Setting goals

I had a converation with a friend at work yesterday...and a similar one with my trainer this morning about goal setting. Most people that want to improve their fitness focus on "losing weight" and set goals like:

• "I want to lose 10 lbs by summer"
• "I want to lose 2 lbs/week over the next 10 weeks"
• "I'm not going to drink any more soda"
• "I'm giving up ice cream."

I've made similar goals in the past. I'm convinced that they are a recipe for failure.

Don't get me wrong. Goals are good. Where I work, we practice "management by objectives", which is all about setting individual and organizational goals (and aggressive ones at that) and then hitting them.

So...what's wrong with all that stuff? First off, goals should have a few basic characteristics to be of any use:

• Measurable
• Within your domain of control
• Contribute towards your objectives.
• Attainable

Why isn't "lose 10 lbs" a goal? You can measure your weight...it contributes towards your objective of improving your health...and you can control that, right?

Wrong.

Quick. Right now. Go lose weight. I dare you. Lose 1/2 lb.

You can't. At least, not directly.

You don't control your weight. Your weight is (for the most part) the result of lots of other behaviors...especially what you eat and how much excercise. THOSE are things you can control.

So...what are my goals? First, more backstory. During my first meeting with wellness coaches Todd and Shawn we talked about sustainable weight loss. Most sources will tell you to target 1-2 lbs/week as a weight loss target. My coaches said that a better answer is 1% of your body weight (which for most people is 1-2 lbs anyway). So I'm tracking my weight loss in a spreadsheet (complete with graphs) and have trend lines showing where I'd be if I lost 1 lb/week and where I'd be if I lost 1% of my body weight each week. Those aren't goals, but they help me see how my body's responding to my changes in diet and excercise.

Getting back to my goals...I'd like to hit a 17% body fat ratio. Based on where I'm at currently, that translates to an end weight around 230-240...which is 75 lbs less than where I started. But still, I can't control my body fat. So....goals:

1. Stay in the largest loser program through completion
2. Walk an average of 10,000 steps per day each week
3. Hit or exceed my caloric deficit target each day (-750 calories)
4. Be able to do a dip
5. Eat more vegetables
6. Keep eating the foods that I like

There you have it. I can do all of that. I've demonstrated it this week...heck, I'm even going out to Hawks tonight for dinner...the thing is to eat responsibly. I can go to coldstone for ice cream...did so last night...but I know going in that the ice cream is going to be around 750 calories, so I need to eat light throughout the day and/or work out a little bit more to accomodate.

Same thing for tonight - going to dinner with friends, rich foods, wine, dessert. I'm eating everything. Maybe not all of everything. Maybe I choose some things that are a bit lighter.

And that's the other thing that came up regarding goals. They need to be positive. Don't set negative goals about what you're going to give up. Set goals about what you're going to achieve. Make them something you can celebrate and feel good about without reservations. I spent far to long dedicating myself to making delicious food to suddenly pull up stakes and say, "no more!". And I'm not going to devote myself to finding ways to make food delicious without having calories.

Instead, I'll cook and eat responsibly. Food tastes good when it's based on good ingredients and cooked properly. Butter and olive oil taste good. So I'll use them. I'll just use them responsibly, and will be honest with myself about their impact on the caloric "weight" of what I'm eating. And yes, there are some things that I can make that will be low-cal.

My commitment regarding food:

1. I won't sacrifice on flavor.
2. I won't kid myself about nutrition.
3. I will help my teammates (I can't think of the other Largest Loser folks as competitors) with food ideas

Ok...this is Friday; I've got two solid workouts under my belt, I've been logging everything I eat, and have been walking more. How's it going?

I weighed myself unofficially today...312.5 lbs. 6.7 lbs lower than the beginning of the week when I weighed in. A lot of that is water. My guess is that 1.5 lbs of that is fat...my 'bugg tells me I've burned about that many excess calories.

I'm sore from the workouts, feeling great, not hungry, and losing weight. Woot!