Ways to Set Weight Loss Goals

Ways to Set Weight Loss Goals
By SANDRA ESSEX

Before setting out on a journey, you must have a clear idea of
where it is you are going, right? It’s no different when it
comes to losing weight. You must set a weight loss goal to
ensure you’re heading in the right direction. 

This will also help to measure your progress and to adjust your
tactics. 
Whether you’re losing weight for fundamental health reasons or
simply to look your best, your weight loss goal still needs to
follow the standards of goal-setting, namely, your goal must be
SMART—Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Tangible.

Your first task is to determine why exactly you need to lose
weight, and how much weight you want to shed. In other words, do
you really need to lose weight? Most persons would answer yes to
that question, even those you’d think posses optimum body
weight. You sure have a right to decide how you want to look. 

But generally speaking, people who’re truly in need of weight
loss must fall within the following broad parameters: BMI must
be more than 25 Waist-Hip Ratio must be higher than 1.0 for
males or higher than 0.8 for females. Abdominal Girth
measurement must exceed 40 inches for men or 35 inches for
women.  

These are general rules, for sure. You may have other more
personal reasons for wanting to drop some pounds. But before
setting a weight loss goal based on reasons outside the ones
given here, ensure you see your doctor for proper advice.

But having determined that you DO NEED to lose weight, then
move to the next stage. Set a measurable and reasonable goal for
yourself. For most persons, the general recommendations set out
by the American College of Sports Medicine would work just fine:
aim at losing 5-10% of your body weight or one to two pounds per
week. 

Another way to go about it is to set a target that helps you
create continuous calorie deficit over time, and see how your
body responds to that. The focus in this method is sustaining
everyday health habits that help you reduce calories and lose
weight. This is best achieved with a combination of diet and
exercise.  

Whichever plan you elect to follow, you must measure your
achievements or results. This helps you keep track of your
progress—or the lack of it. To increase the chances of attaining
your weight loss goal, you must also be specific about how many
pounds you need to lose each week, each month or per year. This
will depend on your current weight and desired body weight, of
course.

Your goal must be realistic, otherwise it won’t be attainable.
If you set a goal that your current schedule, stamina, health
status or a combination of other factors would not allow, you’d
be setting yourself up for failure. Of course, being realistic
doesn’t mean you can more or less do next to nothing. 

Remember that one of the ingredients of a good goal is that it
must be TANGIBLE. The way to go about it is to set reasonable,
attainable goals and gradually scale things up. For example, you
could start by replacing your high-calorie breakfast meal with
something healthier. 

Goals are also easier to attain when you break things down into
smaller, specific units that are easier to focus on. It’s also
okay to adjust or even change your goals to make them easier to
attain, such as by increasing the length of time required to
lose specific weights. The most important thing is to stick to
your weight loss goals until they’re attained.

About the Author: Sandra Essex is a 16 –year Breast and Lung
cancer survivor. She enjoys sharing information that can help
people improve their health. One GREAT way to improve your
health is to improve your diet. Learn how you can START to
Improve Your Health TODAY!! http://weightlossanddiettips.info/
also visit our Blog for more weight loss tips
http://thehealthdiva.com/weight-loss-challenge/4-ways-quick-to-shed-those-unwanted-pounds

Source: http://www.isnare.com

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