When the year 2000 arrived, many people were ecstatic. The new century had begun and there were so many positive changes that we could all be a part of. Unfortunately, as we know, life doesn’t always move in a straight line and a new decade soon followed the turn of the millennium.
Now approaching the next decade, many people are finding it much harder to be motivated to lose weight. In 2019, around one in every five Australians was classified as obese. This is compared to one in every seven people in 2016 and one in every nine people in 2015.
So what is driving this growing obesity problem? More people are choosing to stay in their comfort zones, gaining weight as a way of life. Studies suggest that social media and the internet are partly to blame. We’re constantly bombarded with unrealistically skinny models and celebrities and social media creates a distraction, making it easier to eat whatever we want.
What can put you in the right mindset to lose weight? Let’s explore.
Diet And Exercise
Diet and exercise are always two of the mainstays of a weight loss plan. If you’re looking for quick fixes, this is where you’ll find them. Cutting back on your meals and hitting the gym regularly can help to shed those extra kilos. This is especially true if you combine the two strategies. The dieting and the exercising separately each have their advantages. When you combine the two, you get a winning formula for weight loss.
Dieting has many advantages. For one thing, you can control what you’re eating. You have a clear picture of how much you need to shed and what works best for your body. Cutting back on certain foods and adding others can help to shed the weight. It also forces you to look at your choices more closely, ensuring you consume only healthy foods.
Exercising has many advantages as well. It builds your muscles, helps to keep you motivated and is good for your mental health. However, you must work at getting the right exercises for your body. If you have a look at the Australian Fitness page on the internet, you’ll see there are hundreds of different types of workouts, all requiring specific equipment. This makes it difficult to know where to start. Even if you have the will, it’s not easy to keep motivated when you don’t see results right away.
While dieting and exercising are crucial to any weight loss program, they aren’t the only factors. What else could be helping to drive this increasing obesity rate?
Insecurity
It is no secret that people struggle with their bodies. We all feel insecure about something or other about our physical appearance. Maybe you’re not getting the results you want from your diet or maybe you feel like you’re not as skinny as you’d like to be. Whatever the case, there is always something that makes you insecure.
When you lose that insecurity, you gain a sense of freedom that is indescribable. Now, you may not want to lose all of your insecurity, but knowing what is causing you discomfort can give you a good head start to addressing it. Is there something you’re feeling insecure about? Whether it be your hips, your thighs, or your stomach, there is almost certainly something you can do to feel better about yourself.
You shouldn’t be afraid to talk to your doctor about your concerns. They can help to put you on the right track to a healthier lifestyle and healthier body. Even if you don’t feel that you have an addiction, or you’re just looking for a way to lose a few pounds, they may be able to suggest a few helpful tips.
Thin-Casting Culture
There is a lot of pressure to look a certain way. Many Australian women feel that they have to fit into a “thin-cast” mould. Now, this is not to say that there aren’t plenty of fat-pennies out there, but for the most part, society puts the pressure on girls, especially athletes, to have a slim figure. This leads to a lot of competition and an unhealthy obsession with weight loss.
Australia recently celebrated its bicentenary, which is a significant milestone. During these two centuries, we’ve seen many changes. One of the most significant is the increasing number of people who are overweight or obese. In the 19th century, Australia was one of the first places in the world to recognise the link between food and energy consumption and health. It has also seen a big increase in the treatment of mental health issues. However, while there are many positive changes to celebrate, there is still a long way to go.
As a nation, we need to look at what drives this growing obesity problem. The combination of increased social media usage and a culture that promotes thin-casting and overeating are putting a significant dent in our health. We will continue to see an increase in obesity, so long as we remain inactive. It’s never easy to be motivated to lose weight, but now is the perfect time to start.