Setting Weight-Loss Goals

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• QHow can I reach my weight-loss goal?

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  A Dr. James O. Hill , Nutrition & Dietetics, answered

  Start by setting a goal of losing 10% of your current weight. Once you reach that goal, add another five to 10%, so that you’re losing weight in increments. Sometimes people fail with weight loss because their goals are too much, too soon. Be patient, you didn’t gain all of that weight in six months, so you probably won’t lose it all in six months.
  
  Weight-loss goals need to involve diet and exercise. The mistake I think people make most is that they make diet changes that cannot be sustained. It’s very rare that a person can keep off weight without adopting a physically active lifestyle. Losing weight and keeping it off are different processes. Lots of people succeed in losing weight but not in keeping it off. To reach the weight you want to achieve and keep it there, you have to make permanent changes to your lifestyle.

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• QWhy do I need to set weight loss goals?

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  A Honor Society of Nursing (STTI) answered

  It’s important to have goals in anything you do in life -- whether career goals, financial goals, educational goals or fitness goals. When it comes to weight loss, goals help keep you on the right track. Reviewing your weight loss goals from time to time will keep you accountable so that you stick with the diet and exercise plan.
  
  To keep weight loss goals, first start with a goal of losing 10 percent of your weight. If you weigh 160, this means 16 pounds. If you weigh 210, this means 21 pounds. Once you have calculated the amount of weight you want to lose, write down your current weight and your goal weight on a piece of paper (such as 160 and 144; 210 and 189). Now start working toward your new goal.

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• QShould I set goals with my daily meal plan?

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  A Honor Society of Nursing (STTI) answered

  Yes, goals are important in determining your daily meal plan so you don’t eat more without realizing it. Decide what your meal plan will be for weight loss.  This does not need to be dramatic like cutting 500 calories each day. Rather, you may make 1 or 2 food or beverage changes each day -- changes that will add up over time and result in weight loss.
  
  Perhaps you decide to switch from a sugary cola product to a diet cola product. (If you eliminate one cola a day or about 150 calories, this adds up to more than 50,000 calories annually or a weight reduction of 15 pounds.)  Maybe you will go from drinking whole milk to drinking skim or low-fat milk. Or perhaps you’ll switch from having ice cream after dinner to enjoying a sugar free popsicle. Write down these changes and keep them nearby as a reminder to stick with the commitment.

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• QHow should I set a weight-loss goal?

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  A National Academy of Sports Medicine answered

  The great thing about goal setting for weight loss is that you have complete control over how aggressively you want to get to your results. If you have difficulty with compliance, and keeping up the behaviors that will help you lose weight, then you should go with a less aggressive goal such as half a pound per week. Of course, this means that it will take you more time to hit your long term goal, but the good news is that the journey might not be quite as difficult. If you want to lose half a pound per week, you will only need to create a daily deficit of 250 calories. Translated into actions, this could mean simply eating one less slice of cheese (about 100 calories) and taking a 20 minute walk (burning an additional 150 calories).
  
  If you want your results quicker, you can go after your goal more aggressively and aim to lose two pounds per week. This simply means that your effort level will have to increase with regard to exercise, diet, or both. Losing two pounds per week would mean creating a 1,000 calorie deficit on a daily and consistent basis. In terms of daily action items, this could translate to eating 500 calories less (consuming about 150 calories less per meal) burning 500 more (over an hour of brisk walking).
  
  At the end of the day, setting goals is up to entirely up to you. Just know that you should be honest with what you feel like you can and are willing to accomplish on a consistent basis and allow that to serve as your goal setting strategy.

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• QWhat are the benefits of setting a time-based weight loss goal?

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  A Dr. Andrea Pennington, MD , Integrative Medicine, answered

  Making your weight loss goal time based gives you something to strive for. It is not enough to say, "I will lose 10 pounds." Instead, try "I will lose 10 pounds by June 1" or "by my 10-year reunion in October." That timetable will help you stay on track, as long as it's realistic. Expect resistance or struggles, achieving anything can be difficult, especially changing your fitness and nutrition routine. You will experience some not-so-good days and hopefully plenty of great days. Use the great days to keep you going on the days when you slip a little. Know that failure is not when you fall, it is when you stay down. If you fall, get up, brush yourself off and get on with it. Reward yourself when you do something great or reach a milestone. Some people put aside the money they saved kicking their smoking habit and later use it to do something they love, such as plan a great vacation. Looking forward to a non-food reward or treat will help you stay focused during the tough times.
• QWhat are the benefits of visualizing my weight loss goals?

