6 Weeks to a Healthier Lifestyle: Setting Your Goals

6 Weeks to a Healthier Lifestyle
Setting Your Goals

	from Paige Waehner If you've decided you're ready to change your lifestyle, it's time to set your goals. This is one of the most important things you'll do and it's important for you to set goals you know you can reach. That means your goals need to be: specific, measureable, attainable, realistic and tangible. The following resources will help you determine what you want and how to to get it. You'll want to take some time to figure out what you really want for yourself rather than what you think you should want. There's an important distinction there and recognizing that can put you on the right path.
	What do You Want to Achieve?
	There are any number of reasons people want to live a lifestyle that includes exercise and healthy eating. Take a look at the following list and rank these goals in order of importance from 1 to 10 (1 is the most important to you, 10 is the least important). ____ Weight loss ____ Having more energy ____ Better quality of life ____ Better health ____ Improving health problems (heart disease, diabetes, etc.) ____ Reduced stress ____ Training for a specific race or sporting event ____ Ease in daily functioning ____ Better health as I age ____ Improved mood, confidence levels and self-esteem ____ Other (____________________________) Looking at those reasons, you probably want all of those to some degree, but it's important to know what your expectations are in changing your lifestyle. It's often the expectations that cause disappointment and that's when you're more likely to quit. The article, Setting Goals is a good place to start if you need more clarity in what you want to accomplish. If one of your main goals is to lose weight, move on to the next section to get specifics about how to set weight loss goals.
Sponsored Links
	How to Set Weight Loss Goals
	How much weight do you need to lose? If that's a question you've been asking yourself, what answer have you come up with and what is that answer based on? One of the biggest mistakes I see people make is setting unrealistic goals...goals like a 40-year-old woman who's had 4 kids wanting the body she had in her 20's. It's not that she can't lose weight, but is it really reasonable to expect to get a body you had 20 years ago? So, here's another question for you: how do you set your weight loss goals? Are they realistic? Attainable? Measureable? I'm hoping the article How to Set Weight Loss Goals will encourage you to think hard about what you can really achieve and choose weight loss goals that fit with your lifestyle.
	Build Muscle/Gain Weight
	For some people, gaining weight is just as hard as it is for some of us to lose it. If you have a high metabolism, you may find it hard to keep on weight and it takes just as much work to keep that weight on as it would be for a person losing weight. If you're trying to gain weight, it's important to add healthy calories to your diet and keep up with an exercise program to help you gain muscle and not just fat. These resources can help you make a plan for gaining weight: How to Gain Muscle Lose Fat, Gain Muscle FAQs About Gaining Weight How Much Protein Do You Need?
	Health Goals
	Changing your lifestyle for health reasons is probably one of the best goals to have. In many cases, you'll feel immediate results when you start exercising and eating right and these results can really keep you motivated, maybe more than a weight loss goal would. Some general health goals might be to: Lower cholesterol or blood pressure Watch less TV Be able to walk up stairs without getting breathless Improve strength for daily chores like gardening or housework Help reduce symptoms of depression or anxiety Increase flexibility Reduce chronic back pain Heal injuries Eat more homemade meals Take a multi-vitamin each day Having health goals in addition to your weight loss goals can also be motivating...if you see you're making improvements (e.g., you feel more energetic and sleep better at night) even if your weight isn't changing, you'll be more likely to stick with your program. Take some time to think about how your quality of life could be better and set some specific goals for what you want to improve.
	Record Your Goals
	After you've chosen your goal(s), write them down and then make your plan. The following worksheets will help you map out what you want to accomplish and how you'll do it: Goal Worksheet. This is your long-term goal. Make sure it's specific, realistic and measurable. Weekly Goals Worksheet. On this form, you'll map out what you'll do each week in order to reach your long-term goal as well as how you'll reward yourself each week. Weekly Check-In. This form gives you a chance to look back on your week to see how you did. If you find you're not staying on track, don't be afraid to adjust your goal, your time frame or to change what you want altogether. This weekly check in is your opportunity to objectively assess how your plan is coming together. You often don't know how something will feel until you do it...use the information you gather here to make changes that will help you move forward.
	What to Do to Reach Your Goals
	If you need help in mapping out a plan to reach your goals, these resources can help: Lose Fat Gaining Muscle Training for Sports Getting Healthy
Learn Something New Every Day
Enroll at About U for More Online Learning About U is our collection of free online courses on About.com. Each online course is sent to you via email on a daily or weekly basis and will help you learn new skills, solve common problems, find shortcuts and quick tricks to simplify your busy life, or just learn more about your world.

Search About

Missing Lesson: http://exercise.about.com/c/ec/19lost.htm

Cancel Subscription: You are receiving this email because you subscribed to the About Setting Your Goals as damuscleman0424@gmail.com. If you no longer wish to receive emails from us, please click here: http://about.com/nl/usec.htm?nl=exercise_19&e=damuscleman0424@gmail.com About respects your privacy. Our Privacy Policy. Our Contact Information. 249 West 17th Street New York, NY, 10011 © 2009 About, Inc.