Why you need fitness goals. It seems that all too often people start working out because they want to lose weight or get healthier. Reading that, do you see how vague it is? What does losing weight even mean? Is 1 lbs enough or will 30 lbs be the target? What does get healthier mean? Are you planning on running a 10 k or maybe you want to make it up the stairs without losing your breath?

See what I mean? Although the sentiment is great and I wholeheartedly support it, such broad goals don’t really mean anything. Maybe even more importantly they don’t give you the guidelines to work in a specific way. While I obviously think that just increasing your movement or eating healthier is great, if you don’t really know what you want then you’ll wind up getting frustrated.

WHY YOU NEED FITNESS GOALS

A better way to define your goals is to be very specific (and realistic) about what you want. I might want to be a 20 year old model strutting down a runway in a bikini but that probably isn’t going to happen. What I can be in control of, however, is saying that I want to lose 10,15 or 20 lbs and that I want to run 10 km or a half marathon.

This is important because now I know how to approach my goals. Let’s say that I want to lose 10 lbs.  The first thing I’m going to do is to take my current measurements and write them down. The next thing I will be honest about is how much and what I am eating.

• Calories do count and even if it’s healthy it doesn’t mean that you can eat anything in large quantities.
• While some occasional treats are okay, if you are actively trying to shed the pounds then make sure you don’t have any junk food on hand that’s easy to get to.
• Fresh fruits, vegetables and whole grains are always the best choice over processed prepackaged foods.
• Keep snacking to a minimum. Unless it’s a post workout meal mindless snacking adds calories that you might not even be expecting or counting.

The other part of the weight loss puzzle is the math.

• 1 pound = 3500 calories. In order to lose 1 to 2 pounds in a week you’ll need to reduce your daily caloric intake by 500 to 1000 calories per day.
• It’s that simple and that difficult at the same time. If we go by this math then it’s realistic that you can expect to lose between 4 and 8 pounds in a month.
• If you aren’t very overweight and only need to lose a few pounds then it’s extremely unrealistic that you can cut 1000 calories a day (don’t even try it). So you will need to be patient.

Remember that if you increase your workout level and add even 10-20 minutes per workout then that will also be contributing to your calorie deficit. Read, HOW MUCH WEIGHT CAN YOU LOSE IN A MONTH

Plus, by working out and lifting weights you are building muscle which is going to speed up your metabolism and increase fat burn.  Read, WHY WOMEN SHOULD LIFT WEIGHTS

I’m not saying this to turn you off from your goals but rather so that you can take them seriously enough to see changes. It also helps if you are writing everything down because even if you aren’t feeling too different you’ll be able to track your achievements.

When approaching your workouts make sure that your goals aren’t suffering just because you don’t like certain activities. I know so many people who hate running but do it anyway because they think they have to in order to lose weight. The truth is that they’ll most likely start finding excuses not to go for a run and then before they know it, they aren’t doing anything. I keep saying this but do what you enjoy, that’s the only way you’ll continue.

Know you might plateau. It happens to the best of us, at some point, even though you might be doing everything right, your body will stop responding. It happens and while it’s frustrating, do not let it derail you. This just might be a good time to reassess what you are doing. You might need to tweak your diet or increase the intensity of your workouts. It’s also a great time to reach out to a personal trainer who might have a new perspective on what you are doing.

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