I want to explore what I see as the difference between the concepts of weight loss and weight wellness.

I’ll go ahead and put it out there, I don’t like weight loss as a term, or an ultimate goal. First, weight loss is a negative term. It connotes the losing of something, instead the gaining of something. Even though we think of weight loss as a positive occurrence, I think when we use weight loss as a goal, we can unintentionally make choices that don’t ultimately serve us best. More on that in a moment.

Also, weight loss is also not a state of being or a practice, it is something our bodies do as result of actions we take. Weight wellness, however, is a state of being and a practice.

I describe weight wellness as living a life that best supports a healthy weight and state of mind. We can live and think well everyday no matter if we are overweight, at a healthy weight, or even underweight. Weight wellness is a practice, not a destination.

Weight wellness is a practice, not a destination.

When we practice weight wellness, our bodies will lose weight if we are overweight. The weight loss will take care of itself, we don’t need to make that our ultimate goal.

If we really take a moment to dig a little deeper, while we want the benefits that weight loss provides, weight loss itself really isn’t the end game. Isn’t it that we want to feel good, have our bodies and minds functionally as optimally as they can? To create thoughts and actions that help us be our best selves? That is what the practice of weight wellness can help us achieve.

Like I mentioned, when we focus on weight loss, our decision-making can be more easily led astray. Here is an extreme example to make the point. Would eating only cabbage help me lose weight? Yes. But, would eating only cabbage be in alignment with living in weight wellness? No.

In real life, the decisions might be more subtle, but when we goal set from a place of weight wellness, we inevitably make choices that are more kind, more mindful, and more sustainable. And I feel those elements are key to finding a place of wellness with our weight, and ultimately our whole selves.

If you are like me, you are done with losing weight. What you really want is not have your weight be an issue anymore. I would like to have a life of weight wellness, and not have to think about weight loss.

I don’t want to lose weight in a way that I will fear gaining it back, or feel I have to maintain an ultra strict way of life. If it is not sustainable, I won’t keep it up, and I’ll gain weight back. I also would not have figured out what is best for me and my body along the way if my sole focus was to just get the weight off. If I am always doing things I can see myself doing in the long run, then I never have to worry about maintenance, because I am building my skills, mindsets, and habits from the beginning that I know I can always do.

I’d love to hear your take on this. Does weight wellness sound good to you?