The Secret to Setting A Weight Loss Goal (Or Any Goal)

How to Set a Weight Loss Goal

How much weight do you need to lose?

As a starting point, decide on a reasonable target weight for you. As a guideline, most slimming and weight loss professionals use the Body Mass Index (BMI), which looks at a person’s weight in relation to their height,. A BMI of less than 18.5 is considered to be underweight, 18.5-24.9 indicates a healthy weight, 25-29.9 is overweight and 30 or more is obese. Quite simply, the higher your BMI, the greater your risk of health problems. Find out your BMI with the WLR Calculator.

Ideally, you should aim for a target weight that gives you a BMI in the healthy weight range (18.5-24.9), but if you have a considerable amount of weight to lose, this may seem extremely daunting and unachievable. Instead, you might prefer to set an initial weight loss that moves you down a couple of BMI notches, or perhaps shifts you from the obese category (BMI more than 30) to the overweight category (BMI 25-29.9). Research shows that losing just 10 percent of excess weight will improve health – and you can always set yourself new goals along the way.

On the other hand, you might already be in the healthy weight range. But if your weight has gradually been increasing, now’s the time to take control of the situation and lose the extra pounds you’ve gained before you end up becoming medically overweight.

In addition, while many of us might like to slim down to the weight we were on our 18th birthday or on our wedding day, for example, it’s important to be realistic about whether you can really achieve this. For most of us, it’s likely to be impractical – as teenagers we probably played sport every single day, while we perhaps starved ourselves to get into our wedding dress! Instead, it’s better to focus on reaching a target weight that leaves you looking and feeling slim, fit and healthy – rather than skinny.

Once you’ve decided on a realistic weight goal, you’ll be able to work out how long it will take you to reach this.

How long will it take you to reach your target?

While it might be tempting to slash your calorie intake considerably in an effort to lose weight fast, you shouldn’t aim to shift more than 2lb a week – although you may lose slightly more than this when you first start slimming as your body gets rid of water as well as fat. In the long term though, a weight loss of more than 2lb a week means you’ll have to cut calories excessively – and ultimately, this will make it even harder to shift those pounds. Effectively, very low calorie intakes simply push the body into ‘starvation mode’ so that it becomes super efficient at making the most of the calories it actually gets from food and drink. It does this by protecting its fat stores and instead using lean tissue or muscle to provide it with some of the calories it needs to keep functioning. This leads to a loss of muscle, which in turn lowers metabolism so that the body needs fewer calories to keep ticking over and weight loss slows down – not ideal if you want to shift unwanted pounds!

Source: http://www.weightlossresources.co.uk/slimming/weight_loss_goal.htm

Weight-loss goals: Set yourself up for success

Well-planned goals can help you convert your thoughts into action. Here's how to create successful weight-loss goals.

Weight-loss goals can mean the difference between success and failure. Realistic, well-planned weight-loss goals keep you focused and motivated. They provide a plan for change as you transition to a healthier lifestyle.

But not all weight-loss goals are helpful. Unrealistic and overly aggressive weight-loss goals — for example, losing 10 pounds a week — can undermine your efforts.

It's OK to dream big. Just be smart about it and use these tips for creating weight-loss goals that will help you achieve your dreams.

Set SMART goals

When planning your goals, write down everything and go through all the details. When and where will you do it? How will you fit a walk into your schedule? What do you need to get started? This way you'll be able to track your progress to see if you're meeting your goals.

Make it measurable

For example, how far are you going to walk? For how long? How many days each week are you going to walk? Track your progress.

Review your progress each week. Were you able to successfully meet your goals last week? Think about what worked and what didn't. Then plan for how you will reach your goals next week.

Focus on what's attainable and relevant to you

Set goals that are within your capabilities and that take into account your limitations. Consider your personal fitness level, health concerns, available time and motivation. Tailoring your expectations to your personal situation helps you set achievable goals.

A reasonable goal for many people is losing 5 to 10 percent of current weight. It's a good idea to plan to lose 1 to 2 pounds a week (0.5 to 1 kilogram) — even if your initial weight loss is a little faster in the first week or two.

Think about timing

Timing is crucial, often making the difference between success and failure. Choose a definite start date for your weight-loss program and don't put that date off. Be sure to account for life circumstances that might hamper your efforts, such as work or school demands, vacations or relationship problems. You may need to resolve some issues before starting.

Set both short- and long-term goals. Short-term goals keep you engaged on a daily basis, but long-term goals motivate you over the long haul. Your short-term goals are the stepping stones to your long-term goal.

Focus on the process

Make the most of your process goals, rather than outcome goals. "Exercise three times a week" is an example of a process goal, while "weigh 145 pounds" is an example of an outcome goal. It's changing your processes — your daily behaviors and habits — that's key to weight loss, not necessarily focusing on a specific number on the scale.

Plan for setbacks

Setbacks are a natural part of behavior change. Everyone who successfully makes changes in his or her life has experienced setbacks. Identifying potential roadblocks — a big holiday meal or office party, for example — and brainstorming specific strategies to overcome them can help you stay on course or get back on course.

Reassess and adjust your goals as needed

Be willing to change your goals as you make progress in your weight-loss plan. If you started small, you might be ready to take on larger challenges. Or, you might find that you need to adjust your goals to better fit your new lifestyle.

Source: http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-living/weight-loss/in-depth/weight-loss/art-20048224