Weight loss benefits sexual health
It’s easy to get discouraged about losing weight. But we’ve got a great incentive for you: a better sex life! A recent study found that two years after obese women had bariatric surgery, many of those who lost around one-third of their pre-surgery weight reported heightened sexual responses, a better quality of life and improved hormone levels.
That helped them sustain their weight loss — or lose even more. It’s an ongoing cycle of rewards! Guys, the sexual benefits of weight loss are just as true for you (80 percent of men with erectile dysfunction are overweight or obese). But you don’t have to undergo surgery to achieve weight loss and gain these benefits.
Adopting a healthy-weight lifestyle that includes walking 10,000 steps daily, eliminating the Five Food Felons (any grain that isn’t 100 percent whole, all added sugars and sugar syrups, and trans and saturated fats) and making sure you eat nine servings of fruit and vegetables a day can help you lose one pound a week and improve your sexual health.
Healthy weight loss will help you shed a poor body image (proved to dampen sexual desire), regain energy (you’ll move around more easily, your heart functions better), and improve your self-confidence. You’ll see pounds disappear, and stay off. NO GOOD FROM STRESS
Did constant stress make “Breaking Bad’s” protagonist Walter White (Bryan Cranston) such an unhealthy, moody guy? Chances are pretty good it did, and it may have made him sick in the first place.
Relentless tension packs a pretty tough punch: It affects how developing immune cells are expressed, even before they’re sent out of the bone marrow (that’s where they’re manufactured) and into your bloodstream. And what’s the expression they adopt? Pro-inflammatory (they’re professionals at revving up trouble). That makes you vulnerable to everything from mood swings and heart disease to autoimmune conditions and even cancer. Plus, stress turns on other pro-inflammatory genes, making it the greatest ager of all. But we can help you de-stress both in the short term and for the long run.
Short-term solutions? Sweat, breathe hard, burn off stress hormones with exercise, walking, sex, you get the idea. Soak in a warm tub with Epsom salts. Relaxing your muscles helps relax the mind. Go for 10 minutes of mindful meditation. Relaxing the mind helps relax the body. Do these stressbusters daily.
Long term? Identify your stress triggers and get help defusing them — talk with a therapist, your family or other advisers. Write out options that would help you unwind. Plot a course of action, and act on it. Then plan for fun! Make time for friends, hobbies, a good book and loved ones in your weekly routine.