How much weight loss is enough? How much is too much? Should you even try to lose weight at all?
Here’s What You Need to Know about Weight Loss
- Weight loss does not equal health
- The scale is not the best metric for success
- Keep reading for my suggestions on how to lose weight permanently.
So how do you know how much weight to lose?
The topic of an ‘ideal weight’ is esoteric at best, and destructive at worst. However, if you want to figure out how much you “should” weight, you can use the formula below.
52 kg + 2 kg per inch over 5 feet (dudes)
49 kg + 1.7 kg per inch over 5 feet (ladies)
(For my non-converting American friends, 1kg = 2.2lbs.)
Since I’m 6’4”, ideally my weight would be 52kg + 32kg (2 x 16) = 84kg or 185lbs. Plus or minus 5lbs in either direction should give you a good range.
However, I feel much better being heavier – walking around between 195 and 205 and carrying a little bit more muscle.
Why?
My cousin likes to say:
“The better dressed you are, the worse you can behave”.
I think the same thing applies to weight management. The more muscle you have, the more you can get away with in a diet while still maintaining a lean physique. That’s because muscle takes calories to maintain.
Example:
2 guys are sitting on the couch playing Call of Duty, they both weight 200lbs. Guy A is 170lbs of lean mass (non-fat) and Guy B is 120lbs of lean mass.
Just sitting there for a full day murdering Nazis, Guy A will be burn a significant amount more calories than his buddy. This doesn’t take into consideration activity levels, lifestyle etc. But the bottom line is:
Muscle needs more calories than fat, and higher amounts of muscle equate to a more active lifestyle.
So if you’re looking for a long term solution to yo-yo dieting and weight loss, or if you’ve come to figure out how much weight you need to lose to be happy, stop for a second.
Stop spending time on the human hamster wheel in an attempt to burn calories. Instead focus on the long game. You need to gain more muscle, and let that muscle work for you to burn fat.
Don’t freak out though. More muscle doesn’t mean you need to look like the painted guys stepping on stage in brightly colored thongs. But a simple addition of 10lbs of extra muscle, while losing 10lbs of fat will make you look and feel way better than any time you’ve spent on an elliptical.
Even with a radical change in body composition, the number of the scale remains the same.
Change your mindset with regard to weight loss, body fat, and ab workouts. Being able to exercise, to move, and to play is a gift.
Don’t believe me? Ask any 70-year-old confined to a wheelchair.
It’s a blessing, not a punishment that you GET to go to the gym and improve yourself. Start thinking about the ways you can GROW, that you can BUILD, and you can IMPROVE yourself. This is in stark contrast to the typical mindset of “how much weight loss do I need”, “How much can I lose”, and “I need to burn off that orange mocha Frappuccino”.
Don’t know where to start? A great way is to improve your strength to weight ratio by increasing your strength in body weight movements like pushups, pullups, and squats.
If you go from being able to do 2 pullups (or 0) to being able to do 15 pullups, a couple cool things will have happened.
- You will have gained muscle through the upper body and arms.
- You will have lost body fat (which makes it way easier to do bodyweight exercises)
- You will have gained strength in a functional, obvious way
- You will have gained a new skill that now takes less time to maintain than it did to build up.
Start by trying to double the number of pushups and pullups you can do in a single set. This goal doesn’t take much time, and can pay off big rewards.
If you need help programing bodyweight movements into your current routine, or want a total training and nutrition makeover, check out my coaching options available.
Stop chasing weight loss. Choose to BE MORE.
