How To KEEP Your Weight Loss Goals

It’s all very well to set well-intentioned goals or resolutions for your health and fitness, and perhaps even get some advice from the best people in the industry. It’s easy, in fact.

Empowering.

You feel so good and proud of yourself for deciding to make a change. For determining that this will be your year.

You thought last year was, of course. And the year before. But clearly you were wrong! Clearly what you’ve been waiting for, what it’s all been heading towards, is THIS. Yes. This is definitely your year, isn’t it? Almost certainly.

Hopefully?

how to set weight loss goals – and keep them

1. put your weight loss goal in writing

You can say what you like about whether writing down your goals helps you to achieve them, but if nothing else putting something in writing ensures you actually think about it. Plus, it’s essential to the next step 🙂

2. break it down

One of the proven success strategies in the book ‘59 seconds‘ which I’ve been reading off and on the last few weeks, is to break a goal down into small achievable tasks. It stops you procrastinating on what might seem like a huge and otherwise daunting task, and also ensures you have no room to move when it comes to making excuses.

Another interesting point in this book is that merely visualising and breaking down goals is NOT a great way to succeed. It’s more effective to imagine the benefits but ALSO the challenges related to your goal. For every exciting benefit you think of, consider one challenge and how you might overcome it.

3. tell someone about it

Okay, so you might love the idea of keeping your goal to yourself and then proudly showing the world what you have achieved, but the truth? It’s a great reason to not make things happen. So seriously. Tell someone. Anyone! Spread it on Facebook if you choose or just keep accountable to a friend or coach.

4. pay yourself first

This is a principle often taught in finance, and it’s really helped me to get on top of years worth of credit card debts. How to apply this principle to weight loss? Well, in many ways. They might include preparing healthy food the night before for a busy day to come, working out first thing in the morning, or even taking time to journal before the day begins.

5. check your progress

That breaking down step you did earlier? Do it! And then check in once in a while. I like to set mini milestone goals for each smaller part of my big goal. It helps keep me focused and motivated, and is a great way to check in. Plus you get to have a mini reward 🙂

6. nothing is set in stone

If you fail because you didn’t try, well you really did 100% fail, didn’t you? But if you ‘fail’ because something is no longer for you then you deserve credit for being able to recognise when it’s time to move on from something. Life does not have to be pre-determined. Setting goals and working toward achieving them is great, but it’s okay to change your mind.

Of course you have to know your mind to be able to change it, which takes you back to step one 🙂

How do you keep yourself on track with your weight loss (or other!) goals?