How to Set a Weight Loss Goal and Stick to It
If you are ready to take on the task of healthy weight loss you need to learn how to choose your goal and to stick to it. If your goal is unrealistic it may be self defeating. If you have underestimated how much you need to lose to be at a healthy weight, you may end up stopping your efforts when you still have pounds to lose. On the other hand, your goal may have been too stringent, meaning that reaching it actually makes you underweight and having to go to extremes trying to reach it.
So clearly, it is important to be clear on what your ideal weight is, and to do so you are strongly advised to seek the advice of your doctor or qualified health professional, particularly if you are significantly overweight and/or have been inactive.
You can also find variety of different weight loss Web sites out on the internet which can also help you to determine your ideal weight. You can visit these sites, where you will be able enter your gender and height, to gain a fairly accurate idea of what you should weigh.
However, you need to keep in mind that body weight is not in and of itself the only indication of good health. Two very different people can have the same height and weight and yet have a completely different body composition; one may be more muscular whereas the other may be what is known as “skinny fat,” which is to say, having a high body fat percentage. So again, this is why you are encouraged to seek out some help from a health professional, if nothing else to know your exact weight and body fat percentage.
All right so you have now determined your target weight accurately. Now you need to calculate the amount of calories you will need to cut back to lose weight. As 3500 calories is the equivalent of one pound, you will need to create a daily calorie deficit to lose a couple of pounds a week. Again, the Internet is a good resource for finding calculators to determine how many calories to shave off of your daily intake. Click here for a popular Weight Loss Calculator. Here is another one: Calorie Calculator for Weigh Loss.
Drastic reduction of calories is not recommended, as it will slow down your metabolism and paradoxically make weight loss more difficult, not to mention that you will be very hungry and fatigued and find it difficult to stick to such a stringent routine. The rule of thumb is to consume a minimum of 1200 calories a day, and expect to lose a one to two pounds a week.
When you set a proper weight loss goal, by following the above steps, you will be well on your way to achieving a healthy weight loss. For more tips and information see the following resources:
- How to Start a Weight Loss Program
- Setting Realistic Weight Loss Goals
- Weight-loss goals: 10 tips for success