Setting diet goals is a typical approach to weight loss, but there are many methods to do that, and only a few of them work best. Setting a general goal to lose a particular amount of weight is not actually effective by itself because there are no clear action steps to keep you on track.
A better approach would be to identify the areas where you need the most help. So , if you're very busy, you might keep delaying exercise, eat plenty of "fast food", and maybe you even overeat replying to stress. With these key challenges to mind , you can come up with some modest action steps that would help you triumph over them.
For example:
- Eat 3 servings each of fruit and plants each day.
- Drink 8 cups of water each day.
- Exercise for 20 minutes a day.
- Practice meditation to cope with stress.
Losing a set amount of pounds is your general goal, but THESE ACTION STEPS are the true goals!
When setting diet goals, your job is to simply identify the areas where improvement is needed, come up with some modest action steps, and then start consolidating them into your routine activities.
As you go along, you'll probably encounter a few more challenges, like having a sweets attack in mid-afternoon, for example. When you happen to spot a new challenge like that, it is time to come up with another action step to counter it, like eating a piece of fresh fruit and drinking another cup of water when you're feeling the sweet craving coming on.
Can you see the fantastic thing about setting diet goals like this? You end up changing the very habits that caused you to gain weight in the 1st place! And you'll keep adjusting as you go along, so if you do happen to form other nasty habits, you can quickly counteract them with positive habits that will contribute to a healthy weight.
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