Lockdown Weight Gain? 10 Great Reasons To Lose The Extra Pounds
Ten ways to a healthier lifestyle after lockdown
The average weight gain in the UK during lockdown was around half a stone! Add that to all the yummy treats we consume during the summer holidays and winter 2021 is set to leave us all with more curves than we might like moving forward.
There’s no need to feel bad about gaining weight during such a traumatic time for the world. Things have been hard and not everybody sought solace in Joe Wicks’s PE videos on Instagram. That being said, here at Abbey Road Dental, we know the importance of good general health for your whole body, including your oral health.
Now that we’re socialising again and things are getting back to normal, it’s a really good time to think about losing those extra pounds for better health. If you need a little bit more inspiration to boost your health, here are 10 reasons to lose weight after lockdown:
Boosting Heart Health
The British Heart Foundation tells us that 28% of adults in the UK are obese, and obesity increases the risk of heart and circulatory diseases. Luckily, getting to a healthy BMI and boosting your health boosts your heart health, keeping your heart strong and healthy. You can boost your heart health by:
- Maintaining a healthy weight for your age and height
- Eating low-fat foods like fish, poultry, beans, nuts and low-fat cheese
- Minimising your processed sugar consumption
- Eating colourful fruits and veggies
- Eating lots of whole grains
- Eating less salt
- Exercising at least 30 minutes a day to a point where you get breathless
Avoiding A Risk To Your Oral Health
Being overweight and unhealthy can lead to a higher risk of gum disease, bad breath and other oral health issues. We can provide you with extra support if your oral health is suffering from a diet lapse following the pandemic. Our NW8 hygienists have a wealth of experience and tools to maintain your teeth and gums, keeping them as healthy as possible whilst you move towards a healthier lifestyle.
Long-term, even with regular appointments at Abbey Road Dental and a good oral hygiene regime, a bad diet and lack of exercise will still take its toll on your teeth and gums. With a healthier lifestyle you can boost your oral health levels, prevent tooth decay, reduce your risk of gum disease and even increase the blood flow to your gums.
Boosting Joint Health
Putting on excess weight puts a lot of stress on your joints, which have to continue to function under strain.
Weight gain also causes inflammation in the entire body and especially the joints, causing painful swelling that can lead to avoiding movement, or even being completely immobile. By losing weight, you reduce that inflammation in your body and you take the stress off your joints, leading to more comfortable mobility and ease of movement.
Reducing Your Diabetes Risk
Being overweight or obese increases your risk of getting type two diabetes. In fact, a UK diabetes charity states that about 80-85% of increased obesity risk is caused by obesity, and those who are obese are 80 times more likely to get type two diabetes than those with a healthy BMI. Type two diabetes can cause very serious issues with your eyes, heart and nerves, and even increases your risk of needing amputation at some point.
Feeling Good About Yourself
The weight you feel healthy and happy at is individual to you. However, many people can feel self-conscious or less confident when they have gained weight. If you relate to that, it’s a good reason, amongst others, to lose that weight to feel good about yourself again.
Boosting Your Digestive Health
When you are overweight or obese you are are a higher risk of digestive diseases like gallstones, pancreatitis and acid reflux, amongst others. By eating healthy foods and exercising, you not only lose weight but you boost the health of your digestive tract.
Reducing Your Risk Of Sleep Apnea
Sleep apnea can be caused by many different issues, but being overweight increases the risk of you suffering from it because your neck fat increases and blocks your upper airway as you sleep.
This process causes a person to repeatedly stop breathing through the night, putting pressure on the heart and causing daytime sleepiness and even a risk of high blood pressure. If the apnea is caused by being overweight, you can quickly stop it happening, or reduce the risk of it happening by losing weight.
Reducing Your Cancer Risk
Being overweight and obese is the second biggest cause of cancer in the UK and more than 1 in 20 cancer cases are because of a weight problem. This is because the increase in fat cells can send signals to other cells in the body to divide more often, which can lead to cancer.
Giving Your A Mood Boost
Eating a healthy diet and exercising more boosts your mood in multiple ways:
- Exercise gives you a happy hormone boost.
- Healthy foods like bananas, nuts and sesame seeds carry tryptophan which is converted to serotonin (the happy hormone).
- You feel more energetic and confident in yourself, which boosts your mood.
Helping You Saving Money!
Eating a diet made up of wholefoods can be expensive, but it can also be really cheap. Less meat, more legumes, whole grain rice and healthy canned and frozen foods can really cut down the grocery bill cost. Not to mention the money you save cycling to work…
Abbey Road Dental hopes that the above ten reasons to lose that extra lockdown weight has inspired you to seek a healthy change in your life. We’ve all been through a lot, and you are not alone in getting through it with some indulgent food.
However, the time is right to get back to a healthy weight and thrive, as we come through this virus and hopefully into a happy, healthy new normal.