As with most things in life, setting goals is very important when taking on a healthy lifestyle. When you look at things truthfully and objectively, you should notice that most of the things you’ve accomplished in life have been accomplished because you not only had a goal but also had a clearly planned and well thought out process for achieving that goal. With that being said, why is goal setting so important when it comes to dieting?
It isn’t easy to achieve a goal if you do not have a clearly defined plan. There are times in life when it is almost impossible to tell whether you are succeeding or failing because you aren’t sure exactly what the desired outcome should be. Identifying your health goals before you begin eliminates this particular possibility.
Second, having healthy goals gives you a measuring stick by which you can judge your process. It’s important to know when your efforts are falling behind, you’re moving along schedule or ahead of schedule. In other words, you will know when to celebrate and when to give yourself a swift kick to the rear.
Now that we know why we set weight loss goals let’s discuss how we should select those goals that are so important for dieting success. You want to set aggressive goals without being impossible to achieve. If you set goals beyond your reach, you will find that frustration will be your partner until you reach the point where you give up altogether. To avoid this, you should take great care to ensure that your goals are possible for you to achieve.
When it comes to weight loss, be specific when setting your goals. Rather than setting a total goal of 40 or 60 pounds, start with a particular purpose, such as 10 pounds in one month. Then you can extend the plan to the next month until you’ve reached the overall goal of 40 or 60 pounds. It is much easier to lose 10 pounds four times than it is to lose 40 pounds at once. It’s a trick of the mind, but it works. Ten pounds sounds simple and achievable. Forty pounds sounds like an insurmountable obstacle.
Another thing about goals is that you want to hold yourself accountable, but you shouldn’t call the whole thing off if you only lose 9 pounds instead of 10. Instead, find out where you dropped the ball for the final pound and set your 10-pound goal for the next month.
It will help if you make sure to work with your personal goals and not the goals that someone else is pushing on you. The truth is that if it’s unique to you, it will be much more rewarding than if you are doing this for someone else. If your heart isn’t in it, there are very few goals that will motivate you properly.
Finally, it would help if you established small (non-food) rewards for accomplishing your dieting goals. Perhaps a new accessory for your wardrobe or a pedicure for your new look. Make your reward something fun and frivolous, and teach yourself that accomplishing your goals can be achieved by something other than food. This is key to dieting successfully.