Little Goals Add Up To Big Results

A lot of people like to set big weight loss goals. For example, they decided “I’m going to go to the gym six days a week.” But who can really go to the gym six days a week every week? Vacations come up, or you get sick, or or there’s a blizzard, or your car breaks down, or you have to go into work early, or something else happens and you don’t make it six days, and you’ve not only not achieved your goal, but you’ve also got the guilt of not achieving a goal. Another example is people make goals like “I’m going to lose five pounds a month.” While five pounds in one month might be possible, five pounds every month equals 60 pounds a year. Most of us don’t need to lose 60 pounds per year, and for those of us who do, 60 pounds per year isn’t going to always be healthy. At some point, we’re not going to achieve that five pound per month goal (and for most of us, that point will come sooner rather than later), we’ll feel guilty, and it will make us less likely to continue our journey toward happier, healthier lives.

So instead of setting big goals that take a super-human, and perhaps even damaging amount of dedication, I’m going to suggest an alternative. Have you ever considered setting little goals?

For example, try this goal: I’m going to lose a quarter of a pound a week. That’s not a lot, but it’s easy to accomplish and, over time, it will add up. We can lose a quarter of a pound per week just by making some simple lifestyle changes like drinking our gallon of water a day, taking the stairs instead of the elevator, doing morning Metaboosts, and adding a green vegetable to every meal. None of those things seem hard, do they? And now for some math. A quarter of a pound per week equals 13 pounds per year. And over five years, that would add up to a weight loss of 65 pounds! If someone told you that five years from now you’ll be 65 pounds lighter, wouldn’t that sound fantastic?

It doesn’t have to be a hypothetical question… you really can be 65 pounds lighter if you set the more realistic goal of doing it in five years instead of one year. If you try to lose 65 pounds in one year, chances are you’ll get frustrated. You’ll not want to give up the foods you love, you’ll not want to make the time commitment to working out that you need, and you’ll always feel guilty for not achieving your goal. But consider what I discussed in my last post about having perspective, and how perspective is imperative for weight loss. Weight loss doesn’t happen overnight. It takes time. So set goals accordingly, and ask yourself this. Would you rather be 65 pounds lighter in one year, but weigh the same as you do now, or more, in five years, or would you rather be 13 pounds lighter in one year, and be 65 pounds lighter in five? Seems like a pretty simple question to answer, right?