3 Ways to Set Goals for Weight Loss

Setting goals for weight loss is a great way to start on your transformation journey, but if you don’t know how to take action and plan realistically then you can end up feeling very frustrated. That’s why it’s important to not only set goals but also create a plan of action that will help lead you toward success! In this post, we’ll go over three ways to set goals so they’re achievable and realistic.

1) Determine your ultimate goal: What would make you feel successful? More importantly, what do YOU want?

What would make you feel successful? More importantly, what do YOU want? The goals must be realistic and achievable for you! The great thing about setting a long-term goal as opposed to just a short-term goal is that it can be divided into smaller steps which will help keep the momentum going.

2) Start at the Beginning:

Setting goals can be tricky, and it’s important to know where you want to go. What are your reasons for wanting weight loss? Do you want better health, more confidence or something like a specific clothing size? Your motivation will affect how realistic your goal is, so make sure it matches what YOU want! Defining why you’re on this journey will also help keep yourself accountable once the going gets tough.

So if you have a big goal like 50 pounds to lose, you might just want to start with how much you want to release each week. When you break it down into weeks that create the long term and keep you focused on the short term, it will give you a feeling of success. If you choose 2 lbs a week, it will take approximately 25 weeks to reach your goal.

3) To avoid major roadblocks, ask yourself these two questions:

What is the best course of action? Exercise and nutrition might be the first things on your list to reach your weight loss goals. You might find ways to manage stress which will help with reducing stress hormones that cause you to gain belly fat.

What will I realistically be able to achieve? Being realistic about your goals is very important for creating a lifestyle change.  You will find yourself getting frustrated, which will also lead to stress which will rebound into weight gain. Then you will find yourself giving up on your goal.

Part of your brain in charge of decision-making, has a hard time comprehending abstract goals.  Instead, it prefers to see things quantified and measurable so you know how close you are to meeting those goals. Set short-term goals for yourself with concrete measures, as we have discussed for weight loss. Working backwards from there to set long-term targets after each one is met successfully.

You will find that this way of thinking about goal achievement won’t only help you reach them faster but also keep up motivation throughout the process! If you need more personalized assistance setting up your goals, I would love to design an exercise and nutrition program to help you achieve efficient and realistic results. Book a consultation today