How Do I Figure Total Percentage Of Weight Loss?

You can represent your weight loss as a total percentage of weight lost instead of the total number of pounds lost. To do so involves using two specific pieces of data--the amount you weighed at the beginning of the period for which you are doing the calculation and the total amount of weight you lost. The National Heart Lung and Blood Institute recommends an initial goal of losing 10 percent of your body weight.

Step 1

Write down the total amount of weight you have lost. To get this figure, subtract the amount of your present weight from the amount you weighed when you began your weight-loss program.

Step 2

Write down the amount of your weight at the beginning of the period for which you are figuring the percentage of weight loss.

Step 3

Divide the amount of weight lost by the beginning weight. For example if your beginning weight was 200 pounds, and you lost 50 pounds, divide 50 by 200. The division, for this example, yields .25.

Step 4

Multiply the answer to your division problem in step three by 100. Using the same example, .25 x 100 = 25. This number represents your total percentage of weight loss. In other words, you lost 25 percent of your original weight

Tips and Warnings

Multiplying by 100 in step four has the effect of moving the decimal point two places to the right in the number you are multiplying by 100. For example, .397 multiplied by 100 equals 39.7, and .2 multiplied by 100 equals 20. Some people prefer to remember the rule this way. The important thing to remember is that the resulting number represents the total percentage of weight loss. The answer to the division process in step three may contain several digits. When this happens, you can just round to the nearest whole number after you multiply by 100 in step four. For example, if you originally weighed 230 pounds and lost 50 pounds, 50 divided by 230 equals .2174. Multiplying by 100 gives 21.74, which rounded to the nearest whole number is 22 percent. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, losing just 5 to 10 percent of your total weight can reap significant health benefits.