February 7, 2018 | Categories: Weight Loss & Nutrition
Did you set a concrete weight loss goal that you can reach this month? Do you have a number in your mind that you’d like to weigh by next month? Or what you’d like to weigh in three months? (Hint: If it’s your high school weight you probably need to readjust.)
You’ve heard us say before that tracking what you eat can help you stick to a healthy eating plan and possibly lose more weight, but if you’re not setting the a realistic monthly weight loss goal, as well as an action plan for how you’re going to achieve it, you might not hit your target. What does willpower have to do with weight loss?
“Look at weight as just one of the indicators of progress but don’t let it be your sole indicator of progress,” said Torey Jones Armul, MS, RD, CSSD, Columbus, Ohio, spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
How to lose those last 10 pounds.
“I think with an appropriate challenge deficit for diet and exercise, you can aim to lose a half pound to one pound of weight loss per week, so that would end up being about two to four pounds of weight loss per month as a goal,” said Armul. “That goal could be done in a very healthy and sustainable way,” she said.
For some of you, four pound doesn’t sound like much in a month and perhaps you’re envisioning 10 to 15 pounds of fat gone from your frame. Check out these 14 portion control tips to help you lose weight fast.
“For many people, those numbers aren’t high enough…especially when compared with the fad diet that promises you can shed 5 pounds in one week,” said Armul. “But, I am all about [setting a goal] you can stick with for good and this one will help you think of your diet plan as a lifestyle.”
“There is so much more you can do with a goal than just looking at numbers on a scale,” said Armul. Simply measuring your “weight loss success” with the output that a little box in your bathroom says is tricky because, ultimately, it’s out of your control and it’s affected by other things like lean muscle mass, which you could be building while losing fat, Armul said.
“I suggest looking at strength gains you’ve made,” said Armul. If you were curling 8-pound dumbbells last month and now you’re at 10-pounds in each arm, that’s a leap of progress. If you can deadlift another 10 or 20 pounds now, write down that success and reflect on it. You’re getting stronger! You’re building a lean, muscular physique.
Look at measurements of success that are more under your control than the scale, suggested Armul. “When people are too focused on a number on the scale, it can really actually do more harm than good. They might say, ‘I’m already two pounds up, I might as well order dessert tonight.’ People tend to kind of either give up too easily or kind of make some irrational choices based on where they see happening on the scale sometimes,” she said. Don’t make these diet mistakes that prevent lean muscle gains.
Read the full article on MuscleandFitness.com.
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