To achieve your weight loss goal, you must stay focused. The only way to ensure you stay on track is by setting SMART goals. This stands for, Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time-bound. Not only will this allow you to choose the right strategy, but will make your weight loss journey easier and sustainable.
Why set weight loss goals?
Your goal is your destination to wherever you want to end up. When you know where you want to go, you put measures is place that enable you to get there. That said, this can only happen when you turn these measures into actions.
So, what sort of actions will move you towards your weight loss goal?
From now onwards, the decisions you make, strategies and habits you adopt as well as the learning you must do will lead you towards your goal. These actions are the roadmap that, if you follow, will get you to your weight loss goal. Without this roadmap your goal becomes just another dream.
Most importantly, without a goal there won’t be a roadmap. I cannot stress enough the importance of investing more work and time in learning this and choosing the right strategy to support your goal. This gives you a strong weight loss foundation to support you during the ups and downs, thus enabling you to achieve your weight loss goal.
Think of this as your take off. Not only does taking off require more work and energy, but the whole journey depends on it.
Have you ever thought of all the preparations that take place before a flight takes off, before your cruise ship sails or before you set off for a cross country driving trip? See how it works? Without the right and enough groundwork, your journey is bound to flop. Weight loss is no different. Without a proper strategy in place, it is difficult to reach and maintain your weight loss goal.
Setting weight loss goals does not have to be difficult or complicated. There is a way, and I will show you how. Now, the first question is where do want to end up?
1. Set specific goals.
Vague or ambiguous weight loss goals are difficult to support, measure or focus on. This makes them difficult to achieve.
My first round of weight loss was a bit of a disaster. My goal was to lose weight so that I felt healthy and good about myself. While feeling good and healthy is a thing, it can be challenging when set up as a goal. It is too broad and can be interpreted in different ways at different times, making it feel like you are trying to hit a moving target.
For example, what specific action did I have to take to achieve this “feel good feel healthy weight loss goal”? How much weight did I have to lose before looking good and feeling healthy? What other mini goals added up to this overall main goal and could they be celebrated when achieved?
Can you see how unfocussed this goal was?
It is impossible to achieve your goal without knowing what measures to put in place, what behaviours to change or what strategy to use. To put it in another way…set your destination, then find the means of getting there in a safe healthy way. No one wants to get to their destination with broken bones! Go slow, keep safe.
Your weight loss goal should focus on things that you can control. Feelings are not one of them. The best you can do about feelings is control the way you react to them. When it comes to weight loss, being proactive will keep you moving forwards than being reactive.
My diet was basically a damage control kind of thing because the goal was long winded and unclear, hence there was no roadmap. Most of my time was spent in reactive mode buy putting out fires instead of doing those things that moved me forwards.
It was a cycle of overeating, compensating by getting too restrictive and over exercising. When this failed, it was time to hop onto the next diet.
What changed?
This time round my weight loss goal was simple and focussed. Weighing in at 105kg my goal was to lose 40kg in 2 years. Also, I had made preparations which acted as a strong foundation on which to build my weight loss strategies on. These preparations included writing down a list of habits that needed changing and coming up with a weight loss action plan.
Learning the basics of weight loss helped me steer clear of misleading weight loss practices that I had previously fallen for.
So, what would you like to achieve? Is it specific? Yes? Then you are ready for the next step!
2. Set measurable goals.
Measuring weight loss goals helps you to stay focussed on where you want to go. There must be a way of checking how far you have travelled and whether you are still on the route that leads you there. It is a way of tracking progress and finding out early whether things are going the way they should.
If things have stalled, you will know early enough that something needs changing. You may need to look at the measures you put in place, tweak them a little bit, give it time then measure again. This is how you keep moving forwards.
Measurable goals bring meaning and motivation, the very things that keep you going when the going gets tough. Imagine the feeling you get when the numbers on the scale move in the right direction. Or when you complete the half marathon you have been training hard for. The sense of achievement you get motivates you to do more.
Now, let’s backtrack to my “feel good feel healthy” goal. I am sure you can tell there is no way of accurately measuring this. Ok, let’s say I feel good about myself in the morning but something that affects my happiness happens.
Where do I place myself? What measures can I take to get back on track and how will I know when I have achieved this goal? See what I mean? If you cannot measure it, you will not know how far you have gone or whether you are even moving in the right direction.
With all that said, a specific and measurable goal does not guarantee it’s achievement. Something more needs to be done….
