You might have heard about SMART goals for weight loss, where SMART is an acronym for setting goals for successful weight loss.
S – Specific: “10 pounds loss” is a clear and specific while “lose weight” is unclear and vague.
M – Measurable: The Number on the scale on day one to day thirty is measurable and comparable.
A – Attainable: Goals must be attainable. For example 1 to 2 pounds weight loss per week.
R –Result Focused: The focus must be on accomplishing the goal.
T – Time-Based: Hold yourself accountable by giving yourself a deadline every week or every month.
You’ll read a lot about it all over the internet but have you ever tried to follow it or is there any guide which might help you to design your SMART goals. Let’s start a journey of a series of articles in which I’ll guide at every step and eventually you will design your personal weight loss plan following SMART goals.
Determine Your Goal Weight
You must have encountered or heard of that in most cases if someone has lost some weight, he or she regained it after some time or maybe you want to lose weight but you don’t know how much weight you want to lose or how much you should lose. So, the most important thing is the permanent weight loss which is within a healthy lifestyle. Your first objective must be to set your personal goal weight which is realistic and achievable. So you’ll begin with the end in your mind. To determine your personal goal weight I’ll walk you through some simple steps:
1. What was your highest weight as an adult?
The first step is to step back in time and think about your highest weight as an adult. Write that on the workbook and label it as high. Think about how you felt at that weight, think about your physical state at that weight, how you felt emotionally at that weight, what did you think about yourself, what kind of comments did your friends and family make about you at that weight, and did you have any medical problems because of being at that weight? Note down all these comments under the weight labeled as high.
2. What was your lowest weight as an adult?
The second step is to think about your lowest weight as an adult. Write that on the workbook and label it as low. Again Think about how you felt at that weight, think about your physical state at that weight, how you felt emotionally at that weight, what did you think about yourself, what kind of comments did your friends and family make about you at that weight, and did you have any medical problems because of being at that weight?
3. What is your stable weight?
The third step is to think about what weight you usually keep coming back to when you’re not gaining weight and you are not dieting. Now try to think about how you felt at that weight and write all this comment in your workbook and also label this weight as stable.
4. Calculating your ideal body weight:
The fourth step is to calculate your ideal body weight and for that purpose, we will be using a mathematical formula called the Hamwi Method.
Hamwi Method
For male:
106 pounds for being 60 inches tall and then we add 6 pounds for every inch over 60 inches. Or
48 Kg for being 5 feet (152.4 cm) tall and then we add 1.1 Kg for each additional cm
For female:
100 pounds for being 60 inches tall and then we add 5 pounds for every inch over 60 inches. Or
45 Kg for being 5 feet (152.4 cm) tall and then we add 0.9 Kg for each additional cm
Calculate your ideal body weight using this method and write it in your workbook and label it as Hamwi.
5. Finalizing your goal weight:
Look at your workbook and you now see that you have a range of four different weights that you have had as an adult and one that you have calculated by the Hamwi Method. Now while choosing your personal goal weight look at those weights and also look at those comments and questions noted earlier in your workbook. How did you feel at those weights and how would you expect to feel at your selected weight? What kind of comments did you get from friends and family at those weights, and what kind of comments you expect to get from friends and family at your selected weight? Considering all those questions, comments and what you want; you can now select one weight that is within that range and it should be no lower than your Hamwi weight and it could be 10 pounds either way of your stable weight. This will be a goal weight for you.
6. Time frame:
Now that you have your goal weight, you need to think about the time frame in which you expect to get to this weight. It would be great to divide your goal weight into many short term goals. So, for example, if your goal weight is 20 pounds less than your current weight, a good short term goal would be to lose 1 pound per week. Then your long term goal would be to lose 20 pounds in 20 weeks. This also gives you flexibility in determining the time frame for a goal weight. So, if you like to boost up your weight loss speed you can set your short time goal a little higher but up to the realistic and achievable limit. For example, you can set your short time goal up to 2 pounds per week which will make your long term goal 20 pounds in 10 weeks. A realistic rate for weight loss is about 1 or 2 pounds per week.
Congratulations! You now have your SMART goal weight, short term and long term goals that are realistic and achievable. You can share your goal weight with your friends and family, let them know what you are trying to accomplish. Sharing your goals is very important in keeping you on track.