How often have you lost weight, only to watch the scales creep back up? Diets don’t work – at least not by themselves. Experts will tell you time and again that the secret of sustainable weight-loss without the tiredness, cravings and inevitable weight gain is a slow steady modification of your eating and exercise plans.
A good way to start diet and exercise modification is to find one thing in your life that you can change. You could be drinking too much tea or coffee or eating to much chocolate or snack food. Begin there. Stop or reduce your intake of one of the foods or drinks that you know are bad for you.
Setting realistic achievable goals is the key to success. By doing this you will always be succeeding in the things you have set out to accomplish. Make each goal small and attainable. When you have reached it reward yourself with something tangible and real. Rewards only count if they are worth working towards. Each small goal you set is a step towards the end goal that you are working towards. In many people, the biggest frustration and the reason for giving up is that the goals are set unattainably high.
Traditionally, weight-loss goals were based on reaching an ideal weight, as defined by height-weight charts. More recently, 10% reductions in body weight have been suggested as successful outcomes. There are many factors that support such a change in thinking. Perhaps the most compelling is that many weight-related conditions, such as diabetes and high blood pressure, are significantly improved with weight-losses of 5%–10%, even if individuals remain considerably overweight.
Although various experts have endorsed the success of a 10% weight-loss, it is unclear whether persons attempting to lose weight agree with this view. Recently, physicians at the University of Pennsylvania asked 60 women beginning a weight-loss programme: "What is your goal weight?" They also asked them for a weight that fit the following four descriptions:
- Dream Weight: A weight you would choose if you could weigh whatever you wanted
- Happy Weight: This is not as ideal as the dream weight. It is a weight, however, that you would be happy to achieve
- Acceptable Weight: A weight that you would not be particularly happy with, but one that you could accept since it is less than your current weight
- Disappointed Weight: A weight that is less than your current weight, but one that you could not view as successful in any way. You would be disappointed if this were your weight after the programme.
The doctors conducting the study compared their patients’ responses to the new modest weight-loss recommendations discussed above. There was a striking difference. The study participants, who weighed an average of 218 pounds, chose an average goal weight of 149 pounds - a 69-pound weight-loss! This represented a 32% reduction in body weight - an amount three times greater than the 10% recommendation.
Even more surprising was the amount of weight-loss that participants felt was necessary for success. A 37-pound weight-loss (17% reduction) was "disappointing and not successful in any way" and a 55-pound weight-loss (25% reduction) was only "acceptable, but not one that I would be happy with". Taking these high expectations into account, it wasn’t surprising that almost half (47%) of the patients did not even achieve their "Disappointed Weight" after 48 weeks of treatment.
The average weight-loss that the patients achieved was 35 pounds (16% reduction). This study suggests that most people beginning weight-loss programmes have goals that are unattainable. No treatment, except surgery, produces the weight-losses (32% reduction) desired by the study participants.
Consequences of Unrealistic Goals
Unrealistic goals leave many people feeling unsuccessful even after significant weight-loss. Rather than feeling proud of their weight-loss and developing skills to maintain it, many can only focus on how much more they have to lose. This is an example of a well-known psychological truth: satisfaction with any outcome is determined by the difference between what actually happened and what was expected to happen.
The study mentioned above, found that people’s satisfaction with their weight was more related to how close they came to their goal weight (chosen before the programme began) than it was to their actual weight-loss. So, people 10 pounds from their goal were more satisfied than those who were 20 pounds from their goal, no matter how much weight they lost. There is, therefore, the very real danger that dissatisfaction with weight-loss, combined with frustration when unrealistic goals are not achieved, will lead to overly aggressive methods to lose weight, perceived failure, abandonment of weight control efforts, and eventual weight regain.
Changing Expectations
What can be done to change unrealistic expectations? One important approach is to counter the mythology surrounding the establishment, attainment and benefits of particular goal weights.
Myth: "That’s what I should weigh based on my height."
Fact: It’s a nice idea that everyone who’s the same height should be the same weight, but it’s just not true. Weight is affected by many factors such as genetics, metabolism, number of fat cells, eating habits and physical activity. Among these, height is probably the least important.
Myth: "I can reach my goal weight because I’ve been there before (when I got married, before I had children, when I was in the army, the last time I lost weight…)."
Fact: That was then, and this is now. Your weight at a previous point in your life gives you limited information about whether that weight can be attained or, more importantly, maintained. Your goal weight is most appropriately based on the here and now. Is the caloric intake and exercise required to reach and/or maintain your goal realistic for you at this time?
Myth: "I won’t get all the benefits of weight-loss until I reach my goal weight."
Fact: Many studies have shown that medical conditions like diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol are significantly improved by a 5%-10% reduction in weight, and losing more weight doesn’t necessarily result in additional improvements.
Myth: "That was my goal so I have to stick with it."
Fact: No goal is set in stone. In many other areas of your life, you set goals and then modify them as you become aware of what can realistically be achieved. Why should weight-loss be different?
Myth: "My actual weight makes a difference."
Fact: Weight, itself, is not important. It’s just a number. What’s important is the effect that weight has on you. Focus instead on whether the negative effects of excess weight have been reduced with the weight-loss that you have achieved. If this has occurred, and your overall health and quality of life has improved, is your actual weight really that important?