When you are on a mission to lose weight, it can be very difficult to set realistic, achievable goals. We live in an instant-satisfaction society and want everything at the moment we decide we want it. Due to the nature of weight loss, instant results are simply impossible. Many individuals are doomed to fail before they even begin because their lofty goals are simply impractical.
The first way to set realistic goals is to write down what is reasonable. With a combined effort of diet and exercise, it is healthy and possible to lose about one to two pounds a week. You can do this by subtracting 500 calories from your diet per day. The best approach to eliminating those 500 calories is to combine both exercise and healthy eating. If you exercise and burn 300 calories and subtract 200 calories from your daily intake of food, then you will be at your goal. If you were to just focus on restricting your calories or working out like a madman, you would surely burn out, but this combined effort takes a lot of the stress away.
A lot of people think if they workout hard enough then they will get to their results faster. While consistent, vigorous exercise is an important part of weight loss, jumping into an exercise routine too quickly or too intensely can end up actually hurting your results. You may injure yourself from over exertion, have to take a break and not be able to exercise at all, which would definitely curtail your weight loss efforts. Additionally, you may begin to exercise too intensely, get burnt out and never want to exercise again. To avoid these situations, set a reasonable goal and work your way up to it in sensible intervals.
For example, if you want to run a 5K, begin by running a few miles at a time and congratulate yourself on each accomplishment, no matter how small it may seem. If you focus on your end result and getting there as quickly as you can, you may become overwhelmed and throw in the towel, so it is best to focus on the little steps along the way.
When trying to achieve your fitness and weight loss goals, it can be difficult to overcome any upsets or unforeseen challenges. What are you supposed to do when there’s birthday cake? What about grandma’s famous meatball marinara? There is no way to prevent times of indulgence and you shouldn’t have to miss out on all of the good stuff! Enjoy a small portion every once in awhile to keep cravings in check, and don’t beat yourself up! If you are constantly thinking about what you can’t have, you will likely become overwhelmed, so try to keep the realistic perspective that sometimes you’ll just have to have cake, and you will still meet your goals!
To help set those goals try a rowing machine at home for easy access.
Sean enjoys Blogging and focuses on veterans education benefits and online degree programs. His expertise in weight loss comes from a personal weight battle during which he lost over 100 pounds over two years of exercise, proper nutrition and avoiding sedentary hobbies. Video games are his biggest weakness.