Do you want to lose 20 pounds? Do you wish you could lift heavier weights? Do you need to start exercising and eating right to wean off of high blood pressure medicine? Whatever your personal goal may be, you must first set up a plan — and then stay committed to it — in order to make it happen.
Let me remind you: it won’t be easy, but it will be worth it.
I’ll take you step by step through what a goal-setting process looks like by using the example of losing 20 pounds.
STEP ONE
Set a goal. Determine what you want your ultimate, final result to be. For the purpose of this column, let’s set a goal to lose 20 pounds.
STEP TWO
Make short-term goals (week-to-week) instead of just saying you want to lose 20 pounds by a specific date or before an upcoming special event.
Also avoid making unrealistic goals, such as wanting to lose 20 pounds in one week. It’s extremely discouraging when the goal is something that takes more time to happen than what is realistic. Without weekly assessments, we have no way of determining what progress we’ve made and how much more is required in order to reach our goals.
The plan of action in this example would be determining how to lose the weight through diet and exercise, and then setting specific, weekly weight loss goals.
Weight loss is all about science and math, so research your goal before you start. Knowing there are 3,500 calories in one pound lets us determine that, if we cut 500 calories per day out of our diet, or burn 500 extra calories per day at the gym each week, we can lose one pound (3,500 calories divided by seven days in a week equals 500 calories per day). Losing one to two pounds per week is a very safe, realistic and attainable goal, so we can use this knowledge to set up our plan.
Let’s say that plan is to lose two pounds per week. We know it will take 10 weeks to lose 20 pounds overall (20 pounds total divided by two pounds per week equals 10 weeks). By achieving our two-pound weekly weight loss goal, we stay motivated.
STEP THREE
This step is simple: get to work.
STEP FOUR
Stick to it.
At the halfway point — in this case, five weeks in — check your progress. If you’re on track, that’s awesome. If you’re ahead of or behind your goal, you may need to re-evaluate your plan time and adjust it. But don’t give up.
Keep those weekly two-pound goals going. Don’t focus on that ultimate end goal. Allow cheat meals, not cheat days. If you make one bad choice, it doesn’t mean you’ve failed. You are human. Just get right back on track with your next meal.
STEP FIVE
Be proud of your accomplishment. Once you’ve reached your goal, the challenge becomes maintaining or surpassing it with another goal.
Remember that pills, powders and fad diets are just quick fixes. Hard work and eating right is the only healthy way to reach your goal and maintain it.
If you have a lot of weight to lose, or muscle to gain, I would highly recommend talking to a certified nutritionist or dietician to help you put a plan together. This will also help keep you accountable because you will have to keep a food journal, which they will use to give you feedback.
They can tell you exactly how many macronutrients (carbohydrates, proteins and fats) to eat daily and break them down for you into specific meal plans. You may even be surprised to find out you are eating over your daily macros, even though you are eating the right amount of calories or even under-eating. And, yes, that can hinder weight loss too.
Hiring a certified personal trainer will not only help you with exercise goals, but will also keep you on track with your workouts. Consistency is key when reaching for goals, so having a trainer guide and push you can make a world of difference.
Don’t feel embarrassed to ask for help. Remember that even most bodybuilders have trainers and nutritionists helping them.
So plan out your five steps and follow through to the end. French writer and aviator Antoine de Saint-Exupéry once said, “A goal without a plan is just a wish.”
Heather Dykstra is an AFAA-certified personal trainer and has been a group fitness instructor for over 13 years. She is currently involved with the Plant City Family YMCA.