Obesity – have you checked the price tag?
Chloe Ting’s two-week shred. Kale salads, topped with bland turkey and misery. A slow burning guilt as you realise those clothes from 2016 won’t fit over your leg. Despite the surge of unhealthy body positivity driven by the likes of Tess Holliday, being fat isn’t something to take pride in. Obesity is a disease, albeit a complex one. Bluntly speaking, if you’re fat, you’ll be paying the price – and we don’t mean metaphorically.
As someone who’s struggled with yo-yo dieting, weight gain (and the mild despair that comes with all of that) losing weight and maintaining that loss is a challenge. You may begrudge the thought of paying for a gym membership or detest the sight of health bars serving up protein smoothies.
What if I can’t afford a healthy diet?
You could argue that healthy food is more expensive than cheap – which, it can be. Fruit and vegetables seem horrifically expensive in comparison to a stack of chocolate bars. But there are ways around this.
Opt for cheaper cuts of meat, dried foods and frozen fruit/veggies. Marinating is key here, too! Investing in a basic spice rack is a great way to add flavour and variety to your meals, too. It just takes a bit of ingenuity and willingness to try new foods.
Food is a source of comfort – I’m not willing to give that up.
Let’s talk about body image. Regardless of how slim and healthy we are, 99% of us have insecurities. It’s natural. But for a fat person, the likelihood of having those hang-ups is higher. Why would someone who feels awful about their body risk being gawked at in the gym, or laughed at as they jog through the park? When these anxious thoughts creep in, it’s hard to shut them out. This mindset can lead to further negative choices, like choosing for a greasy takeaway over walking to the supermarket for fresh, healthy ingredients.
The truth is this: many overweight people are trapped in a toxic cycle between their weight, bank balance and mental health. They believe they can’t, so they don’t. Exercise, salads, personal training – it takes discipline and willpower. And this mindset isn’t something that can be magicked up – you have to want to get better.
Let’s look at the statistics.
The average UK citizen spends about £451 per annum on takeaways, according to one study. Let’s say this citizen is called Joe. One day, Joe decides he’s fed up with takeaways and sweet snacks and wants to lose some weight. He stares at himself in the mirror as he declares that he’ll do anything – pay anything – just to be slim again. Within minutes he discovers weight loss tablets, deliver-to-your-door meal preps and a sketchy-looking subscription to a “fitness guru.” In gleeful naivety, he throws his money to these get-ripped-quick schemes, praying he’ll look like Channing Tatum by Christmas.
But as the weeks go by, he steps into his overdraft and his BMI stays rooted in place. Joe loses motivation. He hurls the remaining weight loss pills out the window and orders a KFC, admitting defeat.
Its not just the monetary cost
Obesity is not just a cosmetic or social problem, it needs to be acknowledged as a serious medical condition. One that is responsible for a host of other health issues:
Type 2 diabetes
High blood pressure and elevated blood cholesterol
Liver disease
Bone and joint problems
Respiratory problems such as asthma
Sleep disorders such as (sleep apnea)
Fertility issues
Skin infections
Fatigue
In addition to these, stroke, cancer and heart disease are on the increase with a direct relationship to obesity.
A study conducted on 10,000 people in the UK showed that Overweight and Obese people feel they are treated differently in the workplace due to their size.
Losing weight doesn’t have to be expensive if you stay consistent in your efforts and accept that weight loss doesn’t happen overnight, you’ll see results.
If, however you do need a boost and the chance to alter your mindset why not consider a Very Low Calorie Diet (VLCD) such as Lighterlife which gives you quick weight loss and cognitive behavioural therapy to help you change your eating habits and provide you with tools to help you with long term weight management success. The full meal replacement plan costs between £40-80 a week which many people say saves them money when they are not buying a weekly shop, nights out, takeaways and gym memberships. Not to mention those expensive ‘quick fixes’ you may have tried over the years.
If a meal replacement diet isnt for you, then why not consider The Keto Diet which changes your mindset around which foods you should be eating.