Goal Setting For Weight Loss, how to achieve exactly what you want in half the time.

Goal setting is an essential process in goal achievement; after all you can’t hit a target that isn’t there. Setting a specific and measurable goal also has the effect of speeding up the whole process, if you know exactly what you are aiming for, you are much more likely to succeed. So it is really worth taking some time over setting and crystallizing your goal so your conscious and subconscious minds are both working in harmony to help you overcome patterns that may have previously prevented you from attaining what you want and this time actually achieving ultimate success.

Lets use health and weight loss goals as an example - consider the following questions:

Where are you now?

It’s important to assess exactly where you are at the moment so you can measure what you need to do in order to reach your goal. In other words take some measurements and record them so you can see your progress, weigh yourself, test how fit you are, notice how you feel when you eat for any reason other than physical hunger, notice what you eat and why, notice your eating patterns and your attitude towards physical exercise.

What do you want?

The more specific you can be about your goal the more likely you are to achieve it. It gives you something concrete something tangible to aim for which is more effective than a vague idea that you might like to be a bit healthier or slimmer. So be specific.

What precisely do you want? What size clothes do you want to wear? What weight to you want to be? How fit do you want to be? (Do you want to run the marathon? or simply be able to climb a flight of stairs without being out of breath?) What kind of relationship do you want to have with food? (eg. I want to eat only when physically hungry and stop eating when satisfied and be completely comfortable with this.). Do you want more energy? Do you want to suffer less illness? Are there any niggling health problems you want to get rid of?

Why do you want it?

If there is a big enough why you can achieve anything.

For example, imagine you had a meeting arranged on the other side of town and you needed to be there at 2pm, however, all the public transport has gone on strike, the roads are gridlocked, it’s at least a 6 mile walk you think to yourself there is no way I can make that meeting, I’m going to have to cancel. However, if you were told that that meeting was so important, if you got to that meeting by 2pm on that day, you would get a bonus of £1 million. You would definitely find a way to get there on time, regardless of traffic or transport difficulties. It’s all about motivation if there is a strong enough reason for you to do something then you will do it. So it’s important to give yourself a good reason to follow your new healthy eating/fitness plan.

Consider what a difference good health will make to your life. Consider the benefits of losing weight. Think about what you will be able to do that you would not do before. Also think about what you will need to give up in order to achieve your health goals. Is giving up high fat, unhealthy food really a problem for you or are you happy that you can now make better choices without being controlled by your emotions or food addictions. What is more important to you – having health, energy, being able to wear whatever you want, having the confidence and self esteem that comes from achieving your goal or eating the junk food that makes you feel better for an instant, giving up control and treating food like a drug and living with the health consequences of this kind of eating pattern?

How are you going to get it?

Once you have decided where you are now, what you want, and why you want it, you then need to plan how you are going to get it.

Now the truth is most people wanting to lose weight and get fit tend to be experts in healthy eating and exercise. They tend to know everything there is to know about losing weight and getting fit. So you probably already have the resources you need to plan a healthy eating and exercise plan. It really is simply a case of taking action and really working out and writing down exactly what you need to do to get healthy. Just be aware that extreme dieting does not work it only makes you put on more weight, it saps your energy and damages your health. Make sure you take the healthy route even if it takes a bit longer – at least that way you know you will be able to maintain your weight and not be back to square one after only a few weeks.

So write out your plan. Give yourself a deadline that is realistic and that you will commit to achieving your goal by – having a deadline turns your plan into a definite and measurable goal as opposed to a vague wish. Be aware though, that you should not make your deadline too far away. The ideal timeframe is somewhere between 8 weeks and 12 weeks. If you have a lot of work to do, break your goal down into chunks of 4 or 8 weeks.

What are the resources you need to achieve this goal?

Do you need some exercise equipment? Or some new walking shoes? Do you need to clear out your cupboards to get rid of any food that does not feature on your plan? Do you need to enlist the support of friends or family to help you fulfill your healthy eating and exercise objectives? Do you need to do some research on the best way to achieve the health and weight loss you want? Do you need to schedule some time for yourself everyday so you can focus on your goal?

Are there any potential obstacles that could get in the way?

If you deal with any potential obstacles before they actually happen then these obstacles simply become hurdles, and you can jump over hurdles. You will see that there is nothing that can stop you from achieving your aim because you have worked out, in advance, strategies to deal with any problems that arise.

So list any problems that you can imagine getting in the way of your healthy eating goals and plan ways of overcoming them. Include in this any unhelpful habits of limiting self-beliefs that may be getting in the way.

Rate your motivation to achieve your goal

On a scale of 1 – 10, 10 being absolutely committed and 1 being not bothered -
How committed are you to doing whatever it takes to achieve your aim?
How certain are you that you will achieve your goal?

If it’s less than a 10, what do you need to do to make it a 10?

Often a goal has to be challenging but still possible in order to motivate someone. Perhaps your goal is not challenging enough to get you excited about achieving it. Perhaps it is too overwhelming and needs to be broken down into smaller steps so that it is more achievable.

The final step – make the goal real.

When you have finished answering these questions and checked that your goal is an honest reflection of what you actually want. Do the following exercise.

Imagine you are writing a page in your diary, date it as if you had just achieved your goal and write in the present tense.

For example –“I’m sitting here writing my diary and I feel fantastic, I have stuck to the heath plan a worked out for myself three months ago and I have finally lost all that weight I have been trying and failing to lose for all those years. Today I weighed myself and I was delighted to see that the scales said 126 pounds– right on target and today I’m also wearing those size 8 jeans I bought years ago. I bounced out of bed this morning feeling on top of the world, I have so much more energy now nothing really seems to be a chore” ….and so on.

Write down exactly what you want your life to be when you have achieved your goal, make it your ideal scenario, exactly what you have written on your goal plan. Write down how you will feel, how you will look, what you will be wearing, how easy it was to stick to the plan, how you feel about having achieved your goal finally. Do you have more confidence? Do you feel extreme pride in yourself for having achieved your goal? Really go to town crafting a positive scenario that you can aspire to but write as if it has already happened.

When you are completely happy with what you have written keep it somewhere safe and read it often.

By crystallizing your goal in this way and re-visiting it daily you are basically putting your subconscious mind on auto pilot – you are set on a course to achieve your goal and you will definitely get there.

by Dianne R Maurer
Weight Loss Success Coach