Goal Setting Tips: Best Way to Keep Weight Loss Motivation

Business have them so what are your weight loss goals?

If you have a lot of weight to lose, like I did, you’re probably staring at the figures. You’re wondering if it will ever happen.

I wondered that the first time and so have many more. Now, I say I had a lot to lose—when I started, I weight 14st 4.5lbs. My final goal weight is 10st 6lb, so just under 4st to lose. There are people who have 5st, 10st and even 20st to lose.

Knowing that, it can be difficult to keep the motivation week after week, especially when you’re doing it the slow healthy way.

I’m about to give you some goal setting tips to help you along the way. I’m about to teach you the best way to keep your weight loss motivation.

Stop Focusing on the Big Goal!

It’s so easy to become fixated on that big goal. I knew I wanted to lose between 3.5 and 5st. You get drawn into it and just think how long it is going to take you.

That’s where many people struggle. They see how slow it is and start wondering what the point is. So, stop focusing on it!

The biggest of all goal setting tips is to set mini goals along the way. Set the goal to reach your next half a stone. Set a goal to get into the next dress size down. It could even be to lose 5% of your starting body weight.

There are lots of mini goals along the way. I’ve had various half stone marks, the big 25lb mark (and I’ve got the 50lb mark in mind at the moment), and dropping into the next stone bracket.

They don’t all need to be about your weight. Set weight loss goals for your body measurements or getting into the next dress size. These are great if you stay the same or gain weight one week. You can take your measurements or try on old clothes and see how close you are to those goals.

What Are Your Reasons?

Why are you losing weight? Everyone will do it for different reasons and there’s no wrong or right reason—whatever motivates you. My reasons were for my health, because I hated the way I looked and felt and I wanted to be a good role-model for my daughter.

Setting reasons is a really important step in these goal setting tips. When you have a bad week, you can look back at your reasons and remind yourself why you’re doing this.

These are goals in themselves. If you don’t like the way you look, your goal is to get a look that you do like. If you’re worried about your health, your goal is to reduce the risk of various illnesses that are linked to obesity.

Make Them Difficult but Realistic

You don’t want goals that are really easy to achieve. You won’t have to put that much effort in and you won’t feel like you’ve really gained anything from it. At the same time, you want goals that you can realistically achieve.

There’s no point saying that you’ll lose 10lb in a week. It’s not realistic or healthy! You should lose between one and two pound per week on average. Some weeks you’ll only lose half a pound while other weeks you may lose three or four. Your first week you may be lucky enough to lose half a stone (I know people who’ve done it) but don’t expect to keep that up every week.

Make your goals difficult to reach so they’re worth reaching but something reasonable. Two pound a week is a reasonable goal but is difficult to maintain every week—that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try though! However, keep it in mind that it is difficult so you’re not overly disappointed if you don’t reach it.

Put a Time Limit on Your Goals

My last of my four goal setting tips is all about setting yourself a time limit. It’s fine saying that you want to lose 5st but how long are you going to take to do it?

I decided near the end of the summer that I wanted to reach goal by Christmas. I worked out how far I had to go and then whether there was enough time. There definitely was and that’s what my mind has been set on since.

It’s better than just having the number in mind. I stay focused each week and don’t let myself slip. I’m more motivated than ever before because I really want to reach that goal. I’m not letting anything stop me from losing this last half a stone I have left.

Those are my goal setting tips. I find them really important to keep motivated whenever I have a bad week.

What are your goal setting tips? How do you keep the weight loss motivation? Share your tips and stories below in the comments. I love to hear from other people!

Image by Phillie Casablanca