Since
excess weight puts you at risk for many health problems, you may
need to set some weight loss plans to help avoid those risks and
prevent disease.
But what should be your long-term goal? And what short-term
goals should you set to help you get there? You have a better
chance of attaining your goals if you make sure that the weight
loss plans that you will use are sensible and reasonable right
at the beginning.
Here are some guidelines from the experts in choosing weight
loss plans and goals.
1. Be realistic
Most people’s long-term weight loss plans are more ambitious
than they have to be.
For example, if you weigh 170 pounds and your long-term plan is
to weigh 120, even if you have not weighed 120 since you were 16
and now you are 45, that is not a realistic weight loss goal.
Your body mass index or BMI is a good indicator of whether or
not you need to shed of pounds. The ideal BMI range, according
to the national Institutes of Health, is between 19 and 24.9. If
your BMI is between 25 and 29.9, you are considered overweight.
Any number above 30 is in the obesity range.
From this point of view, you will need a sensible weight loss
plan that will correspond to the required BMI based on your
height, because this is the primary factor that will affect your
BMI.
2. Set appropriate objectives
Using a weight loss plan just for vanity’s sake is
psychologically less helpful than losing weight to improve
health.
You have made a big step forward if you decide to undergo a
weight loss plan that includes exercise and eating right so that
you will feel better and have more energy to do something
positive in your life.
3. Focus on doing, not losing
Rather than saying that you are going to lose a pound this week,
say how much you are going to exercise this week. This would
definitely make up of a sensible weight loss plan.
Keep in mind that your weight within a span of a week is not
completely in your control, but your behavior is.
4. Build bit by bit
Short-term weight loss plans should not be “pie-in-the-sky.”
This means that when you have never exercised at all, your best
weight loss plan for this week should be based on finding three
different one-mile routes that you can walk next week.
5. Keep up the self-encouragement
An all-or-nothing attitude only sets you up to fail. Learn to
evaluate your efforts fairly and objectively. If you fall short
of some goals, just look ahead to next week. You do not need to
have a perfect record.
After all, self-encouragement should definitely be a part of
your weight loss plans. Otherwise, you will just fail in the
end.
6. Use measurable measures
Saying that you are going to be more positive this week or that
you are going to really get serious this week is not a goal that
you can measure and should not be a part of your weight loss
plan.
This is another reason why you should incorporate exercise on
your weight loss plan and focus on it. You should be able to
count up the minutes of exercise in order to be successful in
your plan.
The bottom line is, people should make weight loss plans that
will only remain as it is, just a plan. They have to put it into
action by incorporating goals that will motivate them to
succeed.
Other
Valuable Weight Loss, Health, and Dieting Websites:
WebMD.com
MayoClinic.com
About.com
CNN Health
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