There are a host of mental and psychological factors that impact weight, and getting those aspects of your lifestyle and fitness program on track can make all the difference in your long-term success.
"It can help reduce the risk of heart disease, stroke, and certain cancers, as well as strengthen bone, muscles, and joints," Adams said.
Regular exercise and proper nutrition "have been shown to improve levels of happiness, increase energy levels, and increase your chances of living longer. It can also improve sleeping habits and sleep quality and help you build a stronger immune system," she said.
Changing Bad Habits
Dietitian Leah Roberts said she tries to "reframe" her patients' triggers for bad nutrition that can contribute to weight gain. Roberts is a licensed dietitian and certified diabetes care and education specialist at the Army's Kimbrough Ambulatory Care Center at Fort Meade, Maryland.
Her primary recommendation is that overweight service members should cook their meals at home or eat at their installation's dining facility where there are freshly cooked hot meals and other healthy foods available three times a day.
Avoid meal delivery services, Roberts suggested. During the COVID-19 pandemic "we've created a new culture of fast food and delivery service" that leads to unhealthy eating, she said.
Too much work and after-work or after-school activities frequently lead to settling for comfort foods or convenience foods because there just doesn't seem to be time to shop for healthy foods, Roberts said.
Her second recommendation is to "avoid sodas, juices and sweet tea.” They are full of sugar and empty calories.
Tip number three on Roberts" list: "Have a plan."
"People struggle the most about how to have food that is nutritious, easy to have on hand, and easy to prepare during busy weeknight schedules," she said..
Her most important component, she said, is to encourage small goals that are modifiable but consistent.
For instance, she makes her patients' first goal to lose 5% of their body weight. "I deal with people who weigh 220 or 230 pounds. When they calculate how many pounds to lose to get to that first goal, they say, 'I can do this.'"
Psychological Aspects of Weight Loss
Nutrition is a key component to maintaining a healthy body weight. But experts say it’s a mistake to fixate solely on your diet.
There are a host of mental and psychological factors that impact weight, and getting those aspects of your lifestyle and fitness program on track can make all the difference in your long-term success.
Dr. Natasha Schvey, assistant professor of medical and clinical psychology at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Maryland, says the best approach to improving your health is one that takes into account both mind and body.
“I actually think it’s more important to focus on addressing some of the other possible targets of weight management rather than weight loss specifically – things like physical activity, addressing disordered eating attitudes and behaviors, such as crash dieting, reducing body dissatisfaction, and trying to improve ‘intuitive eating,’ which is essentially re-learning to eat according to your internal hunger and fullness cues,” said Schvey.
There is often the misconception that weight loss is a reflection of willpower or discipline – basically, that you can’t lose weight because you don’t want to or you’re not trying hard enough.
“It’s really important to realize that significant weight loss is very, very difficult to maintain psychologically and physiologically,” she said. “Even the best treatments aren’t particularly effective in the long run. That being said, even small amounts of weight loss can be accompanied by tangible and important health gains and benefits.”
She recommended that people “reframe the approach.”
Individuals often adopt weight management plans or programs with an “all or nothing” attitude.
“Rather than thinking, ‘I’m on a diet,’ or, ‘I’m off a diet,’ or, ‘I’m going to start a diet on this particular day’ – instead try to adopt approaches that are more sustainable in the long-term,” Schvey explained. “Also remember that weight is something that is largely controlled by factors that may not be within our control like genetics.”
“There are obvious physical components to this, but weight can be a very fickle friend or foe,” said Schvey.