Weight Loss Goals
Updated on July 28, 2007
There's a common question when starting a weight loss plan: What goals should I set? Some experts say that your first goal should be 5 lbs. Some experts say that you should aim for losing 10% of your body weight. Some say that your ideal weight is your goal. Who's right?
The Goal of a Weight Loss Program
When you are on a weight loss program, your goal is to lose weight. As long as you are losing weight, whether it's a 1/2 lb. (or kg) or 5 lbs., you are succeeding. The goal is progress. Don't worry about deadlines and quotas. Just make progress.
The Ultimate Goal
If you aren't suffering from body dysmorphic disorder, then you're probably losing weight because you want to achieve and maintain a healthy weight. Even if you are only losing weight to look good, it is the healthy weight that is most attractive to most people. If you are trying to have more energy, a healthy weight will allow you to have more energy. Your ultimate goal is to have a healthy weight.
A healthy weight varies from person to person, but you can figure out what your healthy weight range based on body mass index (BMI).
The number on the scale are like a thermometer. A thermometer tells you temperature, but it doesn't tell you how you how you feel about the temperature. Humans naturally want to avoid being excessively hot or excessively cold because either extreme can harm us, so there is a healthy temperature range. However, on a more individual level, some people like it warm and sunny, while other people like it cool and crisp. Likewise, the scale can tell you how much you weigh and help you determine if you are in a healthy weight range, but it can't tell you how you feel about that weight. If you feel more comfortable at the higher end or lower end of the healthy range, let yourself relax in that part of the healthy weight range. Don't try to reach a certain number just because your favorite actor or athlete is at that number or because an "expert" tells you that a single specific number is your ideal weight.
The Purpose of Weight Loss
You don't really want to reach a healthy weight just for the sake of having a healthy weight. What you really want are the things that you think you can get from having a healthy weight. Maybe you want more energy, better health, to look more attractive, confidence from accomplishment, more flexibility in your sex life, the ability to sit comfortably in an economy class seat on an airplane, the reputation of being athletic, the reputation of not being lazy, etc. These are the true goals, the true marks of success, that you should always keep in mind.
...by Feed