Setting SMART Goals for Weight Loss

Goal setting is an essential drive of our life and an important factor of motivation. Some people consider it as the fuel of our daily and everyday living. This becomes even more important when the goals are set by us, thus transforming us to self-driven individuals.

One of the goals set by millions of people every day is the loss of weight. Our goal should be the loss of weight that can be achieved through a healthy way of living and this can be definitely achieved by setting SMART goals.

SMART Weight loss goals

Setting goals is an art. In order to see the best results, the goals must be Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Timely, SMART. The weight loss goal cannot be an exception to this rule. Following the SMART guidelines enables us to achieve our goals, feel happy and repeat the exercise setting higher and more ambitious goals.

How can a weight loss goal be SMART?

In order to explain the idea let us assume that at the end of the summer period after a lot of abuse, you have gained 11 pounds and you are now 187 lbs. You want to lose 11 pounds, this is Specific. You do not state I want to lose weight. Can you Measure the goal? Yes, you can. Every Monday morning you get on your scale and measure your weight, noting it down on a board so that you can easily see it. Is it Attainable? This depends by when you want to lose those 11 pounds. If you say by tomorrow this is impossible, if you say in a month almost impossible but if you say by next summer, that is in 8 months then this is achievable and attainable by anyone. It is at the same time Realistic because 11 pounds out of 187 is 6% of your weight but if you were 100 lbs then 11 lbs would have been 11% of your weight, which is less realistic. Surely, this goal is Timely. It should be completed in 8 months for a specific reason.

You have set your SMART weight loss goal and now you need to monitor it and ensure that you are within this goal. Since a goal cannot be achieved once in a big chunk, it has to measured and monitored so that we achieve it in small but steady increments. Therefore, we measure our weight, week after week and we record the readings in our computer or a board where we can see and monitor the progress.

Healthy Living

Once we set our weight loss goals, we have to find the way to meet our targets through healthy living. By healthy living, we mean taking care of what we eat and by being physically active. The tools we have in our disposal are no other than a natural diet and exercise.

What is a natural diet? A natural diet consists of fresh fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts, whole grain and cereals. Other foods like low fat dairy products and fish should be consumed many times a week, white meat in less frequency and red meat a few times a month. A natural diet is not restrictive but rather selective in the sense that you have to select what you eat and in normal quantities rather than restrict whole food groups from your daily meals.

Exercise: You cannot live healthy without exercise. Daily, or almost daily, physical exercises like walking for about 30-45 minutes a day is necessary. You should stand up and leave the couch for a couple of hours per day and deal with activities that keep your muscles moving. This is the only way to burn calories but refresh your spirit at the same time.

Do not forget that it is important to have a healthy body but it is equally important to have a healthy mind. There are many ways to get active and this is not limited to joining a gym but you can do sports (basketball, football etc) or engage into other outdoor activities alone or with friends.

Finally, do not forget that having a healthy weight is not only good for your appearance and health but is important for your self-esteem and confidence.

Author’s Bio

Alex writes about the Mediterranean diet for a long time. His latest article includes a Mediterranean diet plan for weight loss.

Goal Setting in Simple Words

Goals should be SMART – Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Time-Oriented or Time-Sensitive.

They have definite tangible outcomes.

What are goals?

Goals are visions, outcomes, objectives or expectations. There are big goals and small goals. Say you have a goal like ‘I will save $100,000 or (a specific figure in any currency) in the next ten years.’ Sure, it is possible. To reach that goal, you need to find out how much you need to save in a year for the next ten years, how much in a month and how much everyday. You need to make sure that you have the income and the expenses that support your daily goal. If not, extend your time frame or try to increase your income, or reduce your expenses to meet your daily goal.

“If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will take you there”…I read somewhere.

In a business, the executives develop the goals and communicated downwards. Involving all levels of organization enhances communication and increases commitment, dedication, involvement and motivation.

Write it down: It is very important that when you have a goal in your mind, INK it. If it is not written, it is not a goal. It is a dream, a wish and you assume no accountability to make it happen. Only when it is in the written form, it is a commitment, your mind will stay focused, and direct yourself towards the qualities of persistence, commitment and consistency to reach that goal.

