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How much weight should you lose?

What is a realistic tempo of losing weight? If you're overweight or obese, you'll probably answer: "As much as possible" or "All my excess weight".

There are many areas in life where one must differentiate between the ideal (or dream) and reality.

Of course it would be highly desirable to lose every gram of excess weight that you've picked up over years of incorrect eating, splurging and doing very little exercise, but it's essential to be pragmatic and take a good, hard look at what you can actually achieve and how long it will take you to reach a specific weight-loss goal.

Realistic goal
Research indicates that the most realistic slimming goal for the majority of overweight individuals is to try and lose 5-10% of their weight. 

The researchers found that a 5-10% loss is not only more feasible than aiming for mega-losses, but that even such a modest decrease in weight can have very positive effects on a wide range of obesity-related risk factors (diabetes, heart disease, arthritis and many more).

Take this example:

Mrs X, a woman of 40 with three children, is 1.65m tall and weighs 87kg. Her BMI = 32, so she is classified as obese. She desperately wants to lose weight and has set her goal weight at 68kg, which would be within the normal range for her height.

This would mean that she has to lose a whopping 19kg, which could take up to 25 weeks or more if she maintains a weight loss of 0.5 to 1kg per week.

So, for nearly 6 months, Mrs X will have to stick to a very strict diet, exercise nearly every day and constantly motivate herself to maintain her resolve. This a tough prospect and it's doubtful that she will achieve this kind of discipline. Mrs X is, after all, only human. To complicate matters, weight-loss statistics show that Mrs X’s chances of achieving her strict goal are very small.

Negative effects
If Mrs X sets herself such a highly idealistic, but practically unachievable goal, she may not succeed. This will have a devastating effect on her self-image. She will feel that she has failed and may sink into a depression and start overeating again.

All these reactions are very negative and may discourage Mrs X from trying to control her eating habits and exercising in future.

Positive effects of realistic goals
If, on the other hand, Mrs X had set out to lose a more realistic amount of weight such as 9kg or 10% of her starting weight, the chances are good that she will achieve her goal within a manageable period of about 11 weeks or 3 months.

Imagine how positive Mrs X is going to feel when she reaches her target weight of 78kg. She will feel proud that she has accomplished the goal she set out to achieve and will be motivated to stick to a balanced, low-fat eating plan and to continue with her exercise programme.

This will have positive spinoffs for maintaining her lower weight and gradually lead to further weight losses.

What's more, research indicates that even modest weight losses of between 5% and 10% cuts the risk of death due to complications of obesity by 20%, the risk of obesity-related cancers by up to 50%, and the risk of deaths due to diabetes by up to 40%.

- (Dr I.V. van Heerden, DietDoc, updated April 2011) 

Any questions? Ask DietDoc

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