A Goal that Makes Sense

JG — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 10:28:00 GMT

I think we all have a magic number in our head somewhere. An ideal weight that we put up on high pedestal. Every bite we eat, every step we walk, all centered and focused on that goal.

But what if that number was just...well...a number? What if it was an unattainable number? What if that number was actually UNhealthy for us?

When I was in high school and early college, I weighed about 130 pounds. I remember at my lowest weighing 118. It would be tempting for me to believe that I should set my current weight loss goal to a number in that range. In the past, I have done just that. However, I would give up and fail, because my body composition is not the same then as it is now. That number is not achievable for me. Why?

Well, simply because I am stronger now than I was then. Thanks to hormonal and life changes, I have more lean mass. What we NEED to be tracking is our body fat. Because ultimately we want to lose fat, not weight. We want to hold on to our muscles, and our bone density. Especially as we age! For women we should be shooting for about 20% body fat. For men, a bit lower to about 12%.

I challenge you to borrow, or try, or buy a body fat calculator. You can find them in any sports store or retailer of scales. Some scales even have this function built in.

Here is an example of how an unattainable goal can sabotage our efforts:
a 5'4" 225 pound woman sets a goal of 120 pounds as her "ideal body weight" based on height and BMI charts
She faces a huge and seemingly insurmountable about of weight to lose. She might lose a significant amount, but when unable to reach her goal, she will most likely give up, and sadly statistics show that she will gain most of the weight back.

If this same woman had taken her body fat % measurements and tracked them over time, she would have found that at 225 and 33% body fat, she was carrying around 150 pounds of lean body mass! with a goal of 20% body fat, her ideal weight should have been more like 175-180. She would have been lean, and muscled, and healthy at a much different scale weight number than she would have ever probably thought. Trying to reach 120 pounds would have meant sacrificing muscle and would have quite possibly negatively affected her health.

It is worth noting that if you are just getting started, and you are overweight or obese, you will naturally be carrying more lean mass than a thinner person. Your body has had to work harder to support itself! Set realistic, attainable goals to keep you motivated. Tracking your fat loss, instead of just your weight loss, will put you ahead of the game. You will start to appreciate that the number on the scale is just that...one number. With strength and resistance training, and a healthy body fat %, you will look better than you did in high school even if you "weigh' more.

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A Goal that Makes Sense