How Do Your Genes Fit? When thinking about losing weight, you have to consider heredity. "Look at your parents, siblings, aunts, and uncles," says Georgia Kostas, R.D. "If they're generally big people or have a common problem – such as a thick waist – you may have to take that into account. In setting realistic goals for yourself, you may not be able to drastically change the size and shape of your body or the propensity to gain weight at a certain age." Does that mean it's hopeless to try? Not at all, says Kostas. You can still improve your eating and exercise habits and get to a healthy weight for your body type. And here's something else to observe: your family's eating and exercise patterns. If family members are typically sedentary and tend to prefer high-fat, high-calorie foods, these unhealthy habits may be contributing to the overall "look" of the family. And these are things you really can do something about!

Will There Be Sabotage or Support? Everyone will support your efforts at losing excess body fat and getting healthier¾and then applaud the results when you reach your goal. But it doesn't always happen that way. Sometimes our efforts to lose weight are thwarted, not only by others but occasionally by ourselves. Could you be stopping yourself from losing weight? Think about what you may be gaining by staying heavier. Sometimes people put on weight to psychologically protect themselves. This way, they blame everything on being overweight. "If I were thin, I'd get a better job." Or "If I lost weight, people would like me more." If you do feel this way, your attempts at weight loss may actually backfire. It’s a good idea to seek counseling first to see if weight loss will be hampered by any underlying psychological problems. Then again, other people¾even the people closest to you¾may somehow discourage you or sabotage your efforts because they feel threatened by the idea of a "new you." Your husband may fear that if you lose weight, you'll feel more attractive and leave him. Or your girlfriend may become jealous as you become leaner. How to spot a saboteur? Beware of someone who keeps bringing in food that doesn't work with your eating plan, keeps trying to get you to eat out, or makes you feel guilty about not eating the fattening dessert that they made just for you. That person, subconsciously or not, is gunning for you to fail at weight loss for psychological reasons of his or her own. What to do? Seek support where you can find it, such as with a qualified nutritionist, weight-loss support group, or therapist

Perhaps your sister's wedding is coming up in two months or you’ll be attending a high school reunion. Or maybe it’s the smell of sand and suntan lotion in the air that’s compelling you to shed some weight.

Whatever the reason for your decision to diet, timing is everything. That’s the case whether this is your first venture out on the diet trail or you’re a diet-trail veteran. Your readiness, both psychologically and physically, can make the difference between a vain struggle to drop pounds and successful weight loss. If the time’s right, you’ll not only lose weight, you’ll keep it off, too.

Read on to determine if you’re truly ready to take the weight-loss plunge.

Should You Lose Weight?

The answer, believe it or not, is not an automatic "yes." The desire to look like the latest waiflike model, for instance, is not a good reason to diet. But here are the good reasons:

1. You've put on a substantial amount of weight since age 18

According to JoAnn Manson, M.D., with the Harvard Nurses Health Study (the largest ongoing study of women's health), women who have gained 11 to 18 pounds since young adulthood have a 25 percent increase in the risk of heart disease in later life compared to women who have not gained weight since young adulthood; if they’ve gained 19 to 24 pounds, the risk increases by 57 percent; and if they’ve gained between 25 and 40 pounds, the risk increases by 92 percent

So a weight gain of 40 pounds since young adulthood nearly doubles the risk of heart disease. If you’re in that category, you should think seriously about a healthy weight-loss plan to help lower your weight and your risk. Fortunately, studies show that even a modest drop of a few pounds can lower your risks for obesity-related disease.

What if you’ve gained a more modest amount of weight since your early 20s? That’s actually fairly normal, according to Manson, and may not mean you have to lose weight. "A weight gain of 10 to 15 pounds should not be a cause for alarm but should be used as a warning signal to make lifestyle changes, such as reducing fat in the diet and increasing physical activity, to prevent more substantial weight gain," says Manson.

There’s also more to consider than the number on the bathroom scale. "If you've been eating a low-fat, healthy diet and exercising, then some of the weight gain could be muscle," says Georgia Kostas, R.D., director of nutrition at the Cooper Clinic in Dallas. The key is what kind of weight it is. If your clothes still fit, the gain could be lean body tissue (muscle). It could also be normal fluid fluctuations due to hormonal changes. However, says Kostas, "if the extra weight is flabby, it's probably fat."

Should you use a height-weight chart as a guide? This is somewhat controversial, since the weight charts themselves have been "gaining and losing weight" over the years – often confusing the public and professionals alike as to what the ideal height-weight ratio should be.

"We never go by weight charts," says Cathy Nonas, M.S., R.D., director of a nutrition and weight management center at St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Center in New York City. "Instead, we look at patients' typical weight patterns¾how much they've gained, how long they stayed at a comfortable, healthy weight¾and go from there in determining weight loss."

