Time to Set New Weight Loss Goals

It is okay to set ambitious goals if they are realistic and based on your timeline, resources, and motivation. However, be clear about your intentions and create a plan that breaks your long-term goal into attainable milestones to stay on track. If you want to lose weight and keep it off, your long-term goals should be focused on living a healthier life. Adopting new eating habits and staying active is a smarter approach than targeting an exact number of pounds. If you cannot measure a goal, it is difficult to determine how successful you’ve been at achieving that goal. So, make sure your weight loss goals have measurable timelines. If you don’t have the time, resources, motivation, or determination to accomplish your goals, making a New Year’s resolution to lose weight is waste of time. Make sure the goals you set are relevant and attainable.

• Recruit Healthy Support - Most often, people are their own worse critic. Recruiting a workout buddy or having a family member participate in your journey can help you stay on track and be less stressed.
• Hold Yourself Accountable - Rather than engaging in self-judgement, develop compassion for yourself and your weight loss journey. Setbacks are going to happen, so learn how to look past your mistakes.
• Plan on Keeping Your Resolution - Your resolution doesn’t have to be cast in stone the first day of the new year. Understand that it is okay to adjust your goals and fine tune your path as you progress on your journey.
• Set a Realistic Resolution - Never make a resolution where the goals are next to impossible to achieve. That’s a sneaky way of planning to fail. If you’re not really invested, don’t set a resolution.
• Stay Persistent but Be Patient - Being patient and persistent can propel you into accomplishing even more than you intended. Moreover, the success you feel will be a boost to your motivation.
• Track Your Progression - Tracking your progress helps establish a realistic timeline for achieving your resolution. Setting smaller intermediate goals can keep you on track as you progress.

Setting a goal to lose unwanted weight over the next year is a simple resolve but shedding pounds and keeping them off requires making small attainable goals. Moreover, it is important to celebrate milestones to boost your efforts. Most traditional religions have a day of atonement where you can vow to make improvements to your life. Setting a New Year’s resolution comes from ancient Romans who would promise their god Janus that they would be better in the coming year. Most people who make very unrealistic New Year’s resolutions never create a regimen to follow that will lead to success. Make sure your resolution is filled with realistic goals backed by real resolve. If you really want to make a commitment to losing weight and being healthier for the new year, consider your resolution to be a long-term investment.