How to Effectively Set A Weight Loss Goal
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One of the first steps in any weight loss program is setting a weight loss goal but do you know how to increase your chances of reaching your goal? This article shares 5 sure-fire tips to ensure you reach your weight loss goal.
Follow these tips:
1. Decide what you REALLY Want. You can’t hit a target if you aren’t sure where it is. Take the time before you start dieting or exercising to figure out what exactly you want your outcome to be. Scientists tell us that the brain is a goal seeking organ, so the clearer you can be in defining your goal and keeping your mind focused on that outcome, the higher your chances of reaching it.
2. Write it Down. Writing down a goal is one of the keys to achieving it. In fact studies show that people who write down their goals are much more likely to achieve them than people who merely think about a goal.
A study of Harvard alumni 10 years after graduation illustrates this fact. 83% of the graduates set no goals at all, 14% had goals but did not write them down, and the remaining 3% made specific goals and wrote them down. Who faired the best? The group who had goals but did not write them down earned an average of 3 times the income of the group without them and the 3% who wrote down their goals earned an average of 10 times what the no goal group did. This works out to the difference of millions of dollars.
3. Make Your Goal Measurable. Now that you have decided what you want transfer that “want” into what you will achieve by stating it in a way that anyone could measure. I want to lose 25 pounds is not nearly as powerful as “I will weight 140 pounds when I wake up on Saturday, June 17th”. The second is clear and distinct and can be proven by anyone who happens to be with you on the morning of June 17th.
4. Be Precise. You want your goal to be a clear bull’s eye, not a hazy approximation. Be as specific as possible with every aspect of your goal – include not only your weight but also how you will feel, what you are wearing, what you are doing or any other detail that stirs your emotions in a positive way.
Sample: Incorrect goal: “I want to lose weight”
Correct goal: “I will weigh 140 pounds on the morning of Saturday, June 17th and feel fabulous slipping into my favorite size 8 jeans.”
5. Eliminate Any Negatives that Surround Your Goal. In order for your goal to have staying power you need to eliminate any negative thoughts or feelings that arise when you think about your goal. It is not unusual to set a very positive goal yet still hear that subtle voice in the back of your head whisper, “You will never be able to do that.” or “That is going to be too hard.”
These thoughts need to be addressed or they will sabotage your chances of success. Your awareness of these distracting thoughts may be all you need to allow them to lose their power. To uncover these thoughts write your goal down on a sheet of paper then below it list any negative thoughts or feelings that come to mind. You can then choose to stop entertaining these thoughts or shift your goal slightly until these thoughts fade.
Once you have created an effective weight loss goal and written it down you must set it in your mind. So the next step toward reaching your goal is to program it into your mind using the power of repetition.
Your goal is new information for your brain so it will need to be fed the information many times before it believes that this is truly what you want. Read your goal a minimum of 3 times a day and for the best result read it out loud allowing yourself to meditate for a moment on the positive feeling and emotion you experience when thinking about already having achieved your goal. Your brain will then actively work to bridge the gap between what you have now and what you envision your life to be.
Take these steps and you will set yourself on a straight path toward your goal. You can reach your weight loss goal and by understanding how to effectively set a weight loss goal you will save yourself a ton of frustration and wasted time.
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To speed your weight loss and reach your goal with less frustration and uncertainty I invite you to read The Weight Loss Blueprint.