This is an excerpt of my Free Weight Loss Plan, the Don’t Go Broke Weight Loss Plan.
Okay, so you are ready to get going. But before I tell you how to get there, you should know exactly where you are going. What are your goals?
Many of you are thinking: “My goal is to lose weight”. That is an overall goal, but you need more specific goals. You are going to need:
- Daily goals,
- Short-term goals (within the next 3 months),
- Mid-term goals (within the next year), and
- Long-term goals (within the next 3 years).
These specific goals will give you focus and allow you to gauge your success.
Daily Goals
Your daily goals are your most important goals. Weight loss occurs one day at a time. In order to shed fat you need to have more successful days than unsuccessful days. To lose one pound every week, you must average a weight loss of one-seventh of a pound every day.
Your daily goals would be to follow your nutrition plan, follow your activity plan, continue a good behavior and/or abstain from a bad behavior. Examples of daily goals:
- Do not eat any candy today.
- Walk 10,000 steps today.
- Prepare tomorrow’s lunch tonight.
- Do not eat in front of the television tonight.
Daily Caloric Goals
In order to lose weight, you must eat fewer calories than your body burns. The amount of calories your body burns is directly related to the amount of your muscle mass. Your muscle mass is more related to your height than it is to your current weight.
In order to lose weight, get an accurate measure of your height, and use the table below to find the daily calorie goal you should aim for. You will also find the weight you should be aiming to achieve at your height.
|
Height |
Goal Weight |
Daily Caloric Goal |
|
5’ or less |
< 125 pounds |
1300 |
|
5’1” |
< 130 pounds |
1350 |
|
5’2” |
< 135 pounds |
1400 |
|
5’3” |
< 140 pounds |
1450 |
|
5’4” |
< 145 pounds |
1500 |
|
5’5” |
< 150 pounds |
1550 |
|
5’6” |
< 155 pounds |
1600 |
|
5’7” |
< 160 pounds |
1650 |
|
5’8” |
< 165 pounds |
1700 |
|
5’9” |
< 170 pounds |
1750 |
|
5’10” |
< 175 pounds |
1800 |
|
5’11” |
< 180 pounds |
1850 |
|
6’ |
< 185 pounds |
1900 |
|
6’1” |
< 190 pounds |
1950 |
|
6’2” |
< 195 pounds |
2000 |
|
6’3” |
< 200 pounds |
2050 |
|
6’4” |
< 205 pounds |
2100 |
Divide your calories into 5 to 6 meals:
- 3 medium sized meals and 3 snacks OR
- 3 medium sized meals and 2 snacks OR
- 4 medium sized meals and 2 snacks OR
- 6 small meals OR
- 5 small meals OR
- Any combination you like without going over your daily calorie goal
If you follow your daily calorie goal for one month and you are not losing weight, you should decrease your daily calorie goal by 100 calories. However, never decrease your daily calories below 1200 calories a day. Consuming less than 1200 calories a day is not healthy.
Short, Mid and Long-term Goals
Short-term, mid-term, and long-term goals are great ways to gauge your progress. These goals should be:
1. Specific and Quantifiable: Your goals should be specific, not vague. They should also be quantifiable, so that you can measure your progress accurately.
- Vague Goal: I want to look like Halle Berry.
- Specific and Quantifiable Goal: I want to lose 13 pounds of fat.
2. Achievable: Your goals must be realistic. Overly optimistic goals will set you up for failure in the long run. They will also encourage you to use weight loss strategies that you will not be able to maintain.
- Unrealistic Goal: I will lose 13 pounds of fat in the next 3 weeks.
- Realistic Goal: I will lose 13 pounds of fat in the next 3 months.
3. Rewarding: Your goals should be results that you value. They should be results that you believe are rewarding. You will work harder and longer if your goals are something you want, not what others think you should want.
- Non-rewarding Goals: I will lose 13 pounds of fat in the next 3 months because my husband wants me to.
- Rewarding Goals: I will lose 13 pounds of fat in the next 3 months because I want to improve my health and look better for myself. Losing weight will lengthen and improve my entire life.
Photo by lululemon athletica.
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