It is not uncommon for weight to fluctuate from time to time, occasionally causing gasps and grief when you step on the scale. In some instances, however, weight gain can become unhealthy. This often occurs after pregnancy, during times of extreme emotional stress, and when damaging life habits are maintained for any prolonged period. Excess body weight becomes problematic when it affects your heart health, mobility levels, and overall sense of well-being.
Body Mass Index
Although many people recognize that they are overweight, they are often surprised to meet the qualifications of being classified clinically obese. If your body mass index (BMI) is 30 or higher, you are likely obese. You can calculate your BMI by dividing your weight in kilograms by your height in meters squared. A BMI of 24.9 or lower is considered to be healthy, but 25 or higher is considered overweight. There are a number of people with BMIs that greatly exceed 30, and yet these individuals believe that obesity is solely reserved for people who can no longer get out of bed or walk without assistance. This, however, is simply not the case.
Symptoms
Sweating profusely when engaging in light physical activity and breathlessness while walking are both possible signs that your weight is spiraling out of control. People who carry excess body weight also tend to snore heavily and have problems sleeping. As the soft tissues fall to the back of the throat while obese people are lying prone, they may even find themselves startled out of their sleep and gasping for air. Chronic feelings of fatigue and perpetual joint pain are other signals that your body will start to send when it becomes overwhelmed by poor dietary choices, lack of exercise, and excess fat stores.
Overcoming Obesity
People struggling with obesity have often been on countless crash diets and tried numerous products and programs that promise rapid results. If you have tried diet after diet with limited or no success, now is the time to start looking for a more effective and longer lasting solution.
Working with a nutritionist will help you to focus on establishing healthy life habits, rather than putting yourself on strict, deprivation diet plans and striving towards short-term goals. You have to learn how to nourish your body properly, and this is not something that you can do when eliminating entire food groups or subsisting on a limited array of food choices. People tend to be more successful in their efforts to shed pounds when they make a series of modest and manageable changes over time. When the goal is to become healthier, get more energy, and feel better overall, it becomes much easier to stay motivated with help from a nutritionist.
