Are you setting a goal to lose weight? If you are, you have come to the right place. The following will put you in the right direction to set your weight loss goals.
Set A Realistic Goal
Your goals should be attainable and realistic. It has to be specific but sensible goals be it short term or long term to achieve the end results. Setting weight loss goals should be anything from 3 months to a year. But if the goals are stretched over a long period say 18 months, you may lose focus and tired out thus making it hard to attain.
But if you set a goal to lose all the extra weight before Christmas, this will become unrealistic knowing that you have some 100 pounds to lose and Christmas is about 3 months away. In between the big goal of losing 100 pounds, you will need to set small goals too. Ask yourself some basic questions. Are you going to get expert help such as a consultant or can you afford to pay for a personal fitness trainer? If you are a busy person, can you spare the time, money and resources to achieve the goal. Be clear about your goals and the steps that are require of you to achieve them. Be willing to make a commitment. Are you willing to give up or reduce on your alcohol consumption? Are you willing to change some bad habits such as sleeping late just to watch a movie? When the intention is crystal clear in your head and mind, you are on track to start your weight loss goals.
Record Your Goals
It is necessary that you write down your weight loss goals on a clean piece of paper. Type it out in your computer or better still, use colors to indicate certain order of priorities you must take. Perhaps you start your big goal to lose 50 pounds in 8 months. You have decided that both a diet and an exercise plan are what you need. You should start with the diet aspect of the goals for the duration of the 8 months. Between the big goal you've set, set a month-to-month goal detailing the diet plan as well as the exercise plan for each of the 34 weeks starting with one month first. The diet plan must incorporate healthy choices of natural whole foods. Next you move to the exercise program plan. Decide what activities you are going to do and how frequent in a week and what day of the week you would engage in these activities. Think and engage in the sport activity that you love doing maybe playing tennis or swimming. If you are not much into strenuous activity, start this activity slowly so as to get your body to become used to it. Whenever you are in doubt, consult your doctor.
Get It Started
You have set the excess weight to lose each month, say 6 pounds. With your goals clearly written down, proceed to make the necessary lifestyle changes. With or without a health professional with you, the food that you choose need not be a drastic change. If you love your morning coffee, you still can drink coffee but with little or no sugar. Know what constitutes a healthy weight loss diet and keep to the basic portion size. Knowing your own basic metabolic rate and the calories of the food you take will help you in your diet plan. You may have to reduce outside dining to control the manner food is prepared. Eliminate all habitual snacking and free snacking that comes along to spoil your goals. Remember this is part of your little weight loss goals to achieve the big goal. Whilst exercising or doing physical exercises is an activity that demands your time, we are talking about 30 minutes to an hour for at least 3 times a week. Some flexibility is expected along the way provided the month end goal of losing, say 6 pounds, is not compromised.
Setting a weight loss goal will help you to attain long term success because your mind, body and soul are in synergy to achieve it. As in any goal setting, think, act and stay positive and you'll achieve it.
