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Most people have a target weight in mind that they'd like to reach and maintain where
they think they look their best. This is only natural. But too many people set goals for
themselves that are not reasonable. When setting these goals, I can't overstress how
important it is to be practical.
I've had many patients come to me for weight reduction with entirely unreasonable
expectations. Even those people who are supposedly "going by the charts" can be
misled because those charts often don't take into account various body structures and
individual differences.
A woman patient will come to me. She'll be 5 feet 6 inches, with medium bone
structure, weighing in at 215 pounds. She'll stand there and look me in the face and
say, "I want to get down to 115 lbs," though this is totally wrong for her. Her "ideal
weight" would probably be somewhere in the 135-145 range. She'd be in trouble at
115. It just wouldn't be healthy.
Unrealistic goals can also be very counterproductive. If a woman weighs 180 pounds
and says she's going to get down to 125, that can really work against her. She may
lose 20-25 pounds and find herself in the 160 pound range and holding for one
reason or another. But instead of feeling proud and motivated, and thus knowing that
she'll be able to break her holding pattern, she's got it in the back of her mind that
she's still got 35 pounds to lose. She gets discouraged and this can really play havoc
with her overall dedication to a sensible diet.
Instead of setting these "ideal weight" goals, I think it's far better to put your goals on
a weekly basis (like the 1.5-2 pound loss outlined above). Best of all, I think it's
wisest to keep the scale locked up except for the occasional use and measure your
progress by the way you look and feel.
The best way to do this is to forget setting weight goals and, at the beginning of your
diet, establish a mental image of how you want to look. It can be your own mental
picture of a successful you or the overall look of a friend or somebody else you know.
I've helped thousands of people lose weight over the last 20 years and, for most, this
devotion to achieving your mental image seems to work far better and provide
superior motivation to weighing yourself.
Besides, the reason you're losing the weight is to get the body you want. I think it's far
better to keep that realistic body image you're shooting for in your mind and measure
your progress according to it. Think of the way you want to look and feel. What do you
want to see in the mirror looking back at you? That's your goal, not some arbitrary
number on a scale that might or might not indicate your level of fitness, health and
attractiveness.
So, don't pick a goal weight. You can keep a running weekly total on pounds and
inches and measure your body fat progress with your calipers. If you have access to
equipment that will measure total body fat, use it. Men should keep in mind that
ideally they should maintain a body comprised of around 10 percent or less body fat.
Women should be at or lower than 18 percent.
Whatever you do, don't make weight your final destination. Its how you look that is
important. Pick a realistic body look that you'd like (remember that most of us aren't
going to make Fabio or Cindy Crawford territory) and strive for it. This is much more
likely to motivate you and it's also a more accurate barometer of your progress. If
you're doing things right on the Diet, it will show up in the mirror quite
clearly. You don't need the scales or charts.(1)
they think they look their best. This is only natural. But too many people set goals for
themselves that are not reasonable. When setting these goals, I can't overstress how
important it is to be practical.
I've had many patients come to me for weight reduction with entirely unreasonable
expectations. Even those people who are supposedly "going by the charts" can be
misled because those charts often don't take into account various body structures and
individual differences.
A woman patient will come to me. She'll be 5 feet 6 inches, with medium bone
structure, weighing in at 215 pounds. She'll stand there and look me in the face and
say, "I want to get down to 115 lbs," though this is totally wrong for her. Her "ideal
weight" would probably be somewhere in the 135-145 range. She'd be in trouble at
115. It just wouldn't be healthy.
Unrealistic goals can also be very counterproductive. If a woman weighs 180 pounds
and says she's going to get down to 125, that can really work against her. She may
lose 20-25 pounds and find herself in the 160 pound range and holding for one
reason or another. But instead of feeling proud and motivated, and thus knowing that
she'll be able to break her holding pattern, she's got it in the back of her mind that
she's still got 35 pounds to lose. She gets discouraged and this can really play havoc
with her overall dedication to a sensible diet.
Instead of setting these "ideal weight" goals, I think it's far better to put your goals on
a weekly basis (like the 1.5-2 pound loss outlined above). Best of all, I think it's
wisest to keep the scale locked up except for the occasional use and measure your
progress by the way you look and feel.
The best way to do this is to forget setting weight goals and, at the beginning of your
diet, establish a mental image of how you want to look. It can be your own mental
picture of a successful you or the overall look of a friend or somebody else you know.
I've helped thousands of people lose weight over the last 20 years and, for most, this
devotion to achieving your mental image seems to work far better and provide
superior motivation to weighing yourself.
Besides, the reason you're losing the weight is to get the body you want. I think it's far
better to keep that realistic body image you're shooting for in your mind and measure
your progress according to it. Think of the way you want to look and feel. What do you
want to see in the mirror looking back at you? That's your goal, not some arbitrary
number on a scale that might or might not indicate your level of fitness, health and
attractiveness.
So, don't pick a goal weight. You can keep a running weekly total on pounds and
inches and measure your body fat progress with your calipers. If you have access to
equipment that will measure total body fat, use it. Men should keep in mind that
ideally they should maintain a body comprised of around 10 percent or less body fat.
Women should be at or lower than 18 percent.
Whatever you do, don't make weight your final destination. Its how you look that is
important. Pick a realistic body look that you'd like (remember that most of us aren't
going to make Fabio or Cindy Crawford territory) and strive for it. This is much more
likely to motivate you and it's also a more accurate barometer of your progress. If
you're doing things right on the Diet, it will show up in the mirror quite
clearly. You don't need the scales or charts.(1)
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