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Comment: Year End Goals

by Dr. Jacob Mathew, Moderator, DietBuddy

Andrea wrote:

Hi Janice, I can relate to you totally. The kid in the picture with the chipmunk face was me all through my school years. I had 3 kids and you did not even know i was pregnant. Skipped training bras, could not wear my sisters clothes because they were too small. It sucks! I went shopping the other day and intentionally bought 4 nice skirts and 4 blouses that were too small. My goal for the next 4 or 5 months is to get into them. I wear a 24-26 now and the stuff i bought is an 18. I figure I can reward myself with a great looking pair of shoes and a handbag (my weakness) if I make it.

Moderator's Comment:

Andrea:

I congratulate you for your determination and going out to buy the smaller dress so that your objective is quite clear and vivid in front of you. You may also want to visualize being in that slimmer dress.

The only think I want to caution everyone is setting the goals realistically. It should be achievable. Otherwise, whatever you will accomplish will go for naught because you haven't met the goals. We will talk more on setting goals very soon; but what you should do is to set up a long term goal (for the year), then a 6 month goal. Now break this into a monthly goal and then a weekly goal. All of this will get to the final goal. (Japanese call this continuous improvement.) You will have smaller successes that is like steps that lead to the final outcome.

For many people, the challenge is not in reducing the weight; but maintaining it. If you have cut your weight artificially lower by starving etc., there is a high chance that you won't be able to sustain it and will back to old ways.

What we want is a lifetime of fitness. You didn't gain all the pounds in a year. So, you don't have to loose all of them in 1 year. For some a 2 year plan may be more realistic.

My daughter, by the way, has a great hint. Think about how much you want to weigh. Add a zero to its end and that is how much calories you should consume. For example, if you want to get to 150 pounds, limit your calorie intake to 1500 calories; 130 pounds - limit to 1300 calories, etc.

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