Trying to reach goals

DezYaoified

Disclaimer: this conversation was NOT in a professional setting. This was a get together with friends and 1 person’s experience.

So a friend of a friend, we’ll say Dr. A, and I were talking and my weight loss came up. Dr.A is a behavioral nutritionist and registered dietician. She was talking me how she generally sees people that fall into 4 categories.

1: those with abstract goals- those are more likely to be those with a general fitness goal. The success rate tends to be higher because these people tend to already be in good to moderate health.

2: those with 1 long term goal- she said these people tend to have a shorter journey to reach their health goals and are able to set 1 goal. She said the success rate decreases the longer the journey takes because many people expect to see immediate results, and when they don’t they give up.

3: those that set mini goals along with 1 end goal- she said this group has the highest success rate but generally takes longer. She said many people plateau or stall out mentally because when they reach 1 mini goal they need to give their brains time to catch up to the change. She said this is why many people stall out or “self sabotage” when they finally drop from 200 to 199. Allowing time to adjust after each mini goal is more productive in the long run because it allows your mind to adjust your body image.

4: those that set empty goals- she said this is 70% of what she deals with. These are people that set goals, meal prep, buy exercise clothing/equipment, etc. but are unable to follow through. She said simply the ACT of setting a goal makes them feel accomplished and they do not move forward. They will eat a healthy breakfast and lunch, feel they have been accountable and binge at dinner.

I thought it was interesting to see how a professional dealt with people and how they determined what type of assistance they needed. I know at one point I was #4. I see myself as #3 now and was taken back about the letting the mind catch up after a mini goal part.

I’m wondering what everyone thinks of this? Again this wasn’t in a professional setting, and this is only one person’s view on how she determines the best way to identify problems.

ninerbuff

Goals mean nothing without a PLAN OF ACTION. Plan should be written, concise and achievable. The majority of people I know who try to lose weight just use MFP to count calories, but don't figure out everything else such as what to do if there's disruption in their plan, if they get ill, if they get injured, etc. And many also don't have an actual exercise program that's consistent to help burn extra calories. This would be that 70% you're speaking of.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

DezYaoified

From my understanding of her explanation, she is the one that helps them set a plan of action. These 4 categories only help her determine how to go about it and, in the long run, how successful she sees it being. She deals with people at all fitness levels but specializes in those getting weight loss surgery.

My biggest take away, the whole reason the conversation was started, was how you have to allow yourself time to adjust after reaching mini goals. For me, that was good advice because I am at a point that I am both happy and let down with my progress. I reached a goal I didn’t really think I could reach and have since struggled with gaining/losing the same 5 pounds. When I thought about it, I realized I haven’t adjusted to my newer size yet- I still buy too big clothes or am surprised when I fit into a space I thought was too small. Maybe instead of stressing myself out over the scale not moving I can focus more on maintaining while my brain catches up. I thought it was interesting how she looked at it from the outside.