Think of your weight loss journey as not a race, but a marathon. You don’t want to start off too strong, or you won’t make it to the finish line. What you do want to do is be like the tortoise and take it slow and steady. In the end, the smart goal is to create a healthy lifestyle that you’ll stick with even after you pass the coveted checkered line.
To set yourself a smart goal essentially means to create a vision of what you want to accomplish, in a manner that you will be able to achieve. Think of this vision as a commitment you are making to yourself, this commitment should be realistic, true to you, and time-oriented.
Most importantly, smart goal setting is having a realistic starting point; it doesn’t have to be outrageous. Think simple and small, something that can be built up over time. If your overall goal is to increase your amount of exercise in a week, start smaller and give yourself a realistic amount of time to reach that first week. Gradually increase the amount of time you spend exercising each week until your final goal is reached.
“What patients need to remember is not to worry so much about the number they are looking at on the scale. When this becomes the main focus, they are not paying attention to really rewiring their brain, instead, when they do reach that number they’ll think that they are done with the journey. If they are focusing on the mental part of the journey and changing their habits, this is where they will see the greatest change not only with their numbers but with their lifestyle,” Coach Marshall, Trinity Medical Weight Loss.
