Pages

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Goal Setting


"The key to setting weight loss goals is to follow the standard of goal setting.
It needs to be specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and tangible.
Your first step is determining if you really need to lose weight. "

I think my goals have always been pretty general... I will write down how many pounds I want to lose or set mini goals but they are always general enough I can deflect them when they are not achieved. Humm...not good!
Measurable is a little easier as I am on the scale every morning, (don’t judge me, I must have that accountability) and I put on the same 3 pairs of jeans all week long.
Attainable...humm....Realistic...hummm....those sort of go together. Someone posted on Facebook this morning she was going to lose 10 pounds in 10 week. I believe, for most people, that goal IS attainable and realistic. I clicked the "like" button; I'm going to try to lose along with her. Does that count as specific?
Tangible probably fits in with measurable. But my personal beliefs are:
Things you envision for yourself must be believable...tangible.
I use a lot of visualization; some might call it meditation, to move me through all my life goals. I believe I must be able to see myself at my goal weight; I must be able to see it, smell it and hold it in my hand before I can achieve it. For me this is the most important part.
And I realize this morning my weight lose journey is a lot like my relationship with my favorite pro basketball team. They are playing really well this year but I just don’t believe…I don’t believe they ultimately won’t let me down and break my heart. Of course with my personal goals I have all the control so I understand it is different. But I don’t commit to the goal because I ultimately do not want to let myself down and break my heart AGAIN.
Losing weight is not just about the food and the scale and the saying no to ice cream. Long term health is dependent on understanding yourself and what makes you tick. So today I learned something new about myself… it was a good day!

http://exercise.about.com/od/weightloss/a/weightlossgoals.htm

3 comments:

  1. I set unattainable goals and that was a huge red flag for me this past year. I set smaller goals and once I hit that first one, it made it so much easier!

    Seeing yourself as your goal weight is a good idea. I try to do that but sometimes it's hard to believe - I liked your analogy to your favorite basketball team. So true.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Goog luck on your 10 week challenge. We can do anything we set our minds too.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anna, it can be so difficult to believe. Even with that I have to take baby steps; I can't picture the bikini body...I just try to picture looking average.
    Thank you Sheryl for the support.
    harry, thanks for the info. I will check it out!

    ReplyDelete