Managing Expectations

Today I am inspired to talk about a touchy subject. Let me begin by saying that in no way do I want you to feel discouraged, but I want you to understand it does happen.

Where's your tenacity?

Losing weight is a long, arduous journey in which few succeed. I believe part of the high failure rate is because people set unreal expectations for themselves. When losing weight, it is healthier to take your time. Slow weight loss = permanent weight loss. If you do a crash diet for three weeks and lose 30 lbs (very scary, don't do it), you are much more likely to gain it back quickly once the diet is over. It is MUCH easier to gain weight back than to lose it, trust me! :) Plus, taking your time to do things the right way gives you an opportunity to learn along the journey. Learning how to love yourself at any weight, learning how to fight unhealthy urges, learning how to say "no" and "yes" to the right things.

So, you say, how much weight loss is healthy? Experts give a range of about .5lb-2lbs per week. I honestly thin that 1 lb a week is the healthiest, most measurable way to do it. Here's what I figure: one pound of fat = 3500 calories. So, divide that amount (3500) by the number of days in a week (7) and you'll have the amount of calories you need to eat less of every day in order to lose one pound a week, 500. Thus, if you eat 500 less calories every day, you will lose one pound a week at your current activity level. If you burn more, eat less, you can expect to lose more. If you just burn 500 calories, that still puts you at a deficit for the day, which can also get you down 1 lb a week. I don't know many people who want to take 1000 calories out of their diet, although many people may be eating about 3,000 calories per day, but I think this is an unreal expectation.

So now you say, what can I expect to lose if I stick to my regimen and keep a deficit of 500 calories per day? Well, theoretically, you can expect to lose one pound a week, but (of course there's a ''but'' here) that isn't entirely true. There are so many factors that attribute to weight loss, not to mention the inconsistency of food, eating, environmental factors, exercising, etc. that it is difficult to say exactly. There may be some weeks where you can lose 2 lbs and some where you wont lose any. You may lose some weight very quickly and then plateau. If you do reach a plateau, that means you have to change something about what you're doing (blog post on weight loss plateau to come).


My takeaway for the day is, don't set yourself up for failure. Set small, achievable goals, and not just weight loss. Achievement goals like, "today I want to cook all three meals for myself." Or, "no alcohol except on Friday of this week, and then, just a couple glasses of red wine." In fact, don't keep a scale in the house. Mark your weight loss on the improvements you've made for yourself, not the number you see on the scale. Pat yourself on the back for not eating that stash of Halloween candy. Don't beat yourself up if you don't see the change on the scale you thought you would. These things take time. It took me a good year to lose 50lbs and another good year to build strong, lean muscle. Along the way I learned a lot about food, life, happiness, and even more about the way I think and feel.

Take the time to enjoy the journey! I guarantee that crossing the finish line will feel so much better!

See? Look how happy she is!

Have a healthy day!