risk of developing type 2 diabetes, a potentially catastrophic disease.
Diabetes is a metabolic syndrome disease in which the body is unable to metabolize carbohydrates properly.
Diabetes increases the risk of several health issues.
People with diabetes may develop heart disease and circulation problems.
They are also at risk for nerve damage and blindness.
Kidney disease, skin issues, and hearing loss can happen too.
Additionally, they might face Alzheimer’s disease and depression.
When you drop 20 pounds, your risk of type 2 diabetes drops too—sometimes enough to ditch medications!
If you already have it, weight loss can also make your symptoms less severe. 6
Also, weight loss will not only prevent but can even reverse type 2 diabetes.
Yes, likely, you will no longer need Metformin.
The ability to reverse type 2 diabetes is one of the most significant health benefits of losing 20 pounds.
The Perfect Treatment for Diabetes and Weight Loss
See The Obesity Code Summary by Dr. Fung for More Details
#7. Better Mental Health and Reduced Risk of Depression
The health of your body and the health of your mind are inseparable.
Being overweight can affect your mental health.
It may lead to higher stress, lower self-esteem, and a greater risk of depression.
Losing weight can positively affect all aspects of mental health, not least treating depression. 7
#8. Look and Feel Better
Before even thinking about how losing 20 lbs improves your invisible health, think about this; a 10 percent drop in body weight is enough to change how you look and feel dramatically.
If you are the average American man weighing 195.7 pounds, you will look like a new man at 175 pounds.
Forget about all the significant effects of weight loss on your health.
Right now, you only have to think about your vanity.
Do you like the way you look in the mirror?
Can you still get into your favorite jeans or suit?
From a purely exterior view, you will look and feel much better when you reach a healthy weight for your height.
Even Ben & Jerry’s Vanilla Heath Bar Crunch, Snickers, Oreos, M&M’s, or vanilla cookies (my former nighttime binge favorites) won’t taste as good as how you will feel after you experience the benefits of losing 20 pounds!
#9. Fit into your favorite clothes
All those suits, slacks, and shirts that you could not wear for the last ten or twenty years, well, you can wear them now.
And you will find you need less or even no tailoring when you want to get new clothes.
Finally, you will fit into a suit right off the rack!
#10. No More Fear of the Gym or Weight Training
You will no longer suffer from fear of working out in a free weight training area if you were reluctant to do so in the past.
Weight training is an excellent way to improve your body tone and conditioning.
But, if you have been overweight or obese for many years, you might not have felt resistant to resistance training.
However, after you lean out your body by following this easy 20-pound weight loss program, which requires minimum exercise, you will want to apply more conditioning and fitness to your body through resistance training, whether using your bodyweight or weights, such as;
More hidden benefits of losing 20 pounds
Most of the benefits of weight loss are quantifiable.
You can measure your blood pressure and triglyceride levels, for example.
Other benefits are a little harder to quantify and could even be described as hidden.
Five of those benefits include:
#11. Rocket Your Confidence and Optimism
Beyond less depression is the prospect of improving your confidence.
Between your weight loss and weight training, you will look and feel like a new person.
Your confidence will soar, and you will be open to endless possibilities in your new exciting future.
#12. Become More Attractive
Once you like how you look and feel, others will too.
Few people enjoy a gray, dark, and gloomy day, raining tears of self-pity or self-persecution.
Confidence, optimism, and taking care of yourself are attractive traits.
Who knows, you might reconnect to or find the love of your life.
#13. Financial Savings
Being overweight can make health care more expensive.
Your weight affects your risk of illness, and that means your coverage costs more.
Losing weight and keeping it off will mean cheaper health insurance premiums.
#14. Better Income
Losing weight can increase work productivity, leading to an increase in salary and better job prospects.
Also, being overweight may stand in the way of a promotion or securing a better-paid job. 8
#15. Better Love Life
Men and women who lose weight often report that their romantic life improves. 9
Increased self-confidence, more energy, increased mobility, and less pain make intimacy a much more enjoyable prospect!
Losing weight can also increase fertility and virility because of higher testosterone levels.
