Weight Loss Goals

After our first week, we now have a clearer sense of what we hope to accomplish in this program as well as accurate data about our activity and nutrition habits from the Fitbits.

Many participants wrote in our first week’s survey that one of their goals for this program was to lose weight.  A large group of participants also listed overal improvement to their health or to live a healthier lifestyle as a goal.

I thought it important to note how many of us have the same goals so we can build a more supportive community.  We are all in this together as many of us work towards similar goals.

It is also important to understand what health is when we list it as a goal.  Although we could all probably spot a healthy person on the street, very few of us may come up with the same answer to “What is health?” if we were to write it down.

I want to encourage all of you to write down your own ideas of what health is to you, what does it mean in your life, and how does it fit into this program.  You may find that you have many more smaller, clearer goals to focus on.

The World Health Organization defines health as “a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.

For many, having improved health is feeling more secure, having more energy, greater flexibility, laughing or sleeping more.  The list goes on.  Which of these ideas of health resonate most with you?

Does losing weight equate to improving your health?  Many of us will agree that it does.  Some of us may not.  It’s an interesting question that I will leave up to you to think about.  With that, I wanted to share an article from the New York Times about the “Obesity Paradox” where shaping your goals around “health” may not support your weight loss ideals.  This is food for thought, of course, and I encourage you to determine what goals are best for you.