Why weight loss goals should be realistic,reachable and relevant
1. REALISTIC.
Don't let your desperation to drop a dress size drive you to develop a detrimental delusion that dedicating every ounce of energy to an extreme eating and exercise regime is the only effective way to eliminate excess weight. Fighting the flab should never be fuelled by forbidding food and/or a religious fitness regime that results in persistent physical and psychological fatigue.
- Rational: combining a calorie controlled diet with a regular exercise regime that's tailored to compliment your current strength, stamina and set goal/s.
- Irrational: subjecting yourself to self-starvation, 'slimming supplements' and/or overly strict and strenuous training sessions in an attempt to achieve rapid results - a loss of 2lbs a week will increase the incidence of re-piling on the pounds.
2. REACHABLE:
Short-term goals should be small, simple and sustainable - an overnight overhaul will leave you overwhelmed and raring to resort back to your 'bad behaviour'.
- Rational: swapping sugary snacks for fibre-rich fruit, regularly smashing your recommended 10,000 steps and scheduling time to tuck into a morning meal all resemble reachable goals that will contribute to a long-term lifestyle change.
- Irrational: swapping a sedentary lifestyle for gruelling gym sessions, forbidding your favourite foods and aiming to constantly cook complex cuisine from scratch all resemble unreachable goals that will leave you less likely to commit to the consistency that creates change.
3. RELEVANT.
Whether it's weight loss for a wedding, exercising for an endurance event or shaping an already slender silhouette, finding your focus will not only drive your determination during difficult days - the days that leave you feeling discouraged and desperate to give up on your goals - but prevent you from piling on the pounds when plateaus push you to the point of procrastination.
- Rational: dropping a dress size to diminish and/or decrease the development of a detrimental disease/s such as diabetes, heart disease and hypertension resembles a rational, intrinsic (for yourself) goal.
- Irrational: being forced to 'fight the flab' with your bigger bodied friend when you're not worried about a wider waistline resembles an extrinsic (for someone else) goal.
Final thought: weight loss can be as complex or convenient as you choose to make it.
Choose complex - think dieting deprivation, excessive exercise and unsustainable food swaps - and you'll fail to fight the flab, but choose convenient - think simple lifestyle changes such as consuming less crap, walking to work and finding a fun form of fitness that you enjoy - and you'll effectively eliminate excess weight, whilst creating the healthier habits that lead to long-term health and happiness.
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