Rethinking the Relationship Between Health and Weight Loss
For years, the idea has been drilled into us that shedding excess pounds is the golden ticket to better health. Television adverts, magazine covers, and even well-meaning friends and family all seem to repeat the same mantra: “Lose weight, and you’ll be healthy.” But what if we’ve been looking at it backwards? What if real, lasting health isn’t about the number on the scales, but about the choices and changes we make in our day-to-day lives, and weight loss is simply a pleasant side effect?
The Weight Loss Trap
Many people set out on their health journeys with the sole aim of losing weight. Diets are started, gym memberships purchased, and entire lifestyles are upended, all in pursuit of fitting into smaller clothes. While it’s true that carrying excess weight is linked to certain health risks, obsessing about weight alone can actually be counterproductive. Quick-fix diets and extreme exercise regimes might shift the scales in the short term, but they often come at the expense of long-term well-being.
Why Weight Isn’t the Whole Story
It’s easy to assume that a thinner body is a healthier body, but that’s not always the case. Crash diets and unhealthy weight-loss fads can lead to muscle loss, nutritional deficiencies, and even problems with metabolism. Some people might lose weight but end up feeling tired, irritable, or even unwell. In fact, studies have shown that people can be “skinny fat”, appearing slim but carrying unhealthy amounts of visceral fat around their organs, and lacking in basic fitness or strength.
Health Is More Than a Number
True health is holistic. It’s about how you feel, how you move, and how your body functions. This includes maintaining good nutrition, engaging in regular physical activity, getting sufficient sleep, practising effective stress management, and fostering positive relationships. Focusing on these pillars of health often leads to natural weight loss, but more importantly, it improves your quality of life. When you prioritise nourishing your body, staying active, and taking care of your mental health, your body finds its own healthy balance; sometimes that means losing weight, sometimes it doesn’t.
Getting Healthy: The Real Priority
Shifting your mindset from weight loss to health gain changes everything. Instead of restrictive diets, you might focus on eating more vegetables, drinking enough water, and cooking meals from scratch. Rather than punishing yourself at the gym, you could find movement that you enjoy, be it walking the dog, dancing, or cycling to work. Instead of chasing a certain weight, you celebrate feeling more energetic, sleeping better, or having the stamina to play with your children.
Weight Loss as a By-product
When you focus on getting healthy, weight loss often follows naturally. Your body responds to being well-fed, well-rested, and well-cared for. There’s less temptation to binge on unhealthy snacks if you’re not feeling deprived or stressed. Your metabolism works better when you’re moving regularly and sleeping well. Most importantly, you build sustainable habits that last a lifetime, not just until the next fad diet comes along.
Losing weight doesn’t automatically make you healthy, but getting healthy can help you lose weight and, crucially, keep it off. By putting your wellbeing first, you’ll not only look better, but you’ll feel better too. So next time you’re tempted by a quick-fix diet or a dramatic weight loss promise, remember: your best self is built on healthy habits, not just the number on the scales.
