The Goal

The best way to accomplish your goals is to make them achievable. If you want to really lose weight and stop yo-yoing then you have to change your lifestyle. This means making exercise and healthy eating a natural part of your life instead of the exception. How many of you have sworn off all sugar, fats and “carbs”, plus vow to exercise 6 times a week, but find yourself burned out by day 3? This happens to women all the time! We get so excited about something and want to change everything all at once. Unfortunately it doesn’t work like that for most people. In real life we have good days and bad days and a full schedule to keep up with. We have to take it slow and introduce change in small doses we can swallow so we don’t get overwhelmed and give up.

So the firs key to successful goal setting is to start slow. Think about 1 or 2 changes you can easily make today without throwing your whole routine out the window. For example, a diet goal may be to add a vegetable to your meals. This goal will take a slight adjustment at first but will quickly be assimilated into your life before you know it. You will feel good about yourself for sticking with your goal and your confidence will grow. Once that becomes easy you can add another goal or increase the one you have. I have a small goal not to buy desserts or treats that I can make at home. So instead of buying that box of E.L Fudge cookies at the store, I have to make cookies at home. This saves me money and makes sure I don’t have package of cookies laying around to sabotage my hard work. Plus, I have to use some effort to make the cookies, which burns calories. (It’s not enough to counteract the cookies I will eat, but it’s a start). This seems so small, but has worked wonders for me. I usually find that I am too lazy to make the cookies and eat a graham cracker instead. Success for me!

I f you are not exercising at all, start slow by adding 1-2 days of exercise per week. They can be 15-20 min sessions if you want. There is no rule that says you have to work out for at least 30 minutes or you won’t burn ANY calories. 10 minutes of exercise is 10 minutes of exercise! And it’s better than nothing, so if that’s all you can do at first then do it! Making this small change will give you the confidence you need to make bigger changes in the future. Sometimes the hardest part of working out is just getting out the door. When I’m having a not-so-motivated-day, I make it a goal to just get dressed in workout clothes. I am much more likely to go walking or running if I’m already in the outfit. Small but effective!

Start small and be happy! Go make some achievable goals!

Here are some ideas to get you started…

Have 3 meals and 2 snacks a day

Only snack on fruits or veggies

Walk to the end or your block and back

Cook one super healthy meal a week

Take the stairs

Play with your kids at the park instead of just watching them

Vigorously clean your floors once a week (clean floors plus a good calorie burn)

Buy skim milk

Stretch for 10 minutes twice a day

Run for 20 minutes 2x a week

Only have one dessert a day

Only have one dessert a week (I have yet to keep that goal…it’s too hard for me, butmaybe not for you)

Invite a friend to go walking

What are your suggestions for easy goals to set?