How Do I Set and Reach My Health and Fitness Goals?

This entry was created last Febuary but thought it was worth another look.   If you are having trouble reaching your goals this could help!! 

How many times have you set out to lose weight, go to the gym regularly or eat better only to return to old habits in a matter of days or weeks?  Often times our failures are not because of lack of effort or commitment it a lack of planning or failure to set realistic and attainable goals.

You may have heard of the acronym SMART for goal setting but it is the key to successfully reaching your fitness and healthy living goals.  So, let's look at each letter one at a time to help you shape your fitness goals.

Specific-Did you notice that my examples above wer every vague?  Saying I want to lose weight is not enough.  You need to be specific.  Example:  I want to lose 15 lbs by March 15th or I want to drop one dress size in six weeks.  You also will need to have a plan.  I always make my clients make a list of committments they are willing to make in order to acheive thier goal.  A trainer can be very helpful in creating your "game plan".

Measurable-Your goal needs to be measurable. Otherwise, how will you know if you are achieving success and what will your motivation be?  Some great ways to measure progress if your goal is  weight loss are using BMI, measuring body and taking circumfrenence measurements before, after and during your journey.  Anything that shows progress will motivate you to continue.

Attainable-Setting a goal to be a size"0" is likely an unattaibalbe goal.  Most of us are not intended to be this size and would likely be doing ourselves more harm than good having this as our expectation.  Set a goal that takes into account your body size and shape and also your lifestyle and fitness level.

Realistic-If you came to me and said "I want to lose 10lbs in one week."  I would ask "Which limb should I cut off so you can reach this goal?"  Althouight, this is likely an attainable goal it is not realistic to expect to lose 10lbs in one week.  1-2 lbs per week is a mcuh more realistic approach.

Timely-Setting a time line will keep you focused and on track.  Without a time line you will have no accountability to your goal and it will be too easy to say "I will start tomorrow". 

One last thing you need to be successful is a plan for handling setbacks.  You will at some point have an obstacle to overcome.  So, forget the all or nothing approach and be prepared for setbacks. See them as an opportunity to improve, reevaluate and get back on track.  Enlist in a strong support network to help you stay positive and motivated.