Define/Specific: The goal should be specific. It is not, ‘I want to have lot of money in ten years”. What is ‘lot?’ Be specific, so you can divide further to reach daily goal. Goals must be concrete. Vague and ambiguous goals cannot be reached. Years ago, I wanted to buy a home and I was very specific – the price should not exceed $100,000, must have 3 bedrooms, and should not be more than ten miles from my work. After six months of intense search I found a condo fulfilling these conditions. When you’re specific you can narrow it down to exactly what you want, avoid all other distractions and proceed to accomplish it. Goals are specific measurable targets that are designed to clarify expectations, destinations.

Short term goals: Think of them as means to an end. When you have a short term goal aiming towards the long term goal, you see that you’re moving forward everyday. Short term goals eventually culminate to your long term goal because they are measurable. You can monitor the progress. What gets measured gets done. I remember my father had a budget goal and every night before he laid his head on the pillow, he would account for his daily expenses. He monitored it religiously. Goal setting also creates a discipline in you.

One step at a time the baby starts to walk. He doesn’t plan for a mile! Joggers and walkers start slow and go on increasing 15 min every two weeks. Slow and steady wins the race. We all know the story of’ the Hare and the Tortoise’. Keep at it. Don’t quit. “Inch by inch, it’s a Cinch’, said Loe Lionni, the famous children’s book author and a painter from Italy.

Realistic & Attainable: Goals must be realistic and believable. If you don’t believe you can achieve a goal, you won’t pay the price for it. Only when you believe you’ll choose to stay focused and do what you need to do to get it. When I was little, my brother would say, save a penny on the first day and double it daily and in a month you’ll be a millionaire, in fact you’ll have more than five million in 30 days.. This is mathematically fine but is not a realistic goal for a middle class person. First day a penny, second day 2 pennies, third day 4 pennies, fourth day 16 pennies, fifth day 32 pennies, sixth day 64 pennies, seventh day 128 pennies…do you get it? I could have tried for two weeks and repeated again for couple of times…

Goal should encompass are areas of life. Remember to set financial, academic, professional, physical, spiritual and relationship goals. Neither can you do one after the other nor can you get away without growth in another area.. All areas are interdependent. It will create a domino effect. In your life If you pursue higher studies when you’re working full time, make sure you spend few minutes a day with family members to avoid friction in relationship area. I would say balancing all areas of life an art of living. You should be able to achieve little bit of everything everyday.

In 2003, I made sure that I spent couple of hours a week with my old mother every week. It was important for me to spent quality time with her when she was old so that I don’t regret later. I was working long hours, going to school and still I inked an appointment with her every Friday evening and I remember she would look forward to that meeting. Now she is not in this world and I have no regrets. All areas need equal priorities. One is not more important than another. Do not compromise something for another. No goal is impossible.

Time or deadline: Define your goal and decide by when you want it. Deadline is important. We are inherently designed to set and achieve goals. Think about, when you wake up you have your own set of actions that you do like brush your teeth, wash your face, comb your hair, read newspaper or use computer, get to school or work and so on and so forth. You can call them chores, tasks, routine but these are daily goals, have become a habit and over the course of years they are on auto pilot.

On a holiday or weekends, you’ll not do as routinely as work days. Why? Because your brain is programmed to take it easy on holidays and there are no set deadlines. You wake up late, lethargic, may not do the routine things. Basically you slack, another word is relax, (it is ok to do it though) and then at the end of the day, you say ‘Time flies. Didn’t have time to do anything!!” is that true? But you had same number of hours on all days…

On the contrary if you need to attend a wedding or gathering on holidays, things get done and move on to the next goal, which is attend the wedding. This is a simple example.

Same applies to everything. When you have a deadline, you accomplish it. Definitely set up a time limit for your goal.. “Work expands with time” – said Cyril Northcote Parkinson.

Dream big, set goals, INK it and act on it with a definite deadline. You can achieve whatever you want. Nothing is stopping you from reaching your destination except the shackles that you put around you. Remember,

Goal + Timely Action = Desired Results