How to Set “SMART” Goals to Lose Weight

If you are carrying around extra weight, you know all the reasons why you should take the weight off. It will reduce chances of heart disease, cancer, and the possibility of diabetes. You’ll look and feel better, etc.

There are many reasons why, but it can be especially difficult to get that weight off. You work really hard, make some progress, and the before you know it, you get side tracked only to revert back to your starting point. That’s why its important to begin your weight loss journey by setting “SMART” goals.

• Specific (simple, sensible, significant)…i.e: “I want to lose 1lb/week for the next 4 weeks”.
• Measurable (meaningful, motivating)…i.e.: “I will check my weight and Body Fat %-age 1X/week to make Sure I’m on track”.
• Achievable (agreed, attainable)…i.e: “I will make my weight loss goal 1lb/week instead of 5lbs/week so I can actually attain my goals.
• Relevant (reasonable, realistic and resourced, results-based)…i.e.: I will set goals that are important to where I am in my life right now. I wont’ set a goal that someone else is pressuring me to attain-that isn’t very motivating.
• Time bound (time-based, time limited, time/cost limited, timely, time-sensitive)…i.e: “Since healthy weight loss is about 1-2 pounds per week, I will set my deadline accordingly.

Here are a few tangible steps you can take to lose weight and keep it off.

1. Know What You Want and how to get there.
2. Know Where You Are and how long it will take to get to your destination
3. Track Your Results and make adjustments to your workouts based on your results
5. Hold yourself accountable by either having a workout partner or work with a trainer.

Frankly, a simple list of 4 items is not going to do it, so let me explain the intricacies of the 4 items and where the problems occur when applied to losing weight.

1. Know What You Want and how to get there.

This one is easy. Most people that want to lose weight have an idea of how many pounds they would like to lose or how they would like their body to look.

I think we can safely say if your body started looking the way you wanted it, you would know, even if you didn’t have it completely mapped out and detailed.

2. Know Where You Are and how long it will take to get to your destination

This is the big problem! It is almost always overlooked and is the number one reason for the up and down Yo Yo effect we experience with losing weight. We are unhappy with how our body feels and how it looks and it is painful to get an accurate picture of where we are. Unfortunately, we have to know where we are, to be able to accurately judge the results we are getting.

If you took the time to accurately find out where you were, you would be able to choose the appropriate means to get to your destination.

Sometimes, in our minds, we think we are starting in a different physical condition then we really are. When the results don’t follow the illusion in your mind, we get upset.

3. Track Your Results and make adjustments to your workouts based on your results

This is conceptually simple. If we have no clue as to WHAT we are doing, how do we know what is working? It might be a simple to do, but is also simple not to do. In the end, most people never track their results.

We love to do this one. We have it hands down. It is like knowing what you want. We try the new food diet, the super sit up machine, and the cardio hip hop power energy yoga fat burner class.

We might be great at switching it up, but without knowing where we are starting from and a history of tracked results, we have no clue as to what we should change or even which direction we should go.

4. Hold yourself accountable by either having a workout partner or work with a trainer.

The common norm is: ‘No, not accountability!  I don’t want someone to know what I am doing, or more importantly what I am not doing’.

So, why do we resist accountability, the secret weapon to fat loss? Because it works! If you know someone is going to be watching or joining you for a workout, you would follow through or at least feel very uncomfortable not following through.

Accountability when used wisely is the ultimate fat shredder. Begin you weight loss journey with accountability; it can help you achieve the body of your dreams. If you let your body hold you accountable, it will throw on fat in places you don’t want it to be.

The biggest obstacle to weight loss is not taking tangible action. It doesn’t matter how good the plan is, it is useless if you don’t follow it. So what should you do now?

Begin by holding yourself accountable.

Will you Finish It With Finish Fit®?