Sometimes a stall in your weight loss is just a sign that you need to shake things up. Other times, however, it could be your body’s way of telling you that it’s pretty happy right where it is, thank you very much.
The fact is, a healthy weight doesn’t always look the same as what you see on TV, in fitness magazines, or even in pictures of yourself from 15 or 20 years ago, says dietitian Jennifer McDaniel. If your weight goals are based off those kinds of cues, it can be tough to know when you’ve reached your sweet spot.
So how can you tell? Consider these five important signs. If any of them seem familiar, you might already be at your happy weight.
You’d need a team of pros to help you hit your goal weight.
It’s no secret that metabolism starts to slow down with age, which makes it harder to lose weight. So even though you might have been a certain size when you were younger, it might not be the right size for you now.
“Many times when I ask my clients the last time they were at their ‘goal’ weight, they say high school or on their wedding day. Which often, was years ago,” says McDaniel. And yeah, getting to that weight might still be possible. “But the amount of effort and energy to achieve it and stay there might not be sustainable,” she says.
Of course, there’s no rule saying that your goal weight at age 40 or 50 has to be X amount of kilos more than what it was at age 20 or 30. But if it seems like you’d need a personal chef, a personal trainer and hours of intense daily exercise to fit back into those jeans you wore in university, it might be time to adjust your expectations.
You don’t have any weight-related health issues.
Look at your total picture rather than letting the scale call all the shots, says bariatric surgeon Dr Caroline Cederquist. It’s important to take note of other factors associated with health, like your waist circumference. Ideally, it should be smaller than 35 inches. “That alone has been found to be an accurate predictor of disease risks from excess weight,” she says.
Also pay attention to numbers like your cholesterol, blood pressure and blood sugar. Does your doctor say that they’re where they ought to be? If so, you can feel good knowing that you’re not at risk for obesity-related illnesses like heart disease, high blood pressure or diabetes. In other words, you’re at a healthy size—even if you’re not exactly the weight you’d like to be.
You feel good, physically.
Once you know that you’re meeting the health markers associated with an appropriate weight, think about how you feel. Even if you can’t quite squeeze into your dream size, do the clothes that used to pinch now fit comfortably? Do you have enough energy to do activities or workouts that used to leave you exhausted or winded? These are important milestones that will likely do more for your overall wellbeing than a perfectly taut tummy or dimple-free thighs, so don’t discount them. Remember: “There are many ways to define health,” McDaniel says.
You’re pretty close to your goal weight.
If resistance exercises have been a part of your weight loss routine, you’ve probably put on a little bit of muscle mass—and that’s a good thing! But since muscle weighs more than fat, the scale might not read as low as you were hoping. “Many times, patients will come in wanting to lose 15 kilos. But instead, they lose 10 kilos of fat while preserving their lean muscle mass. That’s absolutely perfect,” Cederquist says.
McDaniel agrees. “The overall goal in weight loss is to minimise muscle loss,” she says. Not only does lean muscle mass help you burn kilojoules, but it's also crucial for helping you maintain enough functional strength for day-to-day activities—especially as you get older. Plus, if you cut too many kilojoules in an effort to lose weight, you may not get enough protein to maintain your metabolism-revving muscle mass.
If you’re within 5 or so kilos of your goal weight, consider using your body fat percentage as a measure of success instead. If it’s within the healthy range (up to 28% for women in their 40s; up to 31% for women in their 50s; and up to 33% for women 60 and over), it might be worth staying at your current weight.
You wouldn’t be as happy if you had to ramp up your weight loss efforts.
If you’ve been consistent with a weight loss routine and the scale just isn’t budging, you might have to take more drastic measures to get to where you want to be—and they might not always be pleasant.
“When we drastically cut kilojoules or over-exercise, our hormones shift to make it easier to hold onto body fat,” McDaniel says. Your body ramps up its production of hunger hormones like ghrelin, making you want to eat more. Stress hormones like cortisol skyrocket too, which can leave you craving unhealthy junk. And you’ll probably find yourself feeling weak and tired, Cederquist says.
Plus, all that extra work might not be worth it. Maybe exercising for two hours a day would come at the expense of spending time with your family or getting enough sleep. Or your constant hunger pangs might put you in a crabby mood. If you’re miserable or you feel like you’re missing out on life’s pleasures, your weight loss plan probably isn’t a smart one, McDaniel says. After all, would life as a size 8 really be that great if you couldn’t ever indulge in the occasional pizza slice or ice cream cone?
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