Counseling
Setting Attainable Goals
Your overweight or obese patient should have 2 basic weight loss goals: an initial goal (short-term) and a long-term goal (approximately 1 year from now). Both of these goals should be realistic and practical for your patient to achieve.
Initial goal - 5-10% weight loss
Achieving their initial goal will let your patients start enjoying the health benefits of weight loss immediately. For an initial weight loss goal, many health experts suggest 5-10% of current body weight, which can significantly reduce the severity of obese-related risk factors. A reasonable time to achieve a 10% reduction in body weight is 6 months of weight loss intervention.
Current weight x 5-10% = patient's initial weight loss goal
For example, if your patient weighs 200 lbs., their initial weight loss goal should be between 10-20 lbs. Individuals who lose weight rapidly (>2 lbs./wk) are at some risk for health problems such as gallbladder disease and should be monitored by a physician. Also, a slow, steady weight loss promotes successful long-term weight loss maintenance.
Long-term goal
Long-term goals vary from person to person. Patients often have unrealistic goals and should be targeted at 10% increments to ultimately achieve weight-appropriate body mass index (BMI).
Motivation and Support
The Slim•Fast consumer website (Slim-Fast.com) can offer your patients additional resources and support, including everything from membership in the free Slim•Fast Online Club to recipes, snacking tips, activity strategies, testimonials from Slim•Fast users, and much more.
Follow-up visits and conversations between overweight or obese patients and healthcare practitioners and their staff can help to keep patients' weight loss programs on track.
Consider these simple strategies to motivate patients:
- Healthy eating requires adding fruits, vegetables, and nutritious snacks to the daily diet, not just restricting calories
- Sometimes small changes in diet are what's needed, not a total makeover
- With a proper plan, all food can be enjoyed in moderation
- Advance planning of meals and snacks helps to keep patients in control
- All physical activity counts, from household chores to walking the dog
Side effects of weight loss
Some individuals may experience transient side effects as a result of weight loss including headache, constipation, loose stools, abdominal discomfort, and intense hunger. Most of these side effects are discussed in our Ask a Dietitian section. Patients need help understanding and coping with these side effects to be successful in their weight loss efforts. Encourage them to join the free Slim•Fast Online Club, visit Slim-Fast.com, or call 1-800-SLIMFAST.
Measuring Success
If patients are discouraged with their progress, they can be reminded that even modest weight loss (5%-10% of total body weight) can reduce many of the health risks associated with obesity.
- There are other measures of success besides pounds lost, such as increased energy levels and reduced waistlines
- Patients' weight loss goals may need to be adjusted to be more realistic (see Setting Attainable Goals, above)
- The prevention of further weight gain is also a factor to consider in evaluating success
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