Maintaining a healthy weight is not always easy. As you age, lifestyle factors, a lack of exercise and diet can quickly start to add to your waistline. Unfortunately, gaining weight does not just affect your appearance. It can also increase your risk of cancer, high blood pressure, stroke, heart disease and diabetes. By maintaining a normal weight, you can lower your risks for a wide range of health problems.

A healthy weight is important for helping you enjoy life and remain healthy. When someone is obese or overweight, they have a higher risk of breathing problems, hypertension, type 3 diabetes and gallstones. You are more likely to suffer from infertility, snoring, cataracts, asthma, arthritis and sleep apnea.

On average, adults gain one to two pounds a year between the ages of 18 to 49. People who had a weight increase of 11 to 22 pounds after the age of 20 had a three times higher risk of developing high blood pressure, heart disease, gallstones and type 2 diabetes than people who gained five pounds or less. Meanwhile, people who gained more than 22 pounds had a much larger risk of suffering from these diseases. Adult weight gain can also increase the risk of postmenopausal breast cancer among women.

Maintaining a healthy weight can automatically start to lower your risk for heart disease, cancer, diabetes and other illnesses. For every 33 pounds of excess weight, your risk of dying increases by 30 percent. An obese individual lives up to 10 years less than someone with a normal weight. By losing weight, you can lower your risk of breast cancer since abdominal fat increases breast cancer risks by 43 percent.

If you are trying to have children, you need to have a healthy lifestyle. Peak fertility happens when your BMI is between 20 to 24 as a woman. Up to 12 percent of infertility cases are caused by weight-related problems. A higher weight impacts your menstrual cycle and ovulation, so you need to reach a normal weight to have children.

A minor weight loss lowers your risk of having diabetes. It also reduces plaque build-up in your arteries. In terms of lifestyle, the right weight can motivate you to exercise and improve the quality of your sleep. Belly fat hurts your lung function, which makes deep sleep harder. By reaching a healthy weight, you reduce your chances of having sleep apnea and boost the quality of your sleep.

How to lose weight

While you probably know that you should stay at a normal weight, the problem is figuring out how. Two of the easiest things to do is skip sugary drinks and stop watching television. While fad diets may lead to short-term weight loss, the best diet focuses on lifestyle changes. Eat plenty of fruits, vegetables, nuts and beans. Since your mind confuses thirst and hunger signals, you should also make sure to drink plenty of water.

If you need a mental boost to get started, hypnosis for weight gain can help. Hypnosis retrains your brain to enjoy eating healthily and working out. It helps you to modify your habits painlessly so that you naturally begin to lose weight. Before long, you can cut your disease risks, enjoy better sleep and look great in your favorite clothes.