The SMART Gameplan

December 2017: In 2018, I want to lose a total of 60 lb by December (Yes, again, and I am gonna take it serious this time). By April, I must have lost 20 lb (a third of my goal). I will exercise more and eliminate junk foods from my sweet life. I will drink more water. I will blah blah blah...
December 2018: Well, I can't kill myself. I will try again next year, I guess this year wasn't 'My Year of Losing Weight'. After all, the church's theme for the year was 'My Year of Abundant Expansion', so who am I not to key into the Bishop's vision? Next year, 2019, I am gonna lose 60, scratch that, 70 lb before November.

 Fun fact: The abbreviation "lb" comes from the Latin word libra, which itself is short for libra pondo, or in English, "pound weight." So this explains why the unit of pound weight is "lb" and not "pd" as we would have expected.

Have your weight loss resolutions turned to recurrent casual promises to yourself that you repeat and edit every other year? How many times have you decided, “I want to lose weight”, only to find out, weeks or months later, that you’ve gone back to the same old habits that either made you gain much weight in the first place or rendered your last attempt futile, that your enthusiasm is now close to zero, and you’d rather give it all up? Well, January is almost over, so tell me, honestly, how far? (winks)


Weight loss goals can be complex and daunting if not well planned and when there is not enough motivation so to do. Usually, this complexity can be simplified with setting up a structure that can help you achieve your goals, with adequate accountability as an icing to the cake. I am assuming that you already scaled the first hurdle, the decision to lose weight. Next is, how do you go about it? How do you measure your progress? How do you know when you’ve realized your goal? That is where planning comes in.


You must have, at one time or the other, heard about setting SMART goals. These are goals that are:  Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Time-Bound. It is never late to be SMART.


This method can be used (and has been proven very efficient) for pretty much any form of goal setting. Just adjust it to suit your project. For now, we want to take the resolution, “I Want To Lose Weight”, and give it a SMART makeover, together.


SPECIFIC


Your goal needs to be specific. Rather than saying ‘I want to lose weight’, make it a little more specific, including a milestone to achieve. Say, I want to lose: 1 lb every week; 10 lb by the end of April; 20 lb by the end of July. Yours might be to lose 2 lb per week till you have achieved your goal weight. (PS: it is not advisable to lose more than 2 lb a week.)


Now, your specific goal becomes: “I want to lose 40 lb**.”

MEASURABLE 

Taking stock of your success is also key to staying motivated. How will you measure your progress so you know when you’ve achieved your goal? If I lose 2 lb per week, it means in a month I would have lost 8 lb. So in 3 months I should have lost 24 lb. You just made it track-able. And every week, you score yourself to see how good or bad you are doing, because you have also broken it down into weeks. (PS: The safe limit is anything not more than 2 lb in a week.)

The new goal now is: “I want to lose 40 lb. I will lose 1-2 lb per week and track my progress each week on my phone/journal.” 

ATTAINABLE

There’s no sense in picking a goal you low-key know you might never achieve. We live in an age where everyone wants stuff gotten done fast. It's quite bogus to say I want to lose 50 lb in 3 months, it's almost as unattainable as it is unhealthy. Have you ever tried to lose weight in the past? Evaluate your weight loss history – what have you managed to achieve in the past? Your new goal should be around, but not a strict rule, your known capabilities. Setting a goal way beyond this might be unfeasible. However, you are allowed to set a higher benchmark for yourself, as long as it is not too unrealistic.

Rather than deciding from the offset to get your weight right down into the healthy BMI range, why not aim for a 3, 5 or 10 percent body weight loss? Research suggests that losing just 5% of your body weight can bring significant health benefits. Of course, once you reach your goal, you can always set a new one.

At this point, the goal becomes: “I want to lose 40 lb. I will lose between 1-2 lb per week and track my progress each week on my phone/journal. I will then re-evaluate whether I want to lose any more weight.” 

RELEVANT

Next, the goal needs to matter to you. What do you want to lose weight for? Perhaps your doctor has told you it will bring health benefits and could get you off your diabetes medication. Maybe yours is to fit into that beautiful wedding gown that your mum has gifted you or you just want to altogether be in good shape. Now this is the motivation part. Keeping this positive end-point in mind is crucial to staying motivated. I usually ask the people I am helping to lose weight to have a journal and on the first page write their motivation. Another option is to keep it as a part of your vision board (if you have one or know how to make one), putting it in a strategic position in your room where it can be seen as often as possible.

Our goal has now become: “I want to lose 40 lb. I will lose between 1-2 lb per week and track my progress each week on my phone/journal. I will then re-evaluate whether I want to lose any more weight. Losing weight will help me manage my diabetes, potentially bringing down my blood sugar levels and allowing me to come off my medications.”  (Insert your own motivation as applies)

TIME-BOUND

Finally, every resolution needs to be time-bound in order to give it impetus. Decide on a reasonable amount of time to achieve your goal (1-2 lb a week is a common goal). Stick to your plans and timelines and ensure that each milestone synchronizes with the time set. I usually advise that you include the year so your subconscious knows that it is not another year's August, but this year's.

“I want to lose 40 lb by the end of August 2019. I will lose between 1-2 lb per week and track my progress each week on my phone/journal. After August 2019, I will then re-evaluate whether I want to lose any more weight. Losing weight will help me manage my diabetes, potentially bringing down my blood sugar levels and allowing me to come off my medications.” 

SMART STEPS TO WEIGHT LOSS SUCCESS

By setting a SMART goal you not only give your weight loss journey structure, but also provide yourself with accountability and motivation along the way. Of course, setting the SMART goals aren’t the only keys to success in achieving your feat, and everyone could do with a bit of a helping hand.  That’s where Fit 360° comes in. If you would love to belong to a group where you can be sure of accountability or motivation, kindly send an email here, and in due time you shall be contacted and added up. The group aims to be meant for the serious minded only so make up your mind before you join so you are not left behind. But first, answer in the comment section, how have you been able to achieve your goals in the past or what did you do that made you fall short? Let's learn from one another's successes or shortcomings. Ciao


**If you are used to kilograms (kg) instead of pounds (lb), the conversion rate is

1 kg = 2.2 lb (approximately)