3. Set attainable goals.
There are benefits to setting achievable goals. Firstly, it helps you stay focussed on the learning that you need, plan a better strategy, and gather resources that help you progress and reach your goal.
Secondly, you can use your time wisely instead of wasting it on things that will lead you nowhere. Thirdly and most importantly, you get to benefit from the sense of accomplishment. This in turn, will motivate you to do more.
Is your goal to lose 20kg in a month? While this is specific and measurable, it is not attainable. Setting ambitious, and unachievable goals is a sure way of setting yourself up to fail. Although losing weight is simple, it is not easy. So, why complicate things even more by setting unachievable goals?
An important point to remember is that, not only have you got to lose the weight, but you must maintain it long term.
Achievable does not mean easy. Set yourself challenging goals. That is how you learn and progress. Just make sure they can be achieved. Ask yourself what resources you will need to achieve that goal. Break your goal into mini goals. Achieve these and watch how they all add up and grow!
There is a lot of misinformation, dangerous and unsustainable practices floating around. Google “how to lose weight fast” and you will be amazed by the stuff you come across.
Is it possible to lose a significant amount of weight in a short space of time? Absolutely. Some athletes do it to squeeze off the last few pounds so that they qualify into their competition category. They call it “cutting weight”. I too was guilty of the same when I competed in the British Powerlifting Championships for the first time.
The difference here is that these athletes know it is temporary. They are fully aware it is not fat loss and it will all be back as soon as they eat normally and rehydrate. Basically, anything that can be taken out of their bodies comes out. As soon as they are off the scales they “eat the weight back”.
Let me be quick to say I have not done it since and will never do it again. I will cut it short on here by saying I ended up in A&E. Let’s make this a story for another day…..
4. Set realistic goals.
Why is losing weight important to you? The goal has got to be relevant to you and in line with your other long-term goals. You cannot lose weight for someone to accept you, or to fit in. It must be for you, and you must be wanting it. It is important that you are honest with yourself.
Is it realistic to achieve this goal with the resources you have and within the timeframe that you have set?
It was realistic and achievable for me to lose 40kg in 2 years. I had listed down habits that I needed to change. My diet plan was to count calories though there was still a lot of learning to do. I was going to join a gym and go there 3 times a week. Tracking progress would be through measuring and weighing.
Now, let me admit that my gym “plan” was an interesting one because I had no idea what I was going to do there. Although I had done home video exercises before, I had never been a gym member. The gym image that played in my head was that of bulky men and of sweaty people running on treadmills and furiously speeding on stationary bikes.
So my gym plan was simply to turn up for induction and ask questions when I got there. A plan does not have to be complete when you are starting out. You can start off with a skeleton and flesh it out as you figure out what to do.
Why didn’t I just google “gym exercises?” Oh no, not this time. Not until I knew what I was looking for and the difference between right and wrong. I was way past the stage of googling stuff because this had seen me through useless conflicting diets that overpromised but underdelivered. Therefore, I was not going to let myself fall for the same mistake and waste my time. Just as well I didn’t. I would never have known that, depending on your goal, there is actually a method to the madness.
Once you have all this in place, it’s time to…..
5. Set time-bound goals.
Setting a time within your goal must be achieved gives you accountability. Again, it is important that you set a realistic time. Otherwise, you may end up frustrated, demotivated and feeling like a failure. Going on a lifetime diet without ever achieving your weight loss goal and maintaining it does not bring a sense of accomplishment. According NHS Weight loss plan and other reputable sources, the recommended healthy weight loss is 1-2 pounds (0.5-1kg) per week.
Although 40kg weight loss was my overall goal weight, I set myself a mini goal of losing 1 pound (0.5kg) a week initially. I knew this would need revising as the weight loss slowed down. Any weight loss above what I had set was going to be a bonus. I had given myself enough time considering social events such as family celebrations.
I had been previously disappointed and felt like a failure. Therefore I did not want this to happen again buy setting my goals too high. Any movement forward was good enough for me.
Let’s take it home!
Decide exactly what it is you want to achieve. Put measures in place that will get you there. Whatever measures or strategies you use must be measurable to allow you to monitor progress. The goal must be challenging to allow growth but also sustainable and achievable within the set time frame and realistic.
Taking time on these steps will save you time and will take you in the direction of your goal. You are all set up! Click here for a guide on sustainable healthy weight loss.
Good luck!
