Ilse aka Miss Healthy &Happy lost no less than 22 kilos in 2015. One of her secrets? Get rid of good intentions, make them goals. In this guest blog she tells you how to do that.
More about Miss Healthy &Happy From the beginning of her switch to a healthy lifestyle and her battle against the kilos, she writes a blog every week on her website Misshealthyandhappy.com. With this she inspires and motivates thousands of women every month to start living healthier and thus achieve their ideal weight. Read Ilse's previous article:5 tips to lose weight successfully,
Ilse: The first half of January 2016 is already over. Most of the resolutions that were formed at the beginning of this year have already failed. I really don't like the word "intentions" so I don't do it. In my opinion it is another word for 'I-would-like-something-but-it-is-still-the-question-if-I-can-do'. Last year, January 2, 2015, I started my battle against the kilos. From day 1 I went against it with a battle plan. No way that I called losing weight a resolution then. No, it was a hard GOAL what I was going to achieve. I would like to give you some tips to make your 'intention' such a determined goal!
Working aimlessly is killing If you just say (or think) 'I want to lose weight', your goal is really just a vague concept. How high do you estimate your chances of actually getting what you want?!
Clearly formulate for yourself (and share this with those around you!) how much weight you want to lose. And why do you want to lose so much weight? How do you want to feel when you've lost weight? How much do you want to lose and in how much time do you want to achieve this goal?
Formulate your goals This will also make you think about how you want to achieve this goal, because just wanting will of course not get you there. A tip to determine and describe your goal as specifically as possible is to formulate it SMART. SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Acceptable, Realistic and Time-bound.
Specific
This means that your goal is clear and concrete. What exactly do you want to achieve? Instead of 'I want to lose weight', you can say:'I want to lose 15 kilos'. Another example, if you want more fitness, you can make it very specific by saying, for example, 'I would like to be able to run 5 kilometers in a row'.
Measurable
Make your goal measurable so that you can check exactly when you have reached your goal. It is very easy to lose weight. If you now weigh 85kg and you reach 70kg, it is very noticeable and clear when your goal has been achieved. By stating (instead of 'improving fitness') that you would like to be able to run 5 kilometers, your goal has been made exactly measurable and therefore even more specific.
Acceptable
Is the goal attainable for yourself (and those around you)? Do you want to exercise 3 times a week to achieve your goal? Then check whether this is possible in your current schedule. Otherwise, your plan is doomed to fail. If not, then I think you have two options:find out how you CAN make it possible. Perhaps your neighbor can look after your children on Mondays, you can go to sports on Wednesday during school hours and you discuss with your hubby that it would be very nice if he stayed at home with the children for an evening if you took time for yourself in the gym on Saturday morning. . Make it possible! Where there's a will, there's a way, I always say! Have you done everything you can but it doesn't work? Adjust your goal. Stop exercising three times a week, but make it twice a week. And do something active on the weekend! Option two wouldn't be my preference, but anything better than not being able to achieve your goals.
Realistic
The goal must be realistic and achievable. The bar should not be set so high that it is hardly possible to achieve your goal. But a goal that is too easy is not challenging and does not give a sense of pride; you reach the goal (too) easily. So don't immediately say that you want to run the marathon. I'm sure you could, yes, but maybe at another time in your life. First tackle that 5km!;-)
Time-bound
Ensure a clear start and end date. In particular, goals that you want to achieve in the short term must have a clear end date. That keeps you sharp and this also brings an extra responsibility to yourself because you now have a deadline!
In short:sit down and formulate each goal as SMART as possible. Then print out your SMART formulated goal(s) and read it out loud to yourself every day. This will help you be successful in achieving your goals because you will focus on what you want to achieve. Oh yeah! When formulating your goals, make sure that you always formulate them positively. So 'I don't want to be overweight anymore' is no longer in it!
Good luck in achieving your goals. Do you want to read more tips &tricks about losing weight? Then take a look at my blog www.misshealthyandhappy.com where you can download my e-book 'Ten mindset mistakes you should NOT make if you want to lose weight successfully' for free!'
