Goal Setting for fat loss

Often when it comes to fat loss we usually have an event that we want to lose weight for, it might be a milestone, birthday, wedding, holiday or something else that we want to get in shape for.

It's really good to have a focus for why you are wanting to lose weight, it helps concentrate your mind and you have an in built tracking mechanism.

The BIG PROBLEM with this approach is how far out in advance your target date is. A friend I was talking to recently wants to lose weight and get in shape for her 30th Birthday.

She was telling me that

'I've got 18 months to go and need to lose 2 and a half stone thats 31 pounds, it's only 1.7 pounds a MONTH.  That's going to be easy to do'

Yes it's easy to lose that amount of weight a month in theory.

In practice it could prove to be difficult for her.

Here's why…

WHAT'S THE PROBLEM WITH HER GOAL?

The target date is too far in the distance.

When it comes to losing weight essentially we have to change some of our behaviours and how we relate to food, these are different for everybody it might be

• eating more regularly to regulate your blood sugar
  
• having a breakfast to kick start your metabolism
• not eating crisps, biscuits, ice cream etc
  
• stop late night snacking
• drinking less alcohol
  
• eating when bored, tired or depressed
• starting to exercise a bit more
  
• sleeping better

So how does that relate to your target date?

The problem I have when a target date is too far in the distance is that it does not force you to start taking consistent action now, when it comes to making a choice about how you are going to behave you think to yourself 'it's Ok I've got plenty of time, I can make it up later'

With this approach you end up bumbling along and creating more of the fat loss emotional rollercoasters than are necessary.

What I predict will happen with my friend is that

she will bumble along riding the emotional roller coaster for the next 15 months and maybe lose 5-10lbs and then she'll create a flurry of activity and discipline in the last 3 months to as she tries to reach her target or maybe she will read this article and change her thinking.

Lets start off with what is a realistic amount of weight to lose each week, a lot of this depends on how overweight you are to begin with, the more you have to lose the easier it is to lose more fat. Most people will lose 3-5 lbs a week on the intense phase of my fat loss plan. But a more realistic target over a continued period of time is closer to 1-2 lbs a week, choosing an amount like that you should be able to maintain continued progress.

So in my friends case I would say to her lets set a target of just losing 1.5 lbs a week, it's easily doable and she may even get well ahead of the target,

Her new target time is now 20 weeks instead of 78 weeks, I would also suggest she give herself some rewards as she moves along, knowing her and what she likes doing I'd suggest she build in some rewards along the way.

e.g.

5  lbs Manicure
10 lbs Pedicure and foot massage
15 lbs Tickets to theatre or other event
20 lbs Full body massage
25 lbs Night away in a hotel
30 lbs Weekend city break

So even though she has got the big picture in mind she can shift her daily focus onto getting a manicure and losing the first 5 lbs.

When our clients do a 2 week intensive phase on 4 week fat loss they lose anything between 6-12 lbs on average depending on how much exercise you do, just eating the diet we propose will help most people drop 2-3 lbs in a week without doing much exercise.

Look out for another goal setting tip that I'll share with you next time.

Let me know if you've got any goal setting tips that have worked or are working for you.

Matt