A failure to set goals won’t help you lose weight. Goal setting is one tool that will help to turn your weight loss efforts into weight loss success!
Everyone knows that it's nearly impossible to get where you want to be without a map to get there, right? This is what goal setting is about. Setting goals in the form of an ultimate goal, broken down into smaller goals, is the map you'll create to get the body you're dreaming of.
But not everyone knows how to set effective goals that will help him or her reach that ultimate goal. It's not enough just to say, “I'm going to lose 40 pounds and get a six-pack.” You have to create a very specific ultimate goal, and then specific milestones to reach along the way.
So your goals might look something like this:
Ultimate Goal: Lost 40 pounds in 25 weeks; define abs to the point that I am happy to show them off, tone the rest of my body so that everything is much firmer, reduce the look of cellulite on my thighs, and be able to wear skinny jeans without a blob of fat rolling over the top.
That's a tall order, but it's fairly specific. You know what you're shooting for.
But you'll need to add milestones to this goal, so you have smaller goals to shoot for and reach and then feel motivated to shoot for the next milestone.
Depending on your own self-motivation, you might make milestones pretty close together, to keep yourself going, or you might spread them out a bit. They might look like this:
Month One Goal: Lose 6 pounds by reducing your caloric intake by 500 – 750 calories a day. Exercise each day for 30 minutes (combination of cardio and abdominal focused exercise) to further use up another 150 - 250 calories per day. Explore new low-fat and low calorie recipes.
Month Two Goal: Lose another 6 pounds for a total of 12 pound lost. Continue with eating and exercise plan. Work up to more advanced levels of exercise and add interval training, creating a more intense workout and the possibility of burning more calories and fat slightly quicker weight loss. Clothes will be getting loose now!
This is how you set goals.
You might want to make your milestones closer together, like every two weeks. That's fine. Remember that your milestones should challenge you, but be reachable, so that you'll feel encouraged and motivated to keep going. If your milestones are too hard, you could get discouraged and give up!
Also be sure that your ultimate goal is realistic. If you have it in your mind that you're going to look like a movie star when you're done, you might need a reality check! It's not that it's impossible, but remember that they have plastic surgery readily available to do all sorts of nips and tucks.
They have personal trainers who help them work out – sometimes for several hours a day! And they’re used to living in a world where black coffee and a cigarette is considered to be a meal (no, this is not a good way to lose weight!).
It's been said that many of our most loved female entertainers eat no more than about 900 calories a day in order to stay super skinny and to look like we apparently think they should. First of all this is difficult to do, and second, it's not healthy as a long-term way to lose or maintain weight.
Trust me, if you follow the program I'm giving you in this book, you'll look awesome when you get to your ultimate goal, but you still have to be reasonable with yourself. Get a reality check and remember that you want to be healthy and happy, along with trim, and the owner of a great set of abs.
Don't be afraid to set goals and milestones. These act as great motivators and are wonderful for helping you to get to where you want to go. And remember that setting goals is a great way to accomplish anything.