Well-written article. Last night I started a motivational journal in addition to my daily journal for prayer and life events. I'm keeping track of all my Spark Goals and challenges. I'm adding positive quotes, things I'm grateful for, and things I want to do for others. I planned rewards for several goals, and my next step is to create a rewards calendar to see when I can get the prizes for my efforts. Some things include exercise equipment (like resistance bands, ball, etc.). Or a lovely set of stylish salad plates to hold my healthy meals. Things that will enhance my lifestyle change and help along the journey. Thanks for keeping us motivated with this informative article.
This whole series is full of important ideas that go beyond counting points and steps. Thank you Dean, you are my hero. I want to stop relying on eating to manage my feelings. It keeps me fat and adds to my unhappiness. Have lost 16+ so far. Best wishes to all!
This was a great article, and very good advice. I really needed to read this one, to help me with my own personal goals, and how to go about working on the things that I need too. Thanks for all of your great articles.
Thank you for this wonderful series of articles. They make a perfect "guidebook" for success: Full of knowledge, well written and easy to understand even for those like me, whose mother language is not English. I see this article as a blue print for goal setting in general, not only for weight loss.
AZURE-SKY
5/8/2010 2:47:52 PM
At work, we have a set of guidelines for objectives and annual performance review. The acronmym is S.M.A.R.T. This is a similar approach to long-term weight loss (and it's easy to remember).
Specific Measurable Attainable Realistic Time-limited
And, remember, you don't have to set a goal to lose 50 lbs. Set smaller goals, like lose 10 pounds by June 30, or increase your exercise time by 15 minutes by the end of the month, etc.
This series rocks my world! My favorite was saying "do your best" is like trying to eat the hole in the donut. Great analogy!
I have a friend who doesn't like to keep a record of her workouts because if she doesn't improve from workout to workout, she gets mad at herself. Well, maybe getting mad isn't the right approach, but not keeping a record to give you motivation to push harder is no good, either! Getting fit is motivating, but seeing on paper a set of numbers that shows me just how much fitter I am while getting toward my goal is even more motivating!
Ha ha ha!!! I have needed the words, "Get thee off thy butt." It will be my mantra, my motivation, my reminder to take it seriously but not take my SELF too seriously. Thanks so much, Dean. This is a great article, and came to me at exactly the right time. Funny how that works.
SOAPIGIRL
4/7/2010 10:28:03 AM
Thank you! This is the first article I read on this website and it really has made a difference. Yesterday, I felt like a fat, middle-aged putz. Today, I feel motivated, reinvigorated, and ready to start again. Thank you, Dean! I joined sparkpeople just this morning and hope to make some progress.
Great article. Goal setting is something I need to work on. I have changed my eating habits and started getting more active. So far I've lost 8 pounds. The only goal I have is to lose 30 pounds, but I don't have a time frame. So I just set a goal for this weekend. I am going to read the other material about goal setting, read the goal setting info in the Spark book, and establish short, medium, and long range goals this weekend. It is very interesting that this article was the last 3 points I needed to move up to the next trophy (7500 points).
Summer's not over yet! There's still plenty of time to tone up and bust out that swimsuit for one last hurrah. Get results in just 15 minutes per week with this plan--no excuses!