You will be shocked at what more testosterone can do for a man.
Is 20 Pounds a Big Deal?
The next time you wonder if losing 20 pounds is worth it, go to your garage or gym and pick up a 20-pound dumbbell.
That is the amount of extra weight you are forcing your skeleton to carry every day of the year.
Can You Lose 20 Pounds in a Month?
The short and long answer is NO.
Do not lose or try to lose 20 pounds in a month.
It took you years to put on the weight, and the best thing you can do for your body is to take it off gradually.
Don’t suffer your body more than it has already gone through.
See What Happens If You Lose Weight Too Fast
The good news is that you can safely lose 20 pounds in 3 months.
The Risks of Obesity
Obesity is the accumulation of so much body fat that ill health is the result.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), over 4 million people die each year due to being overweight or obese.
WHO also states that “Rates of overweight and obesity continue to grow in adults and children.
The number of overweight children and teens grew from 4% to 18% worldwide between 1975 and 2016.” ¹
Because of this, many people take steps to avoid weight gain and try to lose weight.
Unfortunately, losing weight is not always easy, and it takes time, too, which can chip away at your motivation and resolve.
However, some pretty magical things start to happen when you lose weight, especially as your weight loss approaches 20 pounds.
The 20-pound figure is not especially significant other than that it represents about 10 percent of a person’s body weight.
The next time your weight loss motivation dips, think about the extraordinary benefits of losing 20 pounds.
Body Fat vs. Body Weight – What’s the Difference?
After looking at the benefits of losing weight, you should know the difference between weight loss and fat loss.
You might think that weight and fat loss are the same, but they are not.
Your weight is the total mass of all the materials that make up your body, including your bones, blood, skin, muscles, and internal organs.
It also includes things like the food in your stomach and the water in your bladder.
In contrast, body fat is precisely that – it’s the fat stored in and around your body.
Losing weight is relatively easy—go to the bathroom, lose water through sweating, or completely cut out carbohydrates.
Any of these interventions will lead to weight loss but won’t provide any health benefits.
Losing fat can greatly improve your health. High body fat levels increase the risks of being overweight.
As a result, you should pay attention to your body fat weight, which is called your body fat percentage.
A body composition scale is key to tracking your body fat percentage.
This helps you immensely on your fitness transformation journey.
So, work towards losing weight, but make sure that the weight you lose is fat and not something your body needs, like muscle tissue or water.
Benefits of Losing 20 Pounds – Wrapping up
Losing 20 pounds is arguably the most important thing you can do for your mental and physical health.
Use the information in this article to inspire you to start your weight loss journey or motivate you to stay on course if you have already begun.
You know that dropping 20 pounds will change your life; now you need to know how to do it.
What’s Next
Of course, people say losing weight is not easy and will take effort, dedication, and sacrifice, but the rewards are tremendous.
With more energy, minor illness, and a better state of mind, you’ll be able to enjoy your best life ever.
And there is truth to that; however, reaching an ideal body weight for your height is not as complicated as you think.
The hardest part of losing weight is not achieving your weight-loss goal; it is embracing and maintaining healthy lifestyle habits!
Yes, it’s those lifestyle habits that got you fat in the first place, and the right lifestyle changes will transform your body like magic.
Use this Ultimate Guide to Lose 20 Pounds in 3 Months. to reach your ideal weight – you will not fail!
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Footnotes:
¹ Obesity – World Health Organization
² Effects of exercise, diet and weight loss on high blood pressure – PubMed
³ Effects on cardiovascular risk factors of weight losses limited to 5–10 % – PubMed
4 Losing Weight Can Cure Obstructive Sleep Apnea In Overweight Patients, Study Shows – Science Daily
5 Obesity and inflammation: the effects of weight loss – PubMed
6 The importance of weight management in type 2 diabetes mellitus – PubMed
7 ‘Strongest Evidence Yet’ that being Obese Causes Depression – Science Daily
8 Study Shows Being Overweight Can Damage Your Career – Reuters
9 Sex and Weight – Want a better sex life? Lose 10 pounds – Psychology today
