Realistic Weight Loss Goals: Creating Weight Loss Goals That Really Work

Creating realistic weight loss goals is one of the most important tasks you must complete when starting a new weight loss or diet program. If you do not make a conscious effort to create realistic goals for weight loss you will, most likely, create unrealistic goals. The consequence is you will not have a clear idea how to attack your weight loss and dieting and you will flounder and fail. Two examples of unrealistic weight loss goals would be, “I am going to lose a lot of weight fast!” OK, that is a goal but it is unrealistic because losing a lot of weight fast requires extreme discipline and the goal doesn’t explain how you will accomplish the weight loss. Another example of an unrealistic goal would be, “I will lose all the weight I want by just cutting back a little on my meals.” Again, that is one approach to weight loss but how much will you cut back, how will you monitor the portions you eat and how long will you continue to cut back? Goals like these are not specific and are difficult to assess and monitor. The end result is that you will slide back into comfortable habits and then you will become frustrated. From there it is just an impulse or two away from complete failure. To be successful you must set realistic goals for weight loss and when you do you will find that success will come faster and you will achieve your goals easily.

When setting goals for weight loss make sure that you establish easily attainable short-term realistic weight loss goals. By short-term goals I am talking about a goal you can achieve in the next week. Once you have made the list of short-term goals write down what actions you need to take to make sure you achieve these goals. When you are making this list be as specific as possible. The clearer you can define your goal the easier it will be for you to achieve the goal. Planning how you attack the dieting process is crucial and setting realistic weight loss goals is fundamental to your success so make your goals detail rich, powerfully positive and very clear. Every time you sit down to create another realistic weight loss goal always think of the goal as a piece of the most important “roadmap” you will every use. A “roadmap” is only useful if it contains all the information, all the details, all the steps to get you from your starting point to your destination. Your short-term realistic weight loss goals are exactly that, your “roadmap” from where you are now to your final destination. So when you set weight loss goals remember to create clearly defined, detail rich, and very specific goals. Once you have mastered this step all you have to do is follow through and watch your success grow with every week.

Planning leads to success in any endeavor and weight loss is no exception. For you to be success with weight loss you must plan your attack every day. What goals do you need to achieve that day? When you set goals for weight loss each goal must be powerful and expressed using very positive language.  As an example look at this goal, “In the next few days I will change how I eat to see if I can lose some weight.”  Getting to the point of realizing you need to lose weight is good but this goal will lead to failure. Why? The goal is non-specific. How are you going to change how you eat? How much weight do you want to lose? How many days is a “few days”?  A goal that would be achievable would be phrased, “In the next 7 days I will lose 2 pounds. I will achieve this by ……” This goal has a definite start and finish and a plan. This goal is positive, clear and specific. When you create goals that have a definite starting point and endpoint, when your goals are detailed and realistic you will begin to build momentum and success will begin to come easier and faster.

I’m sure some people would see the goal of losing two pounds in a week as an insignificant goal however consider this, two pounds doesn't sound like very much but to lose two pounds you must also make fundamental changes in your life. These fundamental changes will be centered on how, when and what you eat. These changes affect very basic life patterns and are not that easy to change. The long-term goal is to lose weight, consistently through the achievement of short-term realistic weight loss goals.  Always be aware that you are making significant changes in your life and the more time you spend creating and detailing realistic weight loss goals the easier you will find the process and the quicker you will experience success.

Since creating the short-term realistic weight loss goals is so crucial to your success it is important that you only create these goals when you can devote 100% of your attention to the process. These goals are critical to your success and finding a quiet place where you can focus completely on creating the goals is very important. After you have created your goals read them out loud. Do they sound realistic? Can you achieve each goal in seven days? Through the process of writing a list of realistic weight loss goals the path for your success will be very clear to you. Always remember that the clearer your goals, the more detailed your goals the more easily you will find success.

Since you want to lose weight you must also want to keep the weight off. Your success with long term sustainable weight loss will be determined by the amount of thought, planning, patience and follow through you give your short-term realistic weight loss goals. Although long-term weight loss is not the subject of this article you need to begin thinking about it. A very powerful tool to use is visualization. Visualize who you want to become. Feel the emotions after successfully losing weight after one year! Create a detailed picture in your mind of the clothes are you wearing, what you are feeling, and of course how you look. If you follow these few simple steps everything is within your reach. Your success will spring from your short-term realistic weight loss goals. Take the time to create these goals and they will launch you into a new future. Remove all doubt from your mind; it is all here just waiting for you to grab it. Make up your mind that you will be successful and begin your success by achieving all your short-term realistic weight loss goals.