When we reach our fifties and sixties, most of us are a bit heavier than we were in our twenties. We long for the days when clothes fit in nice, small sizes and yet we love our ice cream and pizza. What to do? Once you’ve decided it’s time to get into shape, there are ways to maximize your efforts. It’s all about setting realistic, achievable and measurable goals. Then you’ll want to monitor your progress.
Weight loss takes time. Most of us gained our excess baggage over a period of years and it will take weeks and months to be rid of it. But slow and steady wins the race, and it’s motivating to see a regular decrease when stepping on those scales.
Long Term Goals
It’s important to know your ultimate end goal. How much weight do you want to lose? It may seem like a big commitment, and it probably will be, but set the goal anyway. Make it a specific number. Don’t dictate the timeline; that will happen as you meet your short term goals each day and week. But instead think of being healthier, looking better and feeling better with more energy. Your long-term goal may take months, but you’ll be so proud when your achieve it.
Short Term Goals
Losing weight takes self control each and every day. Help yourself out by finding a diet site or two that help you with menus, calorie counts and daily choices. Decide what you will and won’t include in your diet. For example, you might decide that a square of dark chocolate per day is part of your regimen. Make the diet strict enough to work, but reasonable enough to maintain.
Tracking for Motivation
Following your progress is a way to stay motivated on your road to a healthier you. Track your eating and your exercise on one of the many online diet sites. You’ll see in visual graphs the steps you’re taking to reach your short and long-term goals. Maybe your goal is to lower your cholesterol, fit into your clothing or just weigh less. In any case, monitoring your progress is helpful in not “giving up.” A friend has told me, “If you’re tired of failing; stop giving up,” and she’s right. You can do it!
Try one of the sites below to get started on setting long and short-term goals and then begin your process of being a better, healthier you.
