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Why comparing your weight loss to a friend's hurts you

Why comparing your weight loss to a friend's hurts you

Your weight can swing 1 to 2 kg in two days from water, not fat - so a friend's faster drop tells you nothing. People who keep comparing upward feel less successful and regain more, so track your own weekly trend instead.

12 Jul 2026 · Burnie Academy
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Comparing your weight loss to a friend's shows who is doing better.

mostly false

Mostly false. In one study of 127 people in a weight-loss group, those who kept comparing upward - to the 'best' members - regained the most weight by two years, sliding back to only about 6% kept off. People who compared sideways to a similar peer kept the most off. A second study of 306 women found that the ones who compared upward felt less successful about their own loss. Your friend's body, age, height and water balance are not yours, so their number cannot grade you.

Sources: Arigo, Roberts & Butryn 2023 - Social comparisons during behavioural weight loss treatment (Psychology & Health, PMC9382642) · Cavolo, Wayment & Eiler 2020 - Self-Evaluation Strategies in College Women Trying to Lose Weight (Frontiers in Psychology)
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