Setting Weight Loss Goals

The post holiday season is the time of year when people think about losing weight after gaining weight during Christmas.

There are two main ways of losing weight- diet and exercise. For best results, a combination of diet and exercise is recommended. However, without a sound plan, any dream of losing weight is bound to fail even if you use the latest diet fad and most sophisticated exercise equipment in town. Goal setting should be the starting point of any weight loss program.  Goals should be SMART – specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-bound. 

Specific

Be specific when you set your diet and fitness goals. Instead of saying, "I need to eat more fruit," say, "I will fruit every day." Instead of saying “I need to be more physical active” say,” I will use the stairs instead of the elevator in my office.” It is easier to image yourself doing the activity if the goals are more specific.

Measurable

Goals should be measurable- there should be a concrete measure. Diet and exercise goals should be performance and not outcome-based. If one of your chosen activity is walking, add a measure of time or distance to this. Instead of saying “I am going to do more walking” why not say “I am going to walk 20 minutes each day” or “I am going to walk one kilometer or 3 blocks each day”. Diet-wise, instead of saying, “I will eat fruit everyday” say “I will eat one fruit for my snack everyday.” This makes it easier to see if you are indeed sticking to the weight loss regimen.

Achievable and Realistic

There are people who “dream the impossible dream.” And this is what dooms their weight loss program. The dream of becoming a size 6 from size 10 in a month is far from happening- you need more than exercise and diet to achieve that. People who set impossible dreams get disheartened when they fail to meet their goals and may end up abandoning their regimen completely. Take baby steps.  The “negligible” 2 pounds lost in a week is in reality a significant achievement. Excess pounds that disappeared overnight are bound to return. Those excess pounds are less likely to come back if the weight loss is slow.

You have to be patient. You most likely did not pile on those excess pounds in a day and it is unlikely for those extra inches to disappear overnight.  

Time bound

You have to set a time frame for both your exercise and diet goals. Better yet, make short term incremental goals for diet and weight loss. If you make an exercise routine, set a time –frame in doing the exercises. Aim to walk a certain number of steps per day, (eg. 8-10,000 steps) for let us say 4 weeks. You can increase the number as your endurance improves or move to a more strenuous activity. If you removed 100 calories from your diet for 4 weeks, you can remove an extra 100 after and your body will barely feel the difference.  This is the advantage of incremental goals – the benefits pile up but your body is not pushed to its limits.

Do not forget to give yourself small rewards for achieving your diet, exercise and weight loss goals. This will help keep you motivated.