“I have a wedding come up in the spring and I want to get in shape for that” or “I want to be able to show some abs by next summer.” Or, here is one we always here, “My New Year’s Resolution is to look good by the summer”. Goals can’t be vague and nonchalant; n order for them to hold truth, they need to be specific & precise.
I know that saying I just want to “be healthy” sounds like the right thing to say but that is giving yourself way to much leeway and will lower your motivation when you really need to push yourself. Goals need to be SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Time Sensitive).
SPECIFIC Setting out to just to “eat healthier”; you are really selling yourself short. Vague goals give people too much room for failure. So be precise and say, for example, that you want to lose 20lbs, reduced your body fat to around 12% and run a 10K within 10 months.
MEASURABLE You should be able to track your progress, both in the short-term goals and long-term goals. Short-term goals would be like is two lose 1lbs by next Sunday. Or, I will try to hit 500 calories burned the next time on the treadmill. By setting the smaller weekly goals, this will keep you on track for your long term goals.
ATTAINABLE If you are saying that you are going to start working out 6 days a week at your local gym and you barely have enough time to take the kids to practice, help with homework, & even cook dinner every night, then you might start with, I will go on a walk after dinner for 20 minutes each day. It really needs to be something that is maintainable.
REALISTIC Even with the most straight forward plan and the strongest will power, your body can only handle so much. Be realistic on what you will be able to accomplish. If you have 40 or 50lbs to lose, I’m not sure if you really want your goal to be doing a full 26 mile marathon in 6 months after your initial start.
TIME SENSITIVE Create deadlines and make sure your goals have a sense of urgency. Give yourself six months to a a year to drop 40 to 50 pounds. It didn’t take you a few months to put it on so it won’t be just few months to take it off.
Bottom line is, set some realistic goal that you can hit and continue to grow from. There will be weeks where the weight seems to be coming off with no problem. As you progress, there will be some weeks where it seems as if you have hit a brick wall but as long as you keep pushing, you will eventually get there.
Stay On The Grind….