Don’t Make Weight Loss a Goal

Weird title, right? Though I’m sincere in my advice here to not make weight loss a goal! I know it’s tempting because weight loss is something that can be easily measured. But here’s the deal, current research shows that a focus on weight loss has not resulted in leaner healthier bodies. In fact, studies have shown that a focus on intentional long term weight loss has not been successful most of the time. Further, in many instances a pursuit of weight loss as a goal has led to a number of negative consequences like body dysmorphia, disordered eating, cycles of weight gan and loss, negative feelings about oneself with the cycles of weight change. So, where does this leave us?

This leaves us with the opportunity to consider a paradigm shit in our fitness goals, to replace weight loss, or the pursuit of thinness, with instead to learning to cultivate healthy habits. After all, there is a difference between weight loss and intentional weight loss. When we take our weight out of the equation and focus on enhancing our health, eating for well-being and moving more to feel better increases the likelihood of becoming healthier, whether or not we lose weight.

Here’s the other thing, it is far more rewarding to focus on the things we can control, our healthy habits, rather than on an outcome, weight loss, that is far more complicated and is a result of things we can and cannot control. The conclusion here is to consider accepting the research that clearly shows weight loss shouldn’t be accepted out of hand as the best goal to set. The far better goal to set is for good health at any size, changing one small habit at a time.