Your best friend is obese. She tells you she wants to lose weight, but feels defeated just by how much she has to lose. She says she wishes she could drop 50 pounds in a month, so she could be motivated by the health benefits that kind of weight loss will bring. What advice can you give her regarding healthy weight loss goals and when she might begin to experience health benefits?

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Depending on initial body weight, a reasonable rate of loss for overweight adults is ½ to 2 pounds a week, or 5 to 10 percent of body weight over 6 months. For a person weighing 250 pounds, a 10 percent loss is 25 pounds, or about 1 pound a week for 6 months. Such gradual weight losses are more likely to be maintained than rapid losses. Keep in mind that pursuing good health is a lifelong journey. Those who are most successful at weight management seem to have fully incorporated healthful eating and physical activity into their daily lives.
Even modest weight loss can improve blood glucose and reduce the risks of heart disease by lowering blood pressure and blood lipids, especially for those with central obesity. Improvements in physical capabilities and quality of life become evident with even a 5-percent weight loss. For these reasons, parameters such as blood pressure, blood lipids, or even vitality are more useful than body weight in marking success. People less concerned with disease risks may prefer to set goals for personal fitness, such as being able to play with children or climb stairs without becoming short of breath. Importantly, they can focus on healthy eating and activity habits instead of weight loss.