Another clue is your fat distribution. Look in the mirror. Have you gained around the waist and belly? Or have your hips and thighs expanded? Research indicates that upper-body fat is more dangerous for your health than the fat that collects on the lower body, so it's definitely worth trying to shed abdominal fat. But here's the good news: Abdominal fat comes off faster than excess baggage on the lower body.

2. Your cholesterol, blood pressure, or blood sugar levels are abnormally high

This is probably the best reason for losing weight: Your body is already telling you that the extra pounds are affecting your health and could lead to big trouble¾such as heart disease, diabetes, and some cancers¾down the road. But take heart; you don't have to lose all the extra weight immediately. "Studies show that a small weight loss, just 10 to 15 percent, can bring tremendous improvement in blood pressure and blood lipid [fats including cholesterol] levels," says Nonas. In other words, if you weigh 140 pounds and drop 14 pounds, you'll be much healthier even if your goal is to lose 25 pounds.

3. You drag yourself through the day, huff and puff up the stairs, and your joints ache

This is another good reason for dropping a few pounds. But here's where exercise comes in. Even if your eating habits are healthful, you need exercise to give you the stamina you need to keep up with the demands of work and household responsibilities (and maybe some fun thrown in). In fact, daily exercise and a more active lifestyle may be all you need to trim down and get conditioned. "You may really need to lose fat and not weight," says Kostas. "Exercise will help you build muscle, which not only tones your body but also helps you burn more calories."

Now here's who shouldn't lose weight. If you suspect you have an eating disorder – anorexia, bulimia, or compulsive overeating – seek professional help before trying to lose weight. The same is true if you've been told you have a body image problem. Many women become obsessed with losing weight, even when their clothes still fit and there's been little or no weight gain.

Another thorn: If losing weight is not your own personal goal but that of someone else¾such as your husband, boss, or mother¾don't try it; you won’t succeed in the long run unless you’re doing it for you.

Mind Over Body Weight

As with any major endeavor, losing weight starts in your mind, with a commitment to reach your goal s-l-o-w-l-y and surely. But in order to do that, there are several psychological considerations:

Stress

Choose a time to lose weight when you’re under minimal stress. Don’t start a weight-loss program when you’re experiencing extra job pressure, marital problems, or grief¾or at holiday time when it's hard to resist food temptations. When there's extra stress in your life, it is more difficult to change lifelong habits.

Before trying to lose weight, it's also wise to understand the role food plays in your life. Do you eat for pleasure, emotional reasons (after a fight with your mother), out of boredom or habit? Keep a journal of what and when you eat to help you zero in on potential pitfalls.

Sacrifice

Nothing is easy, and that's especially true of weight loss. You can count on having to give up some things. You may need, for example, to avoid keeping "trigger" foods at home¾those foods, such as potato chips or chocolate chip cookies¾that seem to make you lose control. Or you may find that you can have your cake, but only half of it. In other words, you might have to start cutting back on the portions you're accustomed to. And, if you can’t help overeating when you eat out, you may have to eat at home more often.

The final sacrifice is time. To successfully lose weight and maintain weight loss, you must devote time to exercising. This may mean redefining your priorities and giving regular exercise top billing in your schedule. If you don't think you have the time for it, think again about whether now is the right time to start your weight-loss efforts. You may also need to make more time for preparing or cooking healthier, low-fat meals that will satisfy you and, at the same time, help you lose weight.

You also need time to track your progress. Studies show that people who keep food and/or exercise records are more successful at losing weight. A record will keep you honest with yourself. It turns out that people often eat a lot more¾or work out a lot less¾than they think they do. Keeping tabs on your calories, fat grams, or mileage will help propel you toward your goal.

Reality

If you haven’t weighed less than 160 pounds since you were a kid, don't expect to get down below 160. The bottom line is to "set small, short-term goals and then reevaluate," says Kelly Brownell, Ph.D., professor of psychology at Yale University. "If you want to lose 40 pounds, consider losing the first 10 and see if it's worth the effort to go further." For most people, losing one to two pounds a week at most is the healthiest way to drop pounds and keep them off successfully. Rapid weight loss often means rapid weight gain soon.

Brownell recommends asking yourself the following questions to see if you're ready to lose weight with a reasonable amount of effort:

·          What's the lowest weight you maintained for a year as an adult?

·          Reflect on times when you've weighed less than what you do now. Was the effort required to get there worth it?

·          Is it possible to stay at that weight for an extended period of time, perhaps the rest of your life? Can you sustain the effort?

After considering the above, if you're ready, really ready, for a lifelong commitment to eating better, feeling better, and looking better, then don't wait another day to start losing weight. Go for it now!

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