Goal Time!

Now that you have committed to making this change in your life and have spent some time pondering WHY you want/need this change, it's time to set some goals.  Goals are very important because they will keep you focused with a purpose and help with continued motivation.  There are two types of goals that you will want to consider:  scale and non-scale.  A scale goal, obviously, is a number that you would like to see on the scale or a percentage of weight loss (5%, 10%).  A non-scale goal could be fitting into a particular size or outfit, a fitness goal such as walking or running a 5K, walking a loved one down the wedding aisle, or a health goal such as reducing your blood pressure, cholesterol or dependance on insulin.  In order to facilitate continued forward progress, we will be setting several different goals, some short term and some long term. 

To begin, goals need to be VERY specific.  Broad phrases such as "I want to get healthy" just won't cut it.  It needs to be clearly defined.  What does being healthy look like to you?  Time to use your imagination:  How will it feel?  How will you look?  Get detailed and write it down.

This is a good time to address journaling.  Some people are natural journalers and have made this a habit throughout their lives.  Me?  Not so much.  Quite frankly, I just don't find it to be a good use of my time.  I don't like looking back and I'd rather talk through things.  If you are more like me and not much of a journaler, it is very helpful to find someone who will listen without judgement as you work through the emotional side of your experience and have a sounding board for ideas.  This would be a good thing even if you DO journal!  I'm lucky that my hubby is gifted at this and knows my history.  He also happens to have great suggestions.  But journaling your experience can be helpful for many different reasons.  There will be times that you will have smooth sailing where everything is going well and times of struggle where you just can't seem to get back on track.  It can be very beneficial to have the ability to look back at the times when it was working for you and see what you were doing differently.   No matter what eating plan you choose, a consistent theme of all of them is to write down every bite.  Writing down what you eat and drink each day as well as keeping track of exercise should be a part of this.  In the hustle and bustle of life, it's far too easy to forget a snack or two that you had one day.  I say that I don't really like keeping track of these things and taking the time to write it down but I will also say that when I DO these things, the results show it.  The accountability that it brings to the table (pun intended) can make all the difference in your success. 


If you choose to join Weight Watchers, make sure that you take advantage of e-tools.  This is a great way to keep track of all that you eat and the exercise that you do.  It's quick and easy to enter it and it will also automatically track your weight and allow you to set your own goals for weight loss.  I did reach a point where I wanted more information than the Weight Watchers Points Plus program offered.  More specifically, I was concerned that the zero point foods that I was eating (all fruit and most vegetables) might have been slowing my progress.  So I started tracking food and exercise with a calorie counter.  I use this free app for my iPod that I really like.  Honestly, I have found that it has a larger data base of foods than the WW app has.  While we're talking apps for tracking things, I would like to mention the Nike+ GPS  app.  This one costs $1.99 and works as a pedometer on steroids.  It tracks all of your workouts, pace and calories burned as well as keeps records of your longest distance, longest workout, fastest mile, fastest 1K and fastest 5K.  If you have a smartphone, it can also use GPS to track your route and your pace at each portion of the trail.  I don't have a smartphone and use this on my iPod Touch without the GPS and LOVE it!  Hubby is even using it to track his lunch time walks.

While you are writing things down, take a few minutes to grab a tape measure and write down measurements for your upper arm (bicep area), bust, chest (bra band), waist, hips and thigh.  I would recommend doing this about once a month.  Make sure you are measuring the same spot each time.  Freckles are very helpful for this ;-)  There may be times when the scale stalls for you.  It took me all three months of this past summer to lose just 5 lbs.  I felt like I was banging my head against the wall until I stepped back and considered that I had really increased how far and how frequently I was running.  Looking at my measurement tracking helped me realize that I was, in fact, still losing fat but gaining enough muscle that the scale wasn't budging but the inches were!


So get out your journal, legal pad or grocery receipt and write down your wildest dream for your health.  When I first started, my goal was simply to reach my goal weight in one year.  Here's a good starting place for figuring out that number for yourself:  ideal weight  There are so many factors to consider when choosing this number such as height, BMI, bone structure, age and gender that this should just be considered a suggested range and not gospel.  You will know what is right and what is unreasonable for your body.  One year away is a great time line for your long term goal.  It's a very realistic amount of time to wrap your brain around though it may not necessarily be realistic for everyone to expect to reach a maintenance weight by then (remember that a good rate of weight loss is 1-2 lbs per week).  Now, how will you reach that goal?  Get specific about what things you will implement to get you there.  


