Weight Loss for Real

So I’m getting married in a few weeks, and I was recently browsing a bridal discussion board. One woman said she wanted to lose 45 pounds for her wedding. While the time frame of 8 months was perfectly reasonable and healthy – most experts consider 1-2 pounds per week to be healthy weight loss – this goal concerned me.

For one, did your fiancé propose to you as you are? Don’t your friends and family love you as you are?

Presumably, there was no ultimatum for this girl from other people, and she wants to lose the weight for herself.

BUT…

She said she wanted to lose the weight for the wedding. And to me, this means “I want to look skinny in pictures,” or “I want to look amazing on my wedding day (because I think I look slightly less than amazing currently).” Don’t get me wrong, I want to look amazing on my wedding day too.

HOWEVER…

As a health educator, I get concerned when people want to lose weight for a particular event, e.g. wedding, reunion, etc. While those are good jump-start motivators and provide a specific and measurable timeline for a weight loss goal, losing weight for an event does not necessarily translate into life change and enduring weight loss.

I probably sound like an echo from the Biggest Loser when I say weight loss is about life change. For a bride who has 45 pounds to lose to be at a healthy weight for their body type, this is not about dropping pounds to fit into your dress, this has to be about changing habits and mindsets.

I understand full well the battle with weight – I’ve lived it. Just over 5 years ago, I weighed over 200 pounds and had a Body Mass Index (BMI = weight-height ratio) of 34 (30 and above is considered obese). I came to a point where I felt very unhealthy and decided to become more disciplined about my diet and exercise. In my first 6 months, I lost 25 pounds and felt awesome. For about 2 years, my weight plateaued and I was perfectly content. My diet and exercise routine were just that – routine. Then I decided to set a fitness goal for myself: to run a marathon. As a result of training for the marathon, I lost 30 pounds. I had changed very little about my diet, increased the intensity and duration of my daily exercise, and totally changed my mindset.

All of my weight loss has been very gradual and has come as a result of mindset not focused on weight loss, but focused on other goals: feeling healthy and fit. And this is what I would recommend to anyone.

You can say you want to lose X number of pounds by a certain date, but you’ll need smaller, specific goals and plans to reach your overall weight loss goal. So consider setting diet and fitness goals like these:

Run (and finish) the Annual Spring Fun Run 5K on April 23.

Play and walk 18 holes of golf with my son at the Father-Son Golf Tournament on June 11.

Starting Monday, cut back to 1 can of soda per day.

Eat a piece of raw fruit or vegetable with every meal for 1 week.

Notice these are SMART goals. SMART stands for:

Specific

Measurable

Attainable

Realistic

Timely

Obviously, diet and fitness goals won’t look the same for everyone. You’ll want to set goals based on your lifestyle.

Another key tip: It really helps when you have a partner in crime! Find someone (friend, co-worker, family member, spouse, or partner) who will work towards those specific diet and/or fitness goals with you. Social support is key to maintaining motivation and regular, mutual encouragement. And there’s a lot of research showing the effectiveness of peer support in long-lasting health behavior changes.

Note: I’m not a physician or a dietician, so I can’t make specific recommendations. I speak from personal experience. What worked for me, will not necessarily work for everyone.