After two weeks of mindfulness practice, how is it working out? Is it hard, easy, or do you think it’s silly? Do you feel relaxed?
Does your food taste different? Can you notice a reduction in the amount you are eating?
Let me know about your progress and if you are having any difficulties. If you think you need additional guidance I have resources that may help; just let me know in the comment box below.
When you started your weight loss journey you probably had a goal in mind for how you wanted things to be in 6 months, a year, maybe even 5 years. And it was important to have these goals since having milestones to achieve is important to winning the war on weight.
Are you on track with your goals?
If you are like most of us you have probably strayed from the original plan and your goal is not as close as it was supposed to be by now. What can we do about that?
Reassess and evaluate your progress to date and determine how that will impact your overall goals. Do you need to adjust your “on the way” goals to make accomplishing your overall goal a reality? Weight loss and management is dynamic just like life is, you just have to roll with the punches.
Most people are familiar with SMART goals.
- Specific
- Measurable
- Attainable
- Relevant
- Time limited.
Let’s review one of your goals a make sure it meets all the requirements.
Specific – your goal is clear and you know exactly what it means.
Being too vague like “ I want to be healthy” is too broad of an idea. Working on let’s say getting your HDL cholesterol, good cholesterol, up 10 points in three months with exercise is a specific goal.
Measurable –you have attached amounts and dates to your goal
It’s easier to determine if you’ve made your goal if there are real numbers to achieve and improve on.
Attainable – When you review your goal it still seems achievable. Making the goals smaller, more frequent, make accomplishing the overall goal much more likely.
Relevant: The goal still matters to you.
Ask yourself if the original goal will still make you happy, and more importantly truly healthy. That can help you decide if the goal still is relevant.
Time limited. How close are you to your deadline – Do you have a deadline?
Deadlines keep us on track and focused. At work we have deadlines and these only help keep us on track.
The final requirement that we have to make sure we meet is really just implied by the SMART goals is that your goals are written down
It’s easier to remember anything if you write it down and putting to paper any goals will allow you and anyone you want to hold you accountable to use as a guide for your journey.
So here is the challenge
Review all of the goals you made at the beginning of your program. If you are still in the beginning stages write down what you want to achieve using the SMART outline above.
If this is all new to you, leave me a message and I will give you some additional resources to help you create your goals. By next session try to have three really important goals written down using a SMART format. Then we will look at the plan you have to meet the goals.