Current weight: 286.4 lbs,
Total weight loss: 19.4 lbs.
I was glad to have lost weight this morning, especially since I was back from the work conference yesterday. It was good to be home and back in my routine.
And 41 days into this wellness endeavor, I’ve lost an average of 0.5 pounds a day – hooray for progress!
When I started my wellness endeavor, I read quite a bit about goal setting. Like so many people, I have set different goals over the course of my life — some I have met, others I haven’t.
My ongoing struggles with weight and the constant yo-yo dieting have been an area where success has always eluded me. As I mentioned before, a main reason for starting this challenge and blog was to work toward improving my health and wellbeing, and to do so in a permanent manner. I even wrote about some of my ultimate goals as part of this process.
I have always been inspired by people who set goals – personal, professional, or otherwise – and then work towards achieving them.
For me, reading about their stories, their struggles and their accomplishments, can provide me significant motivation, hope and encouragement.
Create, Document and Implement S.M.A.R.T. Goals
In my reading, I noticed that there was often a common theme: S.M.A.R.T. goals. These are a specific type of goal that can be used to try and improve the chances of success.
I had never heard of these before, but apparently the concept has been around for a few decades, although the acronym has been slightly modified over time and by different people.
S – Specific
M – Measurable
A – Achievable
R – Relevant
T – Time-related
As part of my 100-day challenge, I have set up my own S.M.A.R.T. goals. During this process, I also added three elements – action items – that were an important part of achieving my S.M.A.R.T. goals, and these may be helpful for others:
- Create
- Document
- Implement
My S.M.A.R.T. Goals:
Specific: I have a plan in place that uses 8 specific guidelines tailored for me that I will follow for 100 days.
Measurable: I measure my progress in several ways, including weight loss, inches lost, fitness progress and how I am feeling generally. All of these are fairly easy to measure.
Achievable: This was an important one since I didn’t want my goals to be unrealistic or unattainable. Too many times in the past, I have said I want to lose “X” amount of weight in “Y” amount of time. For me, this created too much pressure and was a set up to fail with the first slip-up. Rather than focus on a number, I am focusing on a process. As I’ve mentioned before, I can’t let perfect be the enemy of good.
Relevant: If goals aren’t relevant to what’s important to you, they will be hard to achieve. My S.M.A.R.T. goals are both relevant and critical to what I want in my life: to be healthier. My belief is that in achieving this, I will be better set up to accomplish success in other aspects of my life.
Time-Related: 100 days is time related. Right now, I am not going to worry about what I’ll do or think on Day 101. I don’t want to overwhelm myself. A smaller, time-related goal is the way to do that.
Additional Three Elements:
Create: It’s important to create – really think about – your specific goals. As I mentioned above, these goals are specific to me. I spent a good amount of time determining what would be best for me in my life at this time taking into consideration my health and my past.
Document: Another biggie. Write your goals down. Date them. Own them. And visit them often.
Implement: Once you’ve created and documented your goals, the implementation is the hard part. To make implementing easier, be sure to write down your progress as you go (both good and bad). Hold yourself accountable. Revisiting your progress and comparing it to your initial goals can be very helpful.
Although I don’t know if there is any validity to the effectiveness of S.M.A.R.T. goals, they seem like a simple and succinct way to identify achievable goals.
So for now, I’ll continue with the S.M.A.R.T. goals I have created, documented and implemented.
Day #41:
Current weight: 286.4 lbs
Total weight loss: 19.4 lbs
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