Setting the Right Kind of Fitness and Health Goals.
Have you ever gone on a diet and set unrealistic fitness goals for yourself? Maybe it was something like, “lose 30 pounds in two weeks” or “run a marathon in ten days” when you’ve never run in your life!
This kind of self sabotage is what typically keeps people fluctuating with their weight over the course of the years. One day you’re fully committed, and the next day you’re fully overwhelmed.
This year, set your goals the right way. Keep long term success in mind when you do it. You’d much rather lose the weight permanently than lose it fast, but gain it all back (and more) a few months down the road, right?
Start with the goal to implement better health habits that contribute to your weight loss, but don’t connect directly to it in an obvious manner. For example, keep stress lower this year.
Stress eating is a major source of diet failure. So learn how to lessen or manage your stress so that you don’t turn to food whenever a situation arises. Another diet failure stems from lack of sleep.
If you’re running on fumes every day, it’s going to lower your metabolism and cause you to reach for sugary, caffeine-laden snacks and drinks that artificially give you energy, only to make you crash a short time later.
This kind of rollercoaster makes you eat to get through your day. So work on your sleep regimen by implementing proper sleep hygiene and sticking to a schedule that gives you plenty of rest to get through your day without help from unhealthy snacks.
Next, focus directly on your nutrition. Make small changes, rather than drastic ones. Pick a new habit to implement each week, such as portion control or less sugar or sodium.
It’s okay if you choose to track calories or other elements, if that works better for you. Set your goals the right way, though. Don’t go from a diet of 3,500 calories a day to 800 calories.
You’ll be miserable! Instead, curb your calorie intake a bit at a time over the course of a few weeks and watch the weight drop off effortlessly. So the same with your exercise goals.
Add a bit of workout time in your day, or set a doable goal of walking a mile, later raising it to 2 miles, then three, and so on. Don’t try to run before you can walk. Not only will you burn out quickly, but you could injure yourself.