Set short-term goals
Rather than just setting a long-term goal, make sure you set weekly and monthly goals as well. “That way you keep having those little successes, fueling you towards your larger goal,” Johnson explains. Besides, setting a goal too far into the future gives you too many reasons to wait until later.
Be realistic
“A lot of people say they want to lose 50 pounds by spring break vacation,” Yule says, “But they probably don’t want to go through what it takes to do that.”
Johnson points out that many people have unrealistic goals of losing five to 10 pounds a week due to media marketing. “We want people to healthily lose weight, so that it’s a lifelong weight loss, not just a quick fix. You shouldn’t be losing more than 1 percent of your body weight a week. That’s two pounds a week if you weigh 200 pounds or three a week if you weigh 300 pounds.” Any more than that is difficult to maintain, or may be coming from water or even muscle loss. Setting realistic goals also minimizes the risk of feeling disappointed, which can lead to giving up on one’s goals altogether.
Celebrate the wins
No matter how far along you are in pursuit of your goals, it can be challenging to avoid a pattern of always trying to get to the next level, seeing your results as not ever being good enough. Yule says a good way to counteract this is to deliberately focus and reflect on positive actions. “I like to look back each week,” he says. “See what were the positive things you did this week to move you closer to your goal.”
Avoid fixating on the scale
Starting a weight-training program can increase lean muscle mass, and muscle weighs more than fat. Because of this, the numbers on the scale can be deceiving. “We want to be lean; we don’t just want to be skinny,” Johnson explains. So paying attention to how your jeans fit, and looking at body fat percentage, are both more accurate than just the numbers on the scale. And then there’s the big picture—an improvement in energy levels and in mood (not to mention improved health) are positive benefits of exercise that can’t be easily measured.
Go deep
“People join a gym in January for their New Year’s resolution, but they have a much deeper reason than losing weight. It’s not just a superficial 20 pounds,” Yule says. The deeper reason could range from wanting to set an example for your children to wanting to feel more confident around your spouse or friends. “When you get down to the deeper issue, it’s not the 20 pounds. It’s the reason why they want to lose the 20 pounds,” Yule says.
Have fun
If you see exercise as a necessary evil, it’s hard to maintain the desire to continue year-round. But if you find sports and activities that are enjoyable and have new challenges, working out becomes fun rather than a dreaded chore.
Yael Grauer is a Minneapolis-based freelance writer.
This story originally appeared in Southwest Newspapers' Winter 2012 Your Wellness.mn publication.
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