Are Your Weight Loss Goals Realistic?

February 27, 2010
15 comments
By admin
In Goal Setting , Mastering the Mind
How To Drop More Pounds By “Keeping It Real”

1. Set achievable goals

So what is a realistic goal, anyway? I would say "realistic" means challenging, yes, but doable—within your time frame and with your physical frame. When you have 50 pounds to lose, it can be hard to say “I want to lose two pounds a week.” Ambition and optimism are part of our culture: we want to lose 50 pounds now. Today. We’ve already bought new jeans three sizes smaller, and we’re willing to work hard to reach our goal. Then the results don’t come as quick as we expected... and we give up. Or we work so hard to meet our impossible goals that we burn out. “Let's face it," says Bruce Weinstien, PhD, aka The Ethics Guy. "We don't accomplish most of our resolutions because most of the goals we set for ourselves are too ambitious.” It’s important to look into the future and see your ideal shape—but then step back and focus on the mini goals that’ll take you there. Establish a solid fitness regimen with these tips. Having a routine will take your fixation off the end goal, so you can make the best of your process getting there.

2. Lighten up

Your first weight loss goal should be this: to be kinder to yourself. “Negative thoughts can make it harder to reach and stay at a healthy weight,” reports WebMD. If your weight loss path is marked with frustration and self-criticism, you won’t get far. “When we fail to achieve our objectives, we end up feeling bad about ourselves,” explains The Ethics Guy, “and we return with a vengeance to the very behaviors we have vowed to stop.” It's wonderful to pinpoint things that you want to change about your health and physique. But do it with a light heart. Self-compassion, not self-abasement, is the way to your ideal shape. Weight loss hypnotherapy can help you quickly reverse negative thoughts and adopt a positive approach to your goals.

3. Be true to yourself

Part of being realistic is being true to yourself. Remember “Time to Face the Mirror and Smile?” Losing excess weight is about discovering your ideal shape—not someone else’s. It’s also about finding the program that’s right for you, so you can sustain it. The women at Cranky Fitness have it figured out:

“Ever notice how many cheerful optimists announce plans to go completely raw-food vegan, or run a marathon, or lose 50 lbs—and then they just as cheerfully abandon these plans a month later to take up scrapbooking or tend to virtual livestock on FarmVille?

Meanwhile, grumpier folks might complain about missing our cheeseburgers or Krispy Kremes or setting our alarms at 5 a.m. to work out—yet decades later, here we are.”

If someone else’s program looks too “Stepford Wives” to be true, it probably is. So rather than trying to squish yourself into someone else’s trainers, create goals based on your body, your abilities and your likes. Come up with a weight loss plan that you love. While others' results are petering out, you'll keep your ideal weight for life. What weight loss tip have you tried that just didn't work for you?