Set a SMART goal with me!

a_little_less_lauren

Set a goal that is:

Specific
Measurable
Attainable
Relevant
Timely

Goals with these components work well because, for me, they practically write their own plan. For example, the goal "get healthier", which, while attainable and pretty darn relevant, is pretty nebulous. Am I done if I eat a salad? What about a walk? Two salads and a walk? You get the picture. So, be as specific as possible, find a way to measure, and set a date. That will give you a better idea of how and when your plan for reaching your goal will be carried out.

My big fitness goal is to lose 30 pounds this year through diet and the incorporation of exercise 3x per week. I could go more specific, but it's measurable (scale will tell), attainable (30 in a year vs. 30 this week), relevant (I value my continued health) and timely (by December 31st).

Goals can always change, of course, but if you're like me, it helps to have them, especially set up in ways that let me measure progress and give me clear direction.

Hope this helps someone!

6502programmer

I take a different approach, but SMART is the way to go

Specific: Eat at an appropriate deficit, on average
Measurable: Log everything, with the scale as the sanity check
Achievable: I'm responsible for my own food choices
Relevant: Eating at a deficit is foundational to losing weight
Time-bound: Every day it starts over again. The only fudgery in this is that I will count what's eaten between midnight and when I go to sleep for the night on the previous day, and will only snack if I need to make macros or want something that fits in the previous day's calories.

I have 185 as my goal weight, but that's simply a factor of an ideal body fat percentage.