Happy Weight and How Much Is Healthy To Lose In A Month

happy weight & how much is healthy to lose in a month

Think back to the last time you were radiating confidence and positivity, vibrating at such a high frequency it was contagious, and navigating your day with boundless energy… What did you weigh? Perhaps, even more important: did you even care about your weight? Likely not. Your happy weight is the weight you radiate confidence and positivity, vibrate at a high frequency, and navigate your day with boundless energy.

As I’ll share with you in this article, your happy weight has little to do with the actual number you see on the scale and is likely a weight not nearly as low as you think. After reading this article, you’ll understand how to find your happy weight, as well as what mistakes to avoid as you begin to work toward it.

Your Happy Weight Has Nothing to Do with the Number on The Scale

Your happy weight has nothing to do with the number on the scale…

Allow me to explain.

Behind the mask of your current desired weight is a collection of feelings or emotions. When you set a weight loss goal, it’s really the collection of feelings that you’re chasing, not a number on the scale.

Think about your current goal weight right now…

Why did you select that number?

Chances are, you weighed at or near that amount previously. The reason that number comes to mind now is that it was a period in which feelings of confidence, joy, control, certainty, serenity, and inner peace were present.

If you take a deeper look, it wasn’t that scale number that served as the root of your positive feelings, rather this was the byproduct of you making yourself and self-care a priority!

This Number On The Scale May Be Higher Than You Think

A common occurrence during my nearly 10 years working one-on-one with almost 1,500 people was observing how much their goals and relationship with the scale evolved during our time once they learned how to take a sustainable approach to weight loss. 

For instance, it was common to have someone share a weight loss goal of 25 pounds with me only to find that after they lost 15 pounds, they no longer felt the need to continue seeking weight loss because they felt so good.

Why does this occur?

When you learn how to slow down and take a patient, long-term approach to weight loss (compared to diving headfirst into the latest fad diet your friend is doing), as well as to enjoy simply prioritize you and self-care, many wonderful things begin to happen, including improved:

  • Mood
  • Wellbeing
  • Energy
  • Exercise performance and recovery
  • Appetite management
  • Craving control

Alongside feelings of confidence and control with your food choices whether you’re at home, dining out, or navigating a social occasion.

All of these positive changes are a part of the recipe to achieving the feelings you’re really chasing and when you experience this on a more consistent basis, the number on the scale means less and less!

How To Find Your Happy Weight

The first step to finding your happy weight has nothing to do with figuring out a goal weight. Instead, you need to gain clarity on the emotional state or collection of feelings you’re chasing.

Is your current state of inconsistent self-care, negative self-talk, toxic thoughts, and counterproductive habits breeding the feelings you desire?

Below is a list of some of the most frequent feelings shared with us when we pose the question “how do you truly wish to feel?” to our members of both The 5% Community and The 5% Fundamentals Program, but you can click here to expand this list to over 50 more emotions, courtesy of our friends at Healthline, to help you gain clarity.

Most Common Responses: “how do you truly wish to feel?

  • Energized
  • Confident
  • In control
  • Calm
  • At peace
  • Strong
  • Healthy

This is important – do not skip this step.

Identify Action Steps

Once you’re clear on the emotions you’re seeking, step number two is to make a list of three to five action steps that you can begin taking regularly to bring about those feelings. 

For instance, if feeling energized is something you wrote, you may consider one or more of the following action steps:

  1. Drink at least 75% of your current body weight (in ounces) on a daily basis
  2. Aim for 8,000 steps per day
  3. Commit to at least three workouts per week
  4. Spend at least 15 minutes outside daily

Once you have this list, select one specific action step first and begin to work towards consistent execution of that action for at least three weeks before seeking to add an additional action step. 

Less is more here – start slow.

What will end up happening if you follow the steps outlined above is you’ll quickly begin to feel better – specifically, feeling the emotions you’re seeking on a more regular basis, which, in turn, will motivate and encourage you to take more consistent action to keep those feelings around.

The result?

A cycle of positive, self-care actions occurring regularly that will ultimately contribute toward a happy default state alongside a happy weight. 

How to Find Your Happy Weight

  1. Identify the real emotion or feelings you’re seeking.
  2. Make a list of three to five actions steps you can take to achieve this feeling(s).
  3. Select one action from that list and work toward consistent execution for at least three weeks before moving on to another from that list. 

How To Achieve Your Happy Weight

Reminder: you’re allowed to feel happy now and don’t have to delay feeling good about yourself until you reach that weight.

Now that you understand the weight that truly brings you the most happiness and joy (and also understand that it’s about more than just the number on the scale), it’s important you take an approach to this happy weight that is sustainable. Meaning, you can achieve your desired happy weight and stay there. For good.

I cannot recommend spending time working on building a foundation of healthy habits rooted in individualization, simplicity, and sustainability enough before you begin targeting weight loss. If you simply dive into a diet by immediately slashing calories and carbohydrates you’re simply paving a path that will lead to guaranteed (rapid) weight regain just a short while later.

To make this easier to achieve, we’ve put together a workbook designed to teach you how to do just that – click here or the image below to download and begin reading. 

Once you feel you’ve gained clarity on your happy weight, remember that being able to sustain your happy weight (and those specific feelings) is far more important than simply achieving that weight.

Taking A Sustainable Approach To Weight Loss

A sustainable approach to weight loss is losing 0.5 – 1.0 percent of your body weight per week. For example, a 200-pound person should target a rate of weight loss of 1.0 – 2.0 pounds per week.

Additionally, we’ve found the ideal diet duration for most people to fall somewhere between six and eight weeks – enough time to see significant results, yet, not too long to make maintaining those results increasingly difficult.

Using the same example from above, our 200-pound person can expect to lose between six and twelve pounds during a six-week diet and between twelve and sixteen pounds during an eight-week diet.

Let me quickly address the elephant in the room: some of you reading this may think that losing only six to ten pounds is insignificant. 

I hear you. 

And I urge you to consider this:

Would you rather… 

A) lose 24 pounds in eight weeks only to regain that weight a short while later and find yourself back to where you were 12 months ago after three successful diet attempts (but failed maintenance periods)

OR

B) lose 10 pounds, maintain that weight loss for a few months, lose another 10 pounds, maintain that for a few months, and confidently sit 20 pounds down at the end of the year without feeling deprived and truly feeling as if you’re at your happy weight…

I’ll let you answer that. 

I’ll Weigh In on One Final Item

Did you see what I did there…

Remember that the scale never defines you.

There’s so much more to life than letting the scale influence your emotions and set the tone for the day. 

You’re beautiful and loveable at your current weight but if you do desire to weigh less, we can’t encourage you enough to follow the steps outlined above to work toward your happy weight so that you can truly remain there for good.

If this is something that has eluded you for some time, we’d love to teach you exactly what to do to take back control of your eating habits to confidently lose the weight you desire and keep it off within our 5% Fundamentals Program

The 5% Fundamentals Program is a three-month introductory crash course experience to my signature Significant Sustainable Weight-Loss Formula that focuses on providing you with the why behind essential pre, during, and post-diet changes to help guarantee sustainable weight loss. 

This program and coaching experience will teach you the most important information and strategies you need to build a foundation of healthy eating habits that empower you to best prepare for a successful diet, to execute a successful diet that delivers significant weight loss while feeling easy (yes, you read that right), and to maintain your hard-earned results without sacrificing your social life.

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Paul Salter

Paul Salter is a Registered Dietitian and Founder of The 5% Way. Since 2013, Paul has worked one-on-one with nearly 1,500 men and women, helping them to collectively lose tens of thousands of pounds of body fat and keep it off for good. He’s also published nearly 1,000 articles, two books, and 175 podcast episodes (and counting) on all things related to our five core elements of sustainable weight loss.
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2 Comments

  1. […] It’s a natural physiological response from the body when faced with a diet and when you recognized this is occurring, you can proactively get ahead of it to keep your weight change trend heading in the right direction of your happy weight.  […]

  2. […] I wrote in a previous article entitled, “Happy Weight and How Much Is Healthy To Lose In A Month,” behind every scale-based goal we set is actually a collection of positive feelings that we’re […]

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