Set Weight Loss Goals for Success
Short-term Mini Goals Keep the Momentum Going
Set mini weight loss goals to maintain momentum and reward yourself for success.
Setting weight loss goals is common practice for dieters, but many overweight people keep their eyes on their long-term goals. If you have a lot of weight to lose, though, it gets hard to keep the momentum going. Knowing where you’re going is important, but you also need to plan how you are going to get there, and that’s where short term goals come in. Set mini goals to maintain your motivation to stay on track and lose weight.
What is a Mini Goal?
A mini goal is anything that keeps you on track and motivates you to continue on your weight loss journey. It can be a daily, weekly or monthly goal and the nature of the goal can change. This week you may have a goal of exercising more and next week you may challenge yourself to drink more water. No matter what you choose to motivate yourself to keep going, choose something that will be a personal challenge.
Obese people have a long way to go before reaching their long-term goals and it can be very discouraging. Visualizing themselves thin can be difficult. Breaking a long-term goal into smaller, easily attainable goals keeps the momentum going and that allows dieters to experience success along the way.
Set a Weekly Mini Goal
Choose one habit a week to work on. Put the mini goal in writing. Commit to making a serious effort at sticking with the mini goal and reward yourself for being successful.
Keep track of weekly mini goals in a diet diary. A simple daily checkmark system works well to keep track of the progress you make towards the weekly goal. Once you’ve met a goal, you can continue to work on the same goal until it becomes a habit or you can choose another small-term goal to work on.
Another method is to simple break down your weight loss goals into smaller amount of weight loss. Reward yourself for every five or 10 pounds lost, rather than waiting to lose a larger amount of weight.
Examples of Weekly Mini Goals:
- Drink eight glasses of water
- Limit salt intake
- Track daily calorie intake
- Exercise every day
- Do resistance training three times a week
- Add protein to each meal
- Eat five fruits and vegetables per day
- Start the day with a healthy breakfast
- Avoid fast-food restaurants
- Don’t eat after dinner
Although planning your weight loss journey and being able to visualize yourself at your ideal goal weight are an important part of the process, it is equally important to set short-term, mini-goals for your weight loss progress.
