Around this time of year we get so many questions from our clients revolving around goal weight: what’s a good goal weight; what if my weight is hovering right above my goal but I can’t lose any more; is this goal realistic? For many people January marks the season of New Year’s resolutions and most of them revolve around weight...which is why we wanted to take a minute to answer the questions we most often get about setting a weight goal. Q: How should I go about picking a goal weight? A: Think about the reason why you want to make this goal. Is it so that you can get off medication, or get out of pain? Is it so that you can feel confident in your skin and fit the clothes in the back of your closet again? Your WHY is what is going to determine a goal. It’s important to keep in mind that your goal should be something that motivates you, not something that causes you stress or anxiety. Weight goals should be fluid...keep in mind that you can be the same weight or maybe just a few pounds lighter and look completely different...it just depends on why you want to make a change. A good way to set a goal is by body fat percentage, especially if your WHY is health related. For women, a healthy body fat percentage is under 24%, for men under 18%, so it’s important to find out where you’re starting and perhaps create small goals over time that will amount to how you want your body composition to look like. If you’re already relatively lean, that means that if you truly want to lose weight then you will have to come to terms that you’ll likely lose muscle mass too. Q: I’ve been stuck about 5-10 lbs above my goal weight for a REALLY long time...does this mean my goal is unrealistic? A: The first thing to look at is how you feel. Do you feel amazing where you are currently? If the answer is yes, then don’t sweat it! If you still feel like you’re not quite where you want to be and you’re stuck then it’s time to take a closer look at your nutrition, there are probably some minor tweaks that you can make that will help you close the gap. Additionally, if you’ve been dieting for a long time and haven’t been able to lose that last 10 lbs then maybe it’s time to take a break from your diet. Go back to maintenance calories if you’ve been in a deficit for quite a long time; often this is the break your body needs, and then when you go back to a deficit you’ll see those last few lbs fall off. One thing to keep in mind is that when you are first starting on the journey to reach your goals you have a lot more wiggle room to make mistakes while still seeing results. As you get more dialed into your nutrition and you start losing weight, the closer you get to your goal the less wiggle room you have in order to keep losing weight. Q: Should you have the same body weight goal your entire life? A: The easy answer is no, but it really depends on what success looks like to you. Having a rigid goal that doesn’t shift no matter your life circumstances often sets someone up for failure and really unrealistic expectations. Where people experience the most success is when they allow their goals to be fluid with their lifestyle; meaning if they go on vacation it’s okay to gain a few lbs, or if they start a new stressful job it’s okay to not exercise as frequently which may cause you to gain a little weight. As life changes your goals should change too. Think about the old adage: if you can’t bend, you break. No matter your question about weight, always keep in mind that weight is only ONE marker of progress. Others could be tape measurements, clothing sizes, energy, posture improvement, and discipline. Weight is important, but don’t let it drive you crazy; always think about WHY you are doing something, and once you reach your WHY know that you’ve reached success.
