You have decided enough is enough. You are tired of not being able to fit into your favorite jeans, having to buy a bigger size or you don’t like the person who is looking back at you in the mirror. You want to know how to set weight loss goals. You have made the decision that you are going to lose weight and this time you are going to stick with it. You have made your decision but you are at a loss as to how you can accomplish the ultimate goal. If you want to lose weight you have to set goals. Goal setting is a powerful process for thinking about your ideal future, and for motivating yourself to turn this vision of the future into reality. The key to setting weight loss goals is to follow the standard of goal setting. Your goals have to be specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and tangible. When you don't have a specific goal, it's difficult to stay focused and to track your progress to see how far you've come. Setting weight loss goals will enable you to keep your eye on the prize. It is not a hard thing to do. You have to know what it is you want to accomplish and you will need to keep a journal.

Keeping a record of the foods you eat, the exercises you do, the weight you lose and the way you feel is an excellent way to adhere to a weight loss program. It keeps you motivated. Having a permanent record on paper or on your computer is a great way for you to see the progress that you have made. You may use a composition book, a diary, scrapbook, an excel spreadsheet or an online weight loss journal.http://www.am-i-fat.com/weight_loss_journal.html Your journal is a record of your goals, the goals that you have achieved and the goals that you will achieve. This is a personal record for you about you. Your writings in the journal should be about your weight loss but it should also include your emotional feelings. This is a personal record of which you can read at anytime. You will learn something new about yourself or confirm a type of behavior based on reading what you have read in your journal. This is your journal and you can keep it private or you can make it public. To make your journal private or public is a decision that you should take very seriously. If you decide to make it public be advised that your every move will be the subject of someone’s conversation.

Set goals that are within your capabilities and take into account your limitations. Take into account your personal fitness level, health concerns, available time and motivation. You may want to use the many health calculators that are available to you on theInternet as a guide in setting your goals. The following are a few of the health calculators that you may want to try out: Body Fat Estimator, Body Mass Index and the Ideal Body Weight Calculator. http://www.freedieting.com/tools/weight_loss_tools.htm You should take into consideration what you want the end result to be. Do you want to ditch those size 10 pants and fit into a size 6? Do you want smaller thighs or do you want to tone up? It’s all about what you want. Tailoring your expectations to your personal situation helps you set achievable goals. Aim for a realistic short-term goal per week or per month. Determine your overall goal and then think of short term goals that can be measured weekly or every two weeks. Short-term goals keep you engaged on a daily basis, but long-term goals motivate you over the long haul. Your short-term goals (for example, walk for 30 minutes, lifting weights for 30 minutes or complete a 30 minute workout video 3 times a week) will assist you in reaching your long term goal (for example, walk for 1 hour, lift weights for 1 hour or complete a 60 minute workout dvd). Here are a few short term goals you may want to implement: drinking 32 ounces of water a day, eating every two hours and eating fruits for snacks to name a few. If you're trying to lose, get healthy, build muscle or excel at a sport, you'll need specific goals.

This can be done by limiting calories and/or by exercising on a regular basis. You may limit the amount of fat and/or carbohydrates. This will assist in keeping your calorie count at a reasonable level. You will need to determine if your fitness routine will require special equipment such as a treadmill, free weights, dumb bells, exercise videos , exercise balls or mats. You need to ask yourself if you will need to purchase clothing and/or tennis shoes. Can you throw on a pair of shorts and a muscle shirt or do you feel that you need a specific type of clothing to exercise in. You must choose the type of clothing that is going to be comfortable for you when you exercise. You will need to choose a start date and a time that you will exercise. The date you choose will be the day that you are ready to start the race without looking back. The time that you will exercise must be a set time that you are able to stick with for the long haul. You must determine what you will eat and the types of exercises that you will complete. http://www.dietbites.com/pounds%20off/begin-diet.html These goals are about you and what you want to accomplish. Make sure that you write your goals in your journal.

Stick to the plan and don’t look back. We all have our lives and sometimes life happens. During our daily tasks we may face a setback or two. We need to learn how to accept it, regroup and move forward. http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/weight-loss/WT00021 The road to success is never drawn in a straight line and sometimes we are thrown off the road. We may not be able to exercise due to an injury, unexpected break-up with your girlfriend or an associate (notice I did not say friend) belittling your weight loss goal. It is important to recognize what you have accomplished so far. Do not to let anyone take that away from you. It is easy to give up when life throws us a curve but we have to stay strong. Take a look at your journal and read what you have written in it. Cut yourself some slack and leave the set back where it belongs, in the back. Once you have left the setback in the past you should move forward with your weight loss goals and make any adjustments that are needed. Give yourself credit for staying on course for the time that you did. Everyone has there off days and it's common to feel a sense of failure if you have a lapse. Dont let a small setback turn into a large one. Accept the lapse and immediately put it behind you. Stick to the program the next day and move on. Don't try to make up for the setback by vowing to exercise 30 minutes longer or eating less. It’s a new day and you should focus on sticking to the plan in order to see a new you.

Resolve to lose slowly. Keep a journal. Give yourself credit.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mrKa9BUh_Z8

There is a video titled “ How to Set Weight Loss Goals That You Will Achieve” is produced by Zacking.Com.

The video is presented as a PowerPoint presentation with a little green turtle named Zack. The video begins by stating that there are two keys to weight loss management. You must define your overall target and then you must complete a task on a daily basis that will help you move toward your personal weight loss goal. The video then tells you how many calories you must burn in order to lose 10lbs. The video advises the importance of keeping a record of what you have eaten and the amount of calories on a daily basis. The video tells you how to manage your weight versus sticking to a fad diet. The example is that the dieter has been restricting the amount of calories for a specified time and then he decides to have a large breakfast, pizza and beer for lunch. It goes into mathematical detail as to how a person who did not follow their eating plan for one day can still continue on to their weight loss goals.