5% or 10% of your body weight lost is a great medium term goal.  5% is not a huge amount of weight to lose and you will begin to feel confident about your ability to lose around this point.  Break it down further into what your monthly goal will be.  What will you do to get there?  Break it down again into a weekly goal and what you can do to reach it.  Now what will you do on a daily basis to move yourself toward all of these goals?  The things that you have written down are very fluid and can change as you move along your journey.  Regularly reconsidering your goals and what you are doing to reach them will be a key ingredient to staying motivated.  Be sure to include rewards for meeting each goal.  


Here is a sample of what a goal worksheet might look like: 

Time Line	Goal	How To Get There	Reward
1 year	goal weight	join WW	wardrobe I LOVE
		exercise regularly	Vegas vacation
??	5% weight loss	track calories/points	5%-manicure & pedicure
	10% weight loss	exercise regularly	10%-new running shoes
monthly	track measurements	keep tape measure and	eat out at a great restaurant
		log in bathroom
		set ongoing weight goals
weekly	attend WW meetings	“Mommy and Me” meeting	movie night
	increase fitness	exercise 4-6x per week
		run 5K & 10K races
	stay motivated	watch The Biggest Loser!	try a new exercise video
		listen to Jillian Michaels' podcasts	or class
daily	make sure scale is	weigh daily at same time	great toiletries to wash
	going downward	measure portions	off all the sweat
		track calories/points
		make exercise a priority

Hopefully, by this point, you have a game plan in mind and are ready to roll up your sleeves and do the work to make it happen.  You CAN do it and you ARE worth it!  With a little planning and the right tools it's only a matter of time until your are checking goals off of your list.  


Excuse time!  Since I'm asking you to take the time to do a whole bunch of new things, it's only natural to say: "I don't have time to exercise!" None of us has time for one more thing in our day but you simply have to make it a priority.  Write it into your day.  Actually put it on the calendar or whatever you use as a daily planner.  It is also helpful to tell someone that you are going to exercise today/tomorrow.  I let hubby know that I want to run in the morning then he keeps asking, "When are you going?" if I don't go right away because it impacts his schedule, too. 

Of course, you don't want to have "Wal-Mart bags" (as my hubby so delicately calls them) hanging under your arms (or on your stomach or caboose or chin or...) after the weight is gone.  Exercise is what will tighten up everything so that makes it your new best friend!  Once you find your stride so to speak, you will find yourself fiercely protecting your workout time just like you did your kid's nap time when they were a baby.  So when the heck will that time be?  You have to find what works best for you: Some people prefer first thing in the morning.  My hubby walks over his lunch hour to decompress after a full morning of middle schoolers.  Others really like the evening.  I prefer first thing in the morning for several reasons:  1.  It's an excuse free zone.  I haven't gotten my mind on a hundred different things and gotten too busy doing something else to fit it in.   2.  It doesn't interfere with family time.  I go either before the kids are awake or while they are at school (Yes, HUGE perk of staying home).  3.  It's sooo quiet and peaceful first thing in the morning.  The bike paths are much less crowded than in the evenings.  4.  I only have to shower once per day.  5.  I have found that I have to exercise with very little in my stomach.  A cup of coffee (It really does help and is okay! More on this another time.) and a piece of fruit is all I can really handle before a workout.  Try working out after eating bacon or eggs sometime and you will know the meaning of the word REGRET! ;-)  Another way to find the time to exercise is to involve your family.  Hike together on the weekends (been to the mountains or Vogel Canyon lately?).  Ride bikes or take a walk together after dinner.  On these outings you can race to the next corner or fire hydrant to step it up a bit.  Take the kids to the park and chase them around the equipment instead of sitting on the bench messing with your phone while they play.  My son has ridden his bike along with me on runs.  Jump on the trampoline with the kids.  If you don't have family nearby, make a date to call someone on your cell phone and "walk together" while you catch up.  The time will fly by.