Setting Your Action Goals
Today, you pull your weight loss plan together. Next, you launch!
All you need is 2 action goals for this week. Your:
Food goal is a small, but effective change in how you eat. Soon, you'll build on that goal.
Physical activity goal starts your ramp-up to being more active and burning more calories.
Each week, you'll revisit your 2 action goals and:
When you've mastered a goal, you'll set a new goal for the next week.
If you feel like you need more time to make a change, carry that goal over to the next week.
If a goal isn't quite right for you, you can tweak or change it.
How to create SMART action goals
SMART goals are a proven way to focus yourself on small, doable changes that add up to big results.
A SMART goal isn't too big to tackle, or too small. It fits into daily life. It's a short-term plan. SMART stands for:
Specific. What exactly do I intend to achieve?
Measurable. How will I track my progress and know when I've reached my goal?
Action-oriented. What exactly will I do?
Realistic. What's challenging, but not too much for me to take on at once?
Time-based. When is my deadline?
Food goals look like:
Over the next 7 days, I'll drink no more than 2 cans of sugar-sweetened cola.
On each of the next 7 days, I'll eat 3 small meals. In between each meal, I'll eat 3 healthy snacks, so I don't get hungry and crave chips.
As a rule, I'll swap ice cream for ice milk. I'll eat it no later than 6:30 p.m. instead of at bedtime.
For 3 days this week, I'll plan and eat meals that are heavy on veggies.
Activity goals look like:
On 6 evenings before dinner this week, I'll walk briskly for at least 15 minutes. Each day, I'll walk 5 minutes more.
On 3 workdays this week, I'll pack my gym clothes, so I can work out on the way home. I'll stretch for 5 minutes. Then, I'll use a cardio machine x for at least 20 minutes. Each day, I'll do 5 minutes more of cardio.
On 4 days this week, I'll do x crunch sit-ups, x knee push-ups, and x seconds in a plank. Then, a yoga child's pose. Over 2 weeks, I'll work up to 2 sets of these.
Each day this week, I'll push my child high on the swings 50 times. I'll be sure to engage my core to protect my back.
Set your SMART action goals for next week!
Think specific actions with deadlines. How much and how often?
What's your action goal for food change?
What's your action goal for being active and burning calories?
What's your weight loss start date?
Ready, set...go!
There's no need to do a total overhaul of diet and exercise at the starting line.
Frankly, that's how a lot of people fail at losing weight.
SMART goals make it easy to set yourself up for success. And to build on each success as you power on!