As I’ve blogged previously, I’m been working on losing a few pounds by low carb dieting. I just recently lost my 25th pound in 7 weeks and 2 days! I am so thrilled with my progress even though I still have a lot more work to do to reach my ultimate goal of losing about 60 pounds total.
Set A Large Goal Along with Several Mini Goals
While, it’s important to have a final ultimate goal, it’s even more important to set smaller goals that lead up to the larger goal. This helps keep you on track and gives you the sense of accomplishment. It’s no fun to go week after week without celebrating your success. Therefore, I have set several mini goals.
My first goal was to lose 10 pounds in the first two weeks which while challenging I did it. Then, I set a goal of 20 pounds, which I reached last week. I also stive to lose around 3 pounds a week average. So, I celebrate that weekly by having a “freebie” meal where I can eat pretty much anything I like as long as I can make up any weight gain and still lose my 3 pounds the following week.
Therefore, I believe the best way of making any goal that seems hard to attain is to break them down into smaller goals that you feel you can reasonably attain within a short time. For example, if you are trying to save $1000 for something, don’t think of the whole amount. Think of it as $2.74/day for a one year and set a goal of saving $19.18/week or whatever you feel you can reasonably do.
Write Them Down!
You must write your goals down and keep track of your progress or your will forget them. I personally use spreadsheets for my goals and enter my progress every day first thing in the morning and at night depending on the goal, but a simple notebook or pad will do, but remember to keep with it.
To summarize setting and meeting attainable goals:
- Set a single large goal.
- Set several smaller, incremental goals that lead up to the larger goal.
- Write them down.
- Track your progress.
- Reward yourself when you meet an incremental goal.