Well-planned goals can help you convert your thoughts into action. Heres how to create successful weight-loss goals. Weight-loss goals can mean the difference between success and failure. Realistic, well-planned weight-loss goals keep you focused and motivated. They provide a plan for change as you transition to a healthier lifestyle. But not all weight-loss goals are helpful. Unrealistic and overly aggressive weight-loss goals — for example, losing 10 pounds a week — can undermine your efforts. Its OK to dream big. Just be smart about it and use these tips for creating weight-loss goals that will help you achieve your dreams. Set SMART goals When planning your goals, write down everything and go through all the details. When and where will you do it? How will you fit a walk into your schedule? What do you need to get started? This way youll be able to track your progress to see if youre meeting your goals. Make it measurable For example, how far are you going to walk? For how long? How many days each week are you going to walk? Track your progress. Review your progress each week. Were you able to successfully meet your goals last week? Think about what worked and what didnt. Then plan for how you will reach your goals next week. Focus on whats attainable and relevant to you Set goals that are within your capabilities and that take into account your limitations. Consider your personal fitness level, health concerns, available time and motivation. Tailoring your expectations to your personal situation helps you set achievable goals. A reasonable goal for many people is losing 5-10% of current weight. Its a good idea to plan to lose 1 to 2 pounds a week (0.5 to 1 kilogram) — even if your initial weight loss is a little faster in the first week or two. Think about timing Timing is crucial, often making the difference between success and failure. Choose a definite start date for your weight-loss program and dont put that date off. Be sure to account for life circumstances that might hamper your efforts, such as work or school demands, holidays or relationship problems. You may need to resolve some issues before starting. Set both short- and long-term goals. Short-term goals keep you engaged on a daily basis, but long-term goals motivate you over the long haul. Your short-term goals are the stepping stones to your long-term goal. Focus on the process Make the most of your process goals, rather than outcome goals. Exercise three times a week is an example of a process goal, while weigh 10 stone is an example of an outcome goal. Its changing your processes — your daily behaviors and habits — thats key to weight loss, not necessarily focusing on a specific number on the scale. Plan for setbacks Setbacks are a natural part of behavior change. Everyone who successfully makes changes in his or her life has experienced setbacks. Identifying potential roadblocks — a big holiday meal or office party, for example — and brainstorming specific strategies to overcome them can help you stay on course or get back on course. Reassess and adjust your goals as needed Be willing to change your goals as you make progress in your weight-loss plan. If you started small, you might be ready to take on larger challenges. Or, you might find that you need to adjust your goals to better fit your new lifestyle. I tell my clients that success is a process – it doesn’t happen overnight. I see four simple steps. First we think about change – thinking about buying healthy food, thinking about joining the gym, thinking that once I finish off all the chocolate in the cupboard, I won’t buy any more Next we prepare to change so we look at the gym’s website, we make a shopping list, clients call me to book an appointment, we meet and discuss goals and preferences and I give clients meal plans and recipes. They walk out my door equipped with a plan. I LOVE a plan. Then they DO IT, the best part. Cook the food, eat it, go for the walk, get to the exercise class. BOOM – they’re creating healthy habits. They come back to me to discuss how they did, we go through the food diary and I weigh and measure the client and guess what? They see change! They see a positive result because they succeeded. They repeat these steps and after a few weeks it has become habitual, effortless and the client has lost a significant amount of weight/fat but most importantly they acknowledge their success. Think ⇒ Prepare ⇒Do It ⇒Succeed
Posted on: Tue, 26 Nov 2013 09:52:11 +0000
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