Fat Loss 4 Idiots Secret

Saturday, April 4, 2009

Weight Loss: Planning Goals and Receiving Results

By Matthew Roberts

To achieve your goal of permanent weight loss, it's important to understand that the approach you take can make or break your success. In order to lose weight, you must set the proper daily goals and use effective strategies for implementing your plan and evaluating your results. This will allow you to make any necessary modifications based on the results you see.

How can you choose the right weight loss goal? First, it's important that your expectations are realistic about how much you'll lose over a given time period. If you choose an impossible goal, this will ultimately lead to discouragement and you will abandon your weight loss efforts. But how can you determine a realistic goal?

1. Don't rush to try to lose massive amounts of weight quickly. Slow and steady weight loss is more likely to be sustainable in the long term. Most professionals believe that a weight loss of approximately 5 to 10 percent of your initial weight is an attainable goal. For example, someone who weighs 150 pounds should aim to lose about 7.5 to 15 pounds. By doing it this way, you'll stay healthy during the process.

2. Crunch the numbers to set a realistic time frame for your weight loss. This is crucial for your health. For instance, a weight loss of 10 pounds can be achieved in 5 weeks. But to lose 20 pounds, you should allow for no less than 10 weeks.

3. Set goals for the short term. Set small targets like losing 2 pounds, instead of 20 pounds. This will help keep you on track, since you'll want to meet your weekly incremental goal too. It bears repeating that slow weight loss is more likely to bring about permanent results. Remember too that changing your diet and lifestyle permanently is another important goal. If you lose the weight in the short term only to return to your former habits, you'll gain your weight back, and then some.

Another importation thing to consider is self-monitoring.

Keep track of your progress. Make a note of your weight regularly to analyze your progress. Try weighing in daily, or at least weekly. Pay attention to natural fluctuations from fluid intake and other factors. When you notice that your progress is not on target, adjust your diet or exercise regimen.

Consider keeping a food journal. Research indicates that people who keep a food diary can lose up to twice as much weight. A food diary is like a map that can help you identify patterns in food and caloric intakes. This will allow you to more easily make adjustments if you find you are gaining weight, or are not losing quickly enough.

Remember that it takes time to lose weight. Don't rush the process. If you take it slow and easy, you're more likely to stick with it. Understand that weight loss isn't just a quick fix for your physical appearance; it's a long term investment in your health. - 17274

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