Your journey towards success begins here.
This post will discuss goal setting for weight loss, the information outlined here can of course be utilized whether you want to lose weight or earn more money, find the partner of your dreams or learn a specific skill. Setting goals is vital if we want success in anything.
You need to know what you want to achieve before you can set any kind of plan – if you are driving the car but don’t have a destination you’ll end up somewhere completely unexpected when the petrol runs out. This is why we need to focus on goal setting for weight loss.
Before the planning comes the vision. Get clear on where you want to be, write down the directions and then drive. I could write an entire book about those three steps to success but this article will be focussing on the first of those essential keys to success – goal setting for weight loss.
I want you to write down what you want to achieve with regards to your weight – go and do some serious goal setting for weight loss. Get a pen out and start writing now, what is it you really want? Is it to lose 20 pounds in time for your wedding? To get that movie star six pack or just to be able to walk to the shops without breaking a serious sweat?
Whatever it is, make sure you are doing it for YOU. YOU MUST be looking to lose weight for yourself, if you are only interested in shedding those pounds to please your husband, wife or friends then you are setting yourself up for failure.
Once you have written down your goals you need to evaluate them and make sure they adhere to the SMART goal setting for weight loss criteria. SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Timely. But what do all those words really mean? Lets briefly go through each of the criteria:
Specific
When you are analyzing you goals make sure they are straight-forward and concise and emphasize what you want to happen, this part of the SMART goal model gives us the what, why and how. Ensure your goals are stated in the positive and that they use plenty of action words such as develop, build or transform. State why you want to lose weight and what you ultimately want to accomplish as well as how you are going to do it. Don’t just write down “I want to lose weight” instead write “I want to lose 18 pounds”. Specificity is the key here and is the first part of goal setting for weight loss!
Measurable
Your goal statement is a measure for the task ahead, once you accomplish it you have achieved success. By building small, short-term measurements into the goal you can better manage your journey. Writing something like “I want to lose 2 pounds each week and a total of 20 pounds by September 5th 2017″ has considerably more measurable content than “I want to lose 20 pounds”. Measure your progress, stay on track and you’ll find that you achieve your targets far more easily.
Attainable
Once you have identified the goals that are most important for you, you can begin to figure out ways to make them become a reality. Those opportunities you once over-looked will now become stepping stones towards inevitable success. Be sure to set goals that are within reach – no matter how well intentioned you are, if your goals are too big you’ll get discourage before you’ve really begun. That said, also make sure that any goals you set require you to push yourself, target something in between the two extremes.
Realistic
If you weight 220 pounds and have never run in your life it’s no good devising a weight loss plan based on daily 2 hour cardio sessions. A better idea would be to work on a system whereby you start off walking 3 times per week for 20 minutes and build it up from there. A realistic plan should push your skills and determination but it shouldn’t break them. Set the bar high enough to reach but not so high that it is next impossible. You now have four parts of the goal setting for weight loss criteria, lets move onto the final one…
Timely
This last point is an absolutely vital part of goal setting for weight loss. Setting a time frame for the achievement of your goal gives you a clear target for you to walk towards. When you fail to set a time limit you have no urgency to act. Again be totally specific with this part of your goal – it is far better to target a specific day like 17th April 2017 rather than by April – this sends a message to you sub-conscious that this goal is very real. Make your timeline realistic, attainable and measurable!
So there you have it – a fantastic goal setting for weight loss criteria that will enable you to stay motivated. confident and determined on your way to exhilarating achievement. Set SMART goals and you will lose more weight easier, helping you develop the kind of body you have been dreaming about! Go for it!
