Get Smart About Fitness Goals

If you're trying to lose weight, get healthy, build muscle or excel at a sport, you know you need goals. The question is, how do you know if you're setting the right goals for you?

While many of us focus on a certain weight we'd like to get to, that isn't always the best approach. We often pick an arbitrary number, maybe a weight we used to be or a weight we've always wanted to be, leaving us frustrated when we end up failing.

If you really want to get results, you need goals that will actually work for you. This post comes from VeryWell.com and stresses the importance of setting goals. Personally, my goals were very simple, but harder than I thought to attain. I wanted to get back into smaller pants sizes again. I had gone from a 34 to size 38 and I couldn't stand the way I looked. If the truth be told, I think we all feel that way at one point in our lives. Some of us have the courage to do something about it and others try but fail because they always think they can find an easier way.

SMART Goals

If you've done any kind of goal-setting, you've probably run across the acronym SMART goals. That means goals that are specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timely.

When you don't have a specific goal, it's difficult to keep exercising and to track your progress to see how far you've come. Keep in mind that you can have a variety of goals - Losing weight, getting in a certain number of workouts, improving your health or even just making better choices every day. Before you start working out, take a moment and ask yourself these questions:

1. What do I want to accomplish with this exercise program?
2. Is my goal realistic and attainable?
3. Do I know how to reach my goal?
4. Do I have a timeline for reaching my goal?
5. How will I reward myself when I get there?

For example, is it reasonable to want to lose 50 pounds in 6 months?

It's possible, but may not be reasonable unless you eat well and exercise every single day for the next 6 months.

Weight loss is often harder than we think and it's usually slower as well. Experts recommend that you lose no more than 1-2 pounds per week, but it isn't likely that you'll lose 2 pounds every single week and many people find they actually lose about .5 to 1 pound on a good week.

For more, check out How to Set Weight Loss Goals.

Facts to Consider About Weight Loss Goals

• The more weight you lose, the harder it will be to lose weight. The less weight your body has to move around, the fewer calories it will burn doing so.
• The closer you get to your goal, the harder it is to reach it. There may be several reasons why you're not losing weight and being aware of those pitfalls can help you avoid them, or manage them when they happen. 
• The weight you can maintain may not be the weight you want to be. We all have an exercise threshold - The amount of exercise we can comfortably fit into our lives. We can often stretch that threshold, but it's important to know exactly where it is so you can decide if that's realistic for you.
• The scale isn't always the best way to track progress. The scale won't tell you what you've lost and/or gained and, sometimes, it can even lie to you. Be sure to use other tools to track your progress.
• Weight loss isn't the only goal you can have and may not even be the most motivating. Giving up the Weight Loss Obsession may be your first step to success.

After you set your goal, your next step is to find out how to reach it. If you want to lose weight or become better at a sport, you need to do some research to figure out where to start. 

It's helpful to know what you have to do before you get started. You may be surprised at the daily effort it takes to reach your goals and you may not realize that your body isn't ready for the amount of exercise you need to reach your goals. It takes time to build strength, endurance, coordination and it also takes time to get used to making exercise a part of your life. That's true, you buy those exercise tapes or join those classes and find out you can't do the workouts, so you quit. No one ever tells you that you have to start off slow and build-up your strength and endurance to do those workouts. It can take weeks of exercise to build that strength. That's why I recommend "walking" for a beginner. First just strolling for 30 minutes a day and than increase your speed and increase the time as you get stronger. After you can walk for one hour at a rate of 4 miles per hour, than you're ready for a more strenuous workout.

How to Stick With Your Goals

• Schedule your workouts
• Be prepared by always having your workout bag with you, bringing your lunch to work, etc.
• Be prepared for those times when you feel like skipping your workout
• Keep a food and workout journal to stay on track and measure your progress
• Take your measurements regularly

Programs to Get You Started

• 4-Week Slow Build Workout Program - This program is all about starting slow and gradually building a solid exercise habit.
• 4-Week Jumpstart Program - This program focuses on workouts, not weight loss, which gives you built in SMART goals to track and accomplish.
• 12 Weeks to Weight Loss - This is an in-depth program that takes you through 12 weeks of cardio and strength training workouts. You can find a wealth of information on the internet.

If you really want to lose your body fat than look for my Ebooks at the websites listed below. You'll get information on Healthy eating, exercise, and diet.

There’s two ebooks.  “How Bad Do You Want To Lose Weight?” is available at all the online bookstores selling for $1.99. Go to any of the websites below and search the title to find my Ebook. This book gives you all you need to lose weight without spending money on gym memberships, diet plans or meal plans. Look for my book. at Amazon.com, B&N.com, iBooks, Kobo.com, Scribd.com, or Gardner Books in the U.K.

My new ebook is available on Smashwords.com, just type “getting to a Healthy Weight” in the search box at the top of the home page. I’ll give you a discount coupon you can use at checkout. (PJ42H) not case-sensitive the price is $1.99 w/coupon