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  A Dr. Andrea Pennington, MD , Integrative Medicine, answered

  Defining your goal, visualizing it regularly, and setting it into the cosmic energy field, is the first step to maintaining your enthusiasm and desire. Maybe your goal is to sit on an airplane with your legs tucked comfortably underneath you, or maybe it's to sashay down the hall without your legs rubbing together. Visualize yourself at your goal several times a day. Do it every morning before getting out of bed and every night before going to sleep.
• QWhy should I write down my weight loss goals?

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  A Dr. Andrea Pennington, MD , Integrative Medicine, answered

  When we put our dreams and goals on paper we set them firmly into our hidden source of energy and enthusiasm: our subconscious mind and our soul. Carry the list of motivating factors with you and think about them throughout the day. And when you're doing something that is part of your plan, like limiting your portion sizes, or choosing fruit over a candy bar, say to yourself, "I'm doing this for my..." and fill in the blank with one of the motivating factors you listed. This way, when you don't feel like doing the right thing for yourself, perhaps before indulging in a Twinkie, you'll remember one of your other motivating factors. There's always a good reason to stick to your plan. Writing more than one of them down helps them stay top of mind. When you find yourself giving in consistently, it's helpful to pull out the list and remember all of the important health and personal reasons for losing weight.

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• QWhy should I understand why I want to lose weight?

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  A Dr. Michael Roizen, MD , Internal Medicine, answered

  You know if you need to lose weight. You can tell by the way you look, by the way you feel, and whether your clothes feel tighter than an unopened pickle jar. But to be able to make changes—sustainable changes—you not only have to know what you've done to your figure. You also have to know why you're abusing your body—in the form of the emotional and physical triggers that led you to gaining weight. To start, perform a self-administered "why" test—that is, keep asking yourself "why" questions about your weight until you come to the real answer about why you want to lose weight and why you can't. It may go something like this:

  • Why do you want to lose weight?
    Because I want to fit into my old pair of jeans.
  • Why do you want to fit into your old pair of jeans?
    Because I'd have more confidence.
  • Why do you want more confidence?
    Because I'll feel better trying to meet new people.
  • Why do you want to meet new people?
    Because I'm recently divorced and hoping to start a new relationship.
  • Why do you want to start a new relationship?
    Because I'm feeling lonely.

  And that's likely where the thread of questions stops—where you can link the first question to the last answer. You want to lose weight because you're lonely, but the likely cause of your weight gain is the very same thing—that you're lonely.

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• QHow can a positive goal statement help me achieve weight loss?

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  A Dr. Michael T. Murray, ND , Naturopathic Medicine, answered

  Learning to set goals in a way that results in a positive experience is critical to your success. The following guidelines can be used to set any goal' whether short or long term' including your desired weight. You can use goal setting to create a success cycle - a succession of positive achievements. Achieving goals helps you feel better about yourself' and the better you feel about yourself' the more likely you are to achieve your goals. Success breeds success.

  1. State the goal in positive terms; do not use any negative words in your goal statement. For example' it is better to say' &quotI enjoy eating healthy' low-calorie' nutritious foods'" than &quotI will not eat sugar' candy' ice cream' and other fattening foods."
  2. Make your short-term goal attainable and realistic. Again' a short-term goal can be used to create a success cycle and a positive self-image. Little successes add up to make a major difference in the way you feel about yourself.
  3. Be specific. The clearer your goal is defined' the more likely you are to reach it. What is the exact weight you desire? What is the body fat percentage or measurements you desire? Clearly define what it is you want to achieve.

     Use the guidelines above to construct both a short- and a long-term positive goal statement.

     For example' a short-term goal statement could be: &quotMy body is strong and beautiful. I feel good about myself and my body. I am losing 2 pounds a week and I feel fantastic!" And a long-term goal statement could be: &quotI am a size 6.1 feel beautiful' thin' and full of energy."

     Any voyage begins with one step and is followed by many other steps. Short-term goals can be used to help you achieve those long-term results described in your positive goal statement. Get in the habit of asking yourself the following question each morning and evening: What must I do today to achieve my long-term goal?

  4. State the goal in the present tense' not the future tense. In order to reach your goal' you have to believe you have already attained it. As noted psychologist Dr. Wayne Dyer says &quotYou'll see it' when you believe it." You must literally program yourself to achieve the goal. See and feel yourself having already achieved the goal and success will be yours. Remember always state your goal in the present tense.

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• QWhat is a realistic weight loss goal?

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  A Dr. Mehmet Oz, MD , Cardiology (Cardiovascular Disease), answered

  

  If you have a fair amount of weight to lose, it's only natural to wish you could lose it fast -- but that's not smart or sustainable, says actress and Dr. Oz Show guest Rosie O'Donnell. In this video, the television personality talks about where she is in her weight-loss journey.

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