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Realistic Goals Key to Better Dieting
There are a few things that are key to the best way to diet and lose weight, but most of these keys are directed
towards the actual acts of either eating or exercising. Many people overlook one of the most important things
surrounding this whole cycle, which is setting realistic goals for yourself while you are trying to lose weight.
Setting goals that are impossible to attain will only lead to frustration and quick breaking of the dieting and
losing weight cycle.
Best Beginnings
When you decide that you would ideally like to lose weight, the best thing to do is to set a short-term goal at the
same time as you are setting some long-term goals for yourself. As you think about going from a size 14 to a size
10, you have to think about all the small steps that it will take to meet that goal. Going from a size 14 to a size
10 is a big physical change even though in numbers it looks like a small enough amount of change. Going down two
dress sizes takes months and in some cases, more than a year to accomplish. This is a simple fact and not a cause
for frustration.
In addition to thinking about your long-term goal of going down two dress sizes, set some smaller goals for
yourself that you can benefit from the pleasure of meeting the smaller milestones along the way. Some small goals
can be in terms of numbers (lose one pound this week) or they can be in the form of amounts (eat 1700 calories each
day or walk 3 miles each day). Whether you think in days or in weeks, in time exercised or in pounds lost, it is
important to set small goals instead of keeping one lofty, eventual goal on the distant horizon.
Consistently Sticking with It
The key to sticking with a new diet for the long term is to be consistent, but not militaristic with your eating
habits and your exercise practices. Don’t get angry with yourself for giving in to your cravings. Instead of
depriving yourself of chocolate if it is your most beloved sweet, cut yourself back to two Hershey’s kisses a day
instead of eating a bowl of chocolate ice cream or a piece of chocolate cake. Some even find a cup of hot chocolate
to be the most satisfying way to indulge one’s sweet tooth without breaking the calories or the fat goal for the
day. Depriving oneself in the short-term will usually lead to big-time backsliding; deprivation has no place in a
healthy diet.
Setting intermediary goals will help you along the path to significant and consistent weight loss. Just as you set
small goals for the beginning of your diet, continue to set small goals that can be met and rewarded. When setting
your goals, aim for something that will challenge you a little bit, but that will not require mammoth amounts of
self-discipline; it’s the realistic goals and not the mammoth ones that can be met.
Following Through
As you approach the long-term goal that you had set for yourself, you’ll need to keep setting and meeting the
short-term goals in order to reach your final goal. Don’t set goals that are too lofty. Falling off the bandwagon
can happen as you approach your goal and realize that you are getting there. The key to continued and real weight
loss is to make permanent modifications to your diet that are lower fat and calories, but that you enjoy almost as
much as what you used to eat. Substituting fruit for chips and hot chocolate for a chocolate bar are two changes
that can keep you on course to your goal and keep your taste buds happy in the meantime.
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