How to Set and Plan your Weight Loss Goals
If you want to lose weight and shrink your waist, there’s no doubt that the two key aspects you must change are your diet and sedentary lifestyle. However, to burn calories and change this negative tendency, you must also know how to set and plan your weight loss goals.
Certainly, planning your goals to make those extra pounds a thing of the past is probably one of the hardest steps in any weight loss program. This is because you must know how much weight to lose and how to calculate that number.
Before setting goals based on what you believe to be your ideal weight, we recommend talking with a doctor you can trust. He’ll have access to different height-weight charts and other resources that help to determine a healthy weight range for your body type.
Likewise, when it comes to planning your weight loss goals, the results must help you to focus less on ideal weight and more in making healthy choices every day. The only way to see results is by adopting healthy habits for your body. If you want to start a weight loss program, it’s important to take some aspects into account.
Steps to plan your weight loss goals
Once you’ve determined your weight loss goals, you must write down that goal and then come up with a plan to achieve it. This plan must be specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and tangible, among other characteristics. We’ll talk about the best way to plan it in the next paragraphs. Take notes!
1. Set a specific and measurable goal
For starters, avoid setting goals that are too broad. The first step in your goal-setting process is to reduce your objectives to a specific accomplishment or milestone that you would like to reach. Something that can help you to refine your goals is speaking with a doctor.
On the other hand, you must learn to set weight loss goals that are reachable and measurable. In order to keep track of your progress during your weight loss journey, your goal must be quantifiable and comparable.
Define how you’ll measure your success as you move forward in this process. For example, your goal may be to lose ‘X number of pounds’ or reduce your body fat by a specific percentage.
2. The goal must be attainable
For your weight loss goals to be achievable, you must evaluate your weight loss history. If you’ve never been able to lose more than 20 pounds, a 40-pound weight loss goal wouldn’t be reasonable.
Also, remember that every time you accomplish a goal, you can set a new one. All of your goals should be challenging, but they shouldn’t be so hard that they become overwhelming. Adjust your goals to a reasonable level.
3. You weight loss goals must be important for you
Your goals should be important in your life. Defining why your goals are important may help to keep you motivated when you want to indulge in unhealthy behaviors. For example, if you go to see a doctor at the beginning of your weight loss process, write down how losing weight will impact your health.
In this sense, it’s important to define how this is relevant in your life. Remind yourself of these reasons the next time you’re tempted to abandon your journey or give in to bad habits.
Setting your intentions and understanding your motivation to lose weight will help to keep you focused on what you need. This way, you’ll never lose sight of what really matters: your health and happiness.
Finally, remember that your goals must be attainable, which is why you must be willing to set new goals if the first ones are not working for you. The interesting part is that as you start including healthier behaviors in your life, they’ll become part of your routine and you’ll feel a lot better, stronger and more confident. And of course, they’ll also guarantee a successful weight loss process.
No weight loss program or diet will work until you set goals to be successful. A solid goal will serve as a roadmap for the whole process, as it may be a long one. Planning your weight loss goals is definitely the key to ensure your effort leads to a positive outcome.
All cited sources were thoroughly reviewed by our team to ensure their quality, reliability, currency, and validity. The bibliography of this article was considered reliable and of academic or scientific accuracy.
- Boutelle, K. N., Libbey, H., Neumark-Sztainer, D., & Story, M. (2009). Weight Control Strategies of Overweight Adolescents Who Successfully Lost Weight. Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 109(12), 2029–2035. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jada.2009.09.012
- Makoundou, V., Habicht, F., Bobbioni-Harsch, E., Pataky, Z., & Golay, A. (2010, March 31). Lone term weight loss maintenance. Revue Medicale Suisse. Editions Medecine et Hygiene. https://doi.org/10.1093/ajcn/82.1.222S
