Setting goals
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akjean
Posts: 7 Member
Hello all! I am just now getting into the "community" part of MFP. I have been using it for a while, on and off, but after gaining 30# after graduation from PA school and working full time for >2 years, I'm ready to seriously set some goals and get back to my healthy weight.
I need some good ideas for setting goals - I know the "SMART" goals acronym, but what have you found to be helpful for you? I have a long term weight goal, and a long-term non-scale goal of getting back into my skinny jeans.
But I feel like I need some short-term/mid-range goals. I feel like that would help motivate me on a day-to-day basis. Any thoughts? Ideas? Thanks in advance!
I need some good ideas for setting goals - I know the "SMART" goals acronym, but what have you found to be helpful for you? I have a long term weight goal, and a long-term non-scale goal of getting back into my skinny jeans.
But I feel like I need some short-term/mid-range goals. I feel like that would help motivate me on a day-to-day basis. Any thoughts? Ideas? Thanks in advance! 0
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I drew a lot from motivational interviewing.
If you look at your "about you" page, it's set up kind of in that format.
What are you trying to change?
What are your reasons for trying to change?
I also have found it helpful to ask "What's going to trip me up before I can even start?" and address logistical barriers that way.
For short-term goals, I've found some of the groups here to be really helpful, like 8 week challenges or month challenges. I'm currently doing the green/blue challenge for August, which is setting a goal at the beginning of the month for how many "green" days you want to have on your ticker (it turns red when you are over your goal). The blue is for water intake.
I also joined a group that really helped me stay motivated to do 30 Day Shred. I liked it so much I've continued it for another month.
I don't really do mid-range goals, I guess. But I do seem to do pretty well in 10# spurts. Like I'll be pretty diligent for 10# then just kind of maintain for a while and not be as fastidious about logging every day. The cool part about doing it this way is that I've been able to maintain my losses over time. This means I've gotten better at the healthy habits.
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I like to make my shorter term goals something positive and measurable. Like instead of "Avoid sugar" I'll say "Eat 7 servings of vegetables."0
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Oooh... I like it.
Fits the criteria for SMART goals...
Specific
Measurable
Actually Attainable (some people say achievable)
Relevant and
Time bound (for how long will you eat 7 servings is the only part that's missing)
I'm currently having success with "don't break the chain". The chain refers to the number of days I've been doing 20 minutes of circuit training in a row (currently 30 Day Shred with mean lady Jillian Michaels). I'm on day 44 and it's totally paying off.
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