This is Part I of Breakaway Limit’s Weight Loss series, a collection of guides dedicated to teaching you the best ways to lose weight according to a pharmacist and backed by science. Table of contents in the link above!
Why Should I Lose Weight?
Losing unhealthy weight should be an important part of your journey to become your best self.
But before you start your final (and successful) weight loss plan, you should figure out WHY you would want to trim your body fat in the first place.
Will a flat belly make you feel more attractive? Or maybe you want to avoid the health and financial consequences of obesity.
It’s important to understand that there is no right or wrong reason to lose weight, as long as it’s something you want for yourself.
But your reason is essential to keep you on the right track. It will motivate you at times when you just can’t be bothered to do what’s best, even when you know you should.
If you’re able to visualize the benefits and results of your weight loss, you’re much more likely to put in the effort to actualize your goals.
Weight Loss Benefits
Healthy weight loss comes with many benefits you may not know of. In fact, habits that promote a healthy weight may even improve your success in life!
It’s been proven that obesity has negative health consequences[1], according to the CDC (Center for Disease Control). Healthy individuals, however, enjoy lower risk of premature death, cancer, and heart disease.
That means you’ll enjoy a higher quality of life AND live longer. It could be the difference between traveling the world on your own two feet or confined to a hospital bed.
Not only can weight loss can impact us physically, but it can be extremely beneficial financially as well.
If you’ve read my post on ways to improve how you invest your time and money, you’ll probably want the best return on investment on your weight loss efforts, right?
The Cost of Weight Loss
Did you know the U.S. weight loss industry was worth $72 billion in 2019?
There’s a reason for this.
But why throw money away when I can give you the information at no cost?
From friends to my patients, countless individuals have asked me about the secrets to weight loss.
My patients probably suffered the most from excess weight. They were fed up with paying for their weight loss medications, and it was my job as their pharmacist to help them save money.
Weight loss medications are especially notorious for their price tag. In order to quantify your weight loss efforts, we need to explore just how much weight loss medications can cost.
Insurances don’t usually pay for weight loss medications. Drug manufacturers know people are desperate to lose weight. With these conditions, the weightl oss medications can cost up $1000+ per month ($12,000+ a year).
Minimum wage employees making $15/hr would have to work 800 hours to cover a year’s worth of weight loss medication. With a 40-hour work week, this totals to almost HALF of their salary!
Even at a pharmacist salary (around $60/hr), that’s still 200 hours worth of work.
But let’s say you perform a 30 minute workout every other day. It would only take 90 hours per year and potentially save $12,000 for the cost of weight loss medications.
That’s like working 90 hours to make $12,000, or about $130/hr AFTER taxes. In order to make this amount after taxes, you’d need to make $200/hr.
The Cost of Being Obese
So far, we’ve only discussed the cost of weight loss medications. If you look at other benefits, you might actually get a MUCH HIGHER return on investment than “just” $200 per hour.
Weight loss results in a higher quality of life and increased physical/mental performance. While I can’t put a price on your increased productivity, health, and wellness, you can certainly determine its worth for yourself.
Losing weight also comes with savings on obesity-related costs. As a reminder, some obesity-related diseases include cancer, diabetes, and heart disease.
Since most new cancer drugs cost $100,000+ a year and diabetes injections can also set you back $1000+ a month, it’s much economical to invest into a weight loss plan instead.
When Losing Weight, Knowledge is Power
It’s so unfortunate that my patients ended up where they are now, simply because they didn’t have easy access to the information or know where to look.
And now they’re paying the price with their medications, their health, and other medical bills they’ll rack up in the future.
While I’m advocating for healthy weight loss, I’m not approving of fat-shaming or bullying. I encourage everyone to be accepting of themselves and others, even as we collectively reject the health and monetary costs of obesity.
Even if we’re carrying some extra weight now, we don’t have to be complacent. We can do better and improve ourselves for tomorrow.
So don’t give up! Once you’ve equipped with yourself with the right knowledge, losing weight can be easier than you imagine.
Next post: Weight Loss Basics
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