I weigh 157 lbs. I should weigh 130. What should I do?

Now this is a very broad question but I will attempt to highlight the most important issues about it. This person had been looking at charts that said she should weigh 130 pounds. Without considering anything else, she was telling herself that she should weigh 130 lbs. Before jumping to any specific number for weight you should consider the following:

• What are you doing (with food, activity, etc.) to encourage your body to burn fat?
• How consistent are you in engaging in these activities?
• Are you or have you dieted stringently in the past (which reduces metabolism and makes it more difficult to lose fat)?
• Psychologically, what are you doing to focus on the positive and encourage yourself rather than beat yourself up about your attempts to be leaner?
• What does your normal body type and that of your family tend to be?

1. If you aren't engaging in behaviors that encourage fat burning, it makes no sense to expect yourself to be at a lower weight.
2. If you aren't being consistent with these behaviors, it makes no sense to expect yourself to be at a lower weight.
3. If you are dieting stringently (undereating) and have engaged in a lot of this type of dieting in the past, you have encouraged your body to slow it's metabolism making it easier to gain fat and harder to burn it. First you have to work on increasing metabolism through increased activity instead of focusing on a number.
4. If you're beating yourself up a lot and being generally negative about your weight, you're going to make it harder to reach any kind of goal. Work on this first and fat burning will become easier--focus on behaviors, not numbers.
5. If your set-point (the inherited weight range that everyone's body tries to maintain) is above 130 (more about set point in another blog entry), you'll have to rethink your goal because it may be unattainable. Regular exercise of an aerobic nature is the only way to increase metabolism and, therefore, decrease ones set-point semi-permanently (until you quit being a regular exerciser).

Considering all of the above (and more that we haven't mentioned), it makes more sense to focus on behaviors, not numbers. Keep it simple by setting your mind and your goals on all of the behaviors that will lead to your body burning more fat. Then you're doing everything in your power to produce the leanest body that is possible for you. The number isn't important. Your body doesn't need you except to follow through with the behaviors. It will take care of the rest. If you're going in the direction of getting leaner, then you're doing the right thing--relax and stop being so hard on yourself.

That Time of the Year Again

It's that time of the year again. All the TV shows that give advice to people are having segments on starting your 2009 diet, how to lose those pounds from the holidays and so on. This could be the first year in a long time that you will decide that you will not buy into the gimmicks anymore. This time you will focus on gradually changing your lifestyle to one that will take you, not only in the direction of getting leaner and fitter, but more importantly, in the direction of making these changes last a lifetime. Remember the tortoise and hare? The hare is like the people who go on diet after diet only to lose weight and regain it time and time again. The tortoise knows exactly what he is doing and keeps his focus even when the hare seems to be passing him by. The tortoise will reach the goal before the hare even if at a slower pace. The tortoise wins.