Getting started 2

Goal Setting

Why should you bother with goals? You know what you want to do…loose weight…right?

Each goal is specific to you. Most people when they embark on this journey, do so because they want to lose weight, either as their GP has advised them to do so, perhaps as they’ve recently been diagnosed with diabetes or pre-diabetes or been classified as obese and they don’t want that label, or they can no longer fit into their clothes. It's also normal to focus on now or what they want to achieve by a set time for example a special occasion like the wedding and that’s ok, however, the approach you take will depend on what you are trying to achieve and by when.

We’re talking here for a majority of people, about making small conscious changes over time, which then becomes unconscious acts, forming habits. By adapting this long term approach, you can reduce the risk of yo-yo effect of dieting on weight and inevitably it's impact on your health.

So let’s get started….

The goal is like a list that you make of things you need/want to do/achieve. The course is conscious as you are aware you want to do this, but the unconscious get’s you there and helps form habits, as you then no longer need to think about it.

Consider what you want to achieve…This might be for 6 months or a year and then split it down to smaller sections…..so let’s get started with a short-term goal for 4-6 weeks.

What do you want to achieve?

Why is this important to you?

Before you start to write it down, here a few things to consider:

-Try not to focus on the scales as this may take a bit longer to change and doen't always tell the full story. Consider dropping a size in your clothes or being able to walk a certain distance pain free as an alternative.

-Where are you now with this on a scale of 1 to 5 at this moment in time ? (5 is you are there, 1 you are not!)

-What would it look/feel like if you were at 5. Why do you need to be at 5?

-Think also about what you have tried before and if it has helped you or hindered you? What might you want to try differently?

-Get a mental image of what reaching your gaol might look like or even consider getting a picture or something to keep you motivated towards your goal and consider sticking your goal on the fridge or wherever it is that you are likely to see it every day or even several times a day!

So the next step is writing them down, so that you are held encounterable and helps keep you focused. Also keeping a diary of your progress and success, will help you see what you have achieved and can help keep you going.

Be SMART:

1) Specific

Be clear on what you your gaol is and remember your why?

Example from a client: To walk 10k to the park with her dog without any pain in the next 6 weeks. Currently can walk only 2k without pain.

2) Measure

Being able to measure will let you know when you have achieved or not achieved this . Again have a scale at which you can measure this, whether it’s the distance you walk or a scale (pain scale to see progress-score from 0-10: 0 no pain; 10 being worst pain)

So in this example: measure-pain free (or you can use a pain scale) walking 10k.

3) Attainable

Be realistic and ensure it is attainable. If you currently walk very little, then 10K may not be attainable (based on your endurance) within 6 weeks for example and so you may need to choose a distance that you can achieve. Again, don’t sell yourself sort, or make it so unrealistic, that you are doomed to fail before you have started.

Although I have advised you against using your weight as a goal, many people do. Often when they start, they want to loose a large amount in a short time. This is unrealistic as the weight got there slowly over a long time, so it will take time to loose it, especially, if you want to do this in a healthy habit forming way and reduce your risk of putting it all back on.

Evidence suggests loosing 1-2lb (0.5-1 kg) a week is safe (based on your starting weight and for most clients). Although this seems a little, a pound of fat contains 3,500 calories, so if you divide this by 7 days a week, that’s cutting your calories down by 500/day. You also need to consider your exercise and this is where it gets confusing!

However, if you say you want to loose say 10kg by 4 weeks (which i have heard), this is not realistic or healthy! The key is small changes over time, becomes habit forming and is achievable. If you drastically cut your calories through food avoidance, most people will relapse after 1-2 weeks and then end up overeating and putting on weight and hence the yo-yo diet effect.

4) Relevant

Make sure it’s relevant to your goal. So if your goal was to walk the 10k without pain, then choosing to loose weight may not be the initial best choice of action to help you reach your goal. Yes loosing weight, will help you in the long run as it will put less pressure on your joints, especially your knee, but this will take time. So you could have this along with another aim. The primary aim might be to focus on building strength in your limbs and supporting the muscles around the joint/joints that's causing the pain.

In this example: resistance training twice a week for the first week and then increasing after 2 weeks to three times a week. 30mins each session.

Also increasing the distance she walks daily by 10mins a week.

Maybe she might in-cooperate some flexibility training/stretches three times a week or daily for 10mins.

These are all relevant to her to achieve this goal. More than her weight loss. Weight loss is important and this might form another goal but be clear what you are trying to achieve and why and how best you can get there.

5) Time

Is your time period for 4 weeks, 6 months or 1 year. Remember breaking it up into smaller chunks, makes it less daunting or more achievable.

After 4 weeks, you should review your goal:

-Did you achieve what you set out to do?

-What helped or didn’t help.

-If you didn’t succeed why not? Don’t put yourself down…this is important as even if you have not quite achieved what you set out to do, you have learnt a lot from it and next time, you know what you might need to do differently. Life also gets in the way, whether it’s family, health or even finance. Don’t just throw the towel in!! Get straight back onto it and look at what you would do differently. Don’t throw everything you have achieved in the bin by stopping or over indulging, Also don’t wait till Monday or next week or next month, just because you didn’t achieve your goal, or you had a relapsed!

A lot of us do that…why? Why do you need to wait a length of time…keep going!

-Try and also look at what will help and how you feel when you achieve your goal.

-Did you get some support: from friends, colleagues, family or from a trainer.

A support network can be very helpful and can keep you focused and give you that little nudge if you need it.

My daughter is my biggest support for me as she’s a teenager and she always says it exactly like how it is!

So start writing your goal…. Start with one and then you can make another in 2-4 weeks. Be kind to yourself and give yourself time to adapt as this is the new you and it’s going to take time to build habits.

Good Luck and start writing !

8th January 2025