Far more important than how much or how fast you might lose weight is whether you keep the weight you lose off. Though there is some debate about whether weight cycling (up-and-down weight yo-yo-ing) is unhealthy in and of itself, what is clear is that mentally and physically, it’s demoralizing and defeating.
Generally speaking, the easiest way to be confident you’re not going to regain the weight you lose is to enjoy the life you’re living while losing it. For most, that means staying away from fad, restrictive dieting and embracing an imperfect middle ground that leads to gradual and permanent loss.
Goal setting that is realistic and achievable is helpful, for sure. Ideally, goals should be SMART, which means specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound.
That of course means that while you may hope to lose a certain amount of weight, your goals should focus more on how you plan to get there. This might include keeping a food diary, reducing the number of meals you purchase, or cutting back on liquid calories. In short, the road—not the destination—is the goal.
Although it’s not set in stone, the faster you’re losing weight (especially without medication or surgery), the less likely your lifestyle changes are sustainable. In our experience, more than 1–2 pounds per week often requires changes that are too dramatic or restrictive to maintain long-term.
What’s enjoyable and sustainable for one person may be awful and restrictive for another. That’s why diets rich in variety—especially foods that are filling and lower in energy density—tend to be more manageable. Simple SMART goals, such as reducing ultra-processed food consumption, limiting liquid calories, or including protein with every meal, can be particularly helpful.
Mindfulness can also play a role. Asking yourself, “Is it worth it?” before indulging and, if the answer is yes, following up with, “What’s the smallest amount I need to be happily satisfied?” can help you find balance without feeling deprived.
For many, physical activity plays a role in weight management—not so much through its direct caloric impact, which is often less than expected, but because of the mindset it helps to cultivate. Exercise can also mitigate weight-related health risks, even in the absence of weight loss.
As to which activities are most beneficial, the answer is simple: the ones you enjoy enough to keep doing. Similarly, when it comes to duration, do as much as you can enjoy. Trying to do more than that consistently is likely to lead to burnout.
Short bouts of exercise may also be easier to sustain than longer sessions. Some studies even suggest that people who focus on shorter blocks of activity accumulate more exercise minutes and see greater fitness improvements.
Intentional behavior change is difficult even in the best of times. Recognizing that your efforts may vary depending on life circumstances can help you avoid frustration or giving up when life gets in the way. Factors beyond your control—such as illness, injury, travel, or celebrations—will inevitably arise, but focusing on what you can influence, like sleep (see our post on mastering sleep hygiene), can make a big difference.
Sleep matters both directly and indirectly. Directly, sleep deprivation slows metabolism and increases appetite. Indirectly, it affects your ability to muster the energy and attention required for behavior change. Cultivating healthy sleeping habits, along with stress management techniques like meditation, can help set you up for success.
You might also want to take advantage of the many means to quantify your efforts. From food diaries, to exercise trackers, or even to your phone’s notes app it’s easy for you to keep track of those things you’re hoping to change or incorporate. You might also join online groups or communities dedicated to the same sorts of changes you’re aiming to make and if you’re looking for professional input, registered dietitians and personal trainers may have valuable suggestions to offer.
Your weight loss journey is unlikely to be linear. Plateaus, where progress stalls or even reverses, are a normal part of the process. During these times, it’s important to take pride in your efforts and continue focusing on habits rather than fixating on the number on the scale.
Adjusting your routine, whether through diet or exercise, can help reignite progress. But above all, patience and persistence are key to navigating these challenging periods.
One of the risks of focusing on weight-specific goals rather than behavioral ones is disappointment over weight that leads to you discontinuing your efforts. Your weight goal really shouldn’t have a number but instead should be whatever weight you reach living the healthiest life you actually enjoy - something I coined as Best Weight. Your best weight will vary depending on life circumstances and there will be times where despite your best efforts weight loss may stall or even reverse. If though you respect yourself enough to take pride in your efforts and continue them regardless of the scale you are far more likely to enjoy not only a greater chance of long term success, but also better mental health and self-compassion.
To sum everything up, losing slower than you might like and less than you might hope but actually keeping the weight that you lose off is far more valuable than suffering your weight down only to regain it all over again. Cultivating the healthiest life you can enjoy is really your overarching goal, and if the healthiest life you can enjoy doesn’t lead to a sufficient weight loss to improve your health or quality of life, that may be a sign that it’s worth chatting with your physician about other options that might be available to you to help. And certainly if you’re looking from professional dietetic support with a focus on healthy habits, you might also consider a free consultation (just click this link) with our team at Constant Health to see if we might be of benefit.
There really isn’t a right answer for everyone. Generally though, how fast or how much you lose correlates with how severe your effort and where more severe efforts are less likely to be sustained. Whatever weight you lose living a certain way will tend to return if you don’t continue living that way so the measure of sustainability really is whether you enjoy your life enough while you’re losing to keep living that way.
Again, there really isn’t a right answer. There may be some individuals with easy but impactful changes that might lead them to lose quite rapidly, especially in the beginning. It’s also true that people on obesity medications or following bariatric surgery may see very sustainable early rapid losses.
The healthiest life that you can enjoy undoubtedly also includes your favourite foods. When considering them, asking those two easy questions, “is it worth it?” and “how much do I need to be happily satisfied?” can help in moderating those indulgences’ intake.
