How Big Dreams Sabotage Your Weight Loss

The option to “super-size” isn’t just a fast-food abomination. Americans want to super-size their weight-loss goals too—and that can be damaging, too.

More than 70 percent of respondents to a new survey reported that they believe overweight Americans need to lose at least 20 percent of their weight to improve their health. More than one-third of survey respondents said that overweight people need to lose at least 30 percent of their weight.

More from MensHealth.com: Outwit the Leading Weight-Loss Traps for Guys

So what’s the problem? Studies show you only need to drop 5 to 10 percent of your weight in order to drastically improve your health if you’re overweight. Just a 5 percent drop in body weight can improve blood sugar, blood pressure, and fat content in blood, says Robert. F. Kushner, M.D., a professor at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and the clinical director of the Northwestern Comprehensive Center on Obesity.

Setting an initial weight-loss goal of more than 10 percent can set you up to burn out, says Dr. Kushner. And from a biological point-of-view, people can lose 5 to 10 percent of their body weight before their bodies start to resist the weight loss as a survival mechanism. The result? The pounds won’t fall off as quickly as when you began your diet, Dr. Kushner says, which makes it easy for people to become frustrated and give up.

More from MensHealth.com: Belly Off! Success Stories

If you’re trying to lose weight, set an achievable goal in a realistic time frame. “Peoples’ weight-loss expectations are often double or triple what’s reasonable,” Dr. Kushner says. “Instead, you need to first set short-term milestones and second set non-weight metrics—goals that aren’t dictated by the scale.”

Step 1: Hop on the scale and compute 5 percent of your current body weight. That’s your first, short-term milestone.

Step 2: Decide some non-weight-related goals, such as fitting into a pair of slacks that have been too tight to wear for the past year, tightening your belt one notch, or feeling less winded after climbing a flight of stairs. These victories will keep you going if the number on the scale stalls.

More from MensHealth.com: Set Better Goals to Lose Weight

1. Prev:Lose Your Gut without Hating Your Life
2. Next:Do You Think Like a Fat Person?