Set Goals To Make Changes

Restored from the Empower Network archive (2011–2017), lightly edited to meet our current advertising standards. Views are the original author’s.

Change is hard and losing weight is one area that most of us have struggled in. Up an down like a yo-yo we go, but what is the best way to succeed at something?

Setting goals, if you already haven’t done so, is a great way to get motivated to stick to a plan. It gives you something to work towards and can get your competitive juices flowing. If you set a goal of losing 10 pounds during the 80 days remaining in the challenge then you have a concrete thing to work towards and can map out a plan to get there.  To lose 10 pounds in that amount of time you would need to create a calorie deficit of roughly 500 calories each day. This can be done by increasing the amount of calories burned each day or by decreasing the number of calories ingested every day.

For Example:  A can of pop has 140-150 calories per can and a regular sized Snickers candy bar has 296 calories. Simply by eating a better snack or not giving in to sugar cravings in the afternoon can get you almost to your daily goal. Doing those two things and adding 30 minutes of walking would meet the goal of creating a 500 calorie deficit for the day.

You might think that you can exercise more vigorously for a longer time and skip any dietary changes, but in reality this probably won’t work as most people far underestimate the number of calories they eat each day and far overestimate the number of calories burned through exercise. It’s just too easy to out-eat the amount of exercise a person does in a day, so accurate calorie counting is necessary for most people to be successful in losing weight.

MyFitnessPal (http://www.myfitnesspal.com/) has an app for Android and iPhones that is a free calorie counter to make it easy to keep track of the number of calories consumed each day and more importantly lets you know how many calories are remaining after each meal.  The Android app is available in the Google Play store and the iPhone/iPad app is available from the App store, both of them are free to install and use.

So if you haven’t already done so, set a goal and work out a plan to get there. Breaking the plan into daily increments of smaller chunks can make the plan not so overwhelming and easier to stick to. If you are trying to cut calories use the myfitnesspal app to track calories eaten at each meal so you have an idea of just how much you are eating. It may be a surprise just how many calories you consume each day.

Include some form of exercise even if it’s nothing more than walking for 30 minutes each day. Regular consistent exercise will add up. If walking doesn’t fit in find a sport or exercise you can enjoy  that interests you and make the most of each day working towards your goal.