Before you enter into another kind of weight loss regimen, have you already done some weight loss goal setting? Any weight loss program should start with the setting of your weight loss goal so you can have better control of your diet and exercise. Being able to set goals can also give way to a more successful weight loss and weight management. However, you need to make sure that you are correctly setting your weight loss goal to ensure its effectiveness.

For healthy weight management

