Weight Loss and Goals

Weight loss and goal setting are two inseparable things. I m sure you have heard of the adage that says "if you fail to plan, you are planning to fail". This is as true as it gets when it comes to losing weight.

It is not that people do not know that they need to lose weight, rather is the accuracy of how much they need to lose and why they need to lose it that is not clear. The same way you are likely to run off the road if you are driving in the dark without lights, is the same way you would fail if your weight loss endeavor if your planning is not accurate.

You likely have heard that you need to lose between one pound and two pounds a week. And as much as this is very safe and commendable advice, it is not necessarily a hard fast rule.

The better way to set a goal is to first determine what weight you want to live with for the rest of your life. You can use a jeans size to determine this or you can go more scientific by using the BMI scales.

Ideally your "for life" weight should be something you are emotionally attached to. You want to desire that size enough to be able to overcome huddles that are imminent in your dieting journey. Emotional attached or deep down desire is a source of passion. Passion is your fuel that keeps you going when you really feel like you don't want to. If your goals are just numbers in a sheet of paper you can as well stop trying to lose weight.

To start your plan, you need to be able to state your purpose in one sentence. For example "I want to be size 12 in one year". This statement will be the basis for the goal setting. You can then devise steps month by month, week by week to help you reach this goal. Your ultimate desire to be a size 12 is your goal. Steps to achieving this goal are your objectives. Objectives build up to lead to a goal. For example you would have weekly objectives that lead to achieving monthly objectives which then lead to achieving the ultimate goal.

The beauty of planning on paper first before attempting weight loss is that it allows you to see if your plans are achievable. If after deciding on your ultimate goal, you break it down and you find you need to loss 3 pounds of weight in a day then you know your plan is unrealistic.

But it can be a different story if you need to loose 3 to 4 pounds a week. And a much of this is on the higher side, it is feasible with stringent techniques.

So the question then is can you keep up with this stringent techniques to be able to lose weight. If you feel you will not, you would be better off adjusting your ultimate goal. Usually you do this by increasing the time you need to reach your goal.

In our case above, you could double the time required to reach your goal. This immediately drops your weekly target from 3 to 4 pounds to 1.5 to 2 pounds. This is more easily achievable with a simple weight loss plan.

As it is said, if you are not going anywhere, anywhere you get to is fine. Goals help determine where you want to go and help you map your way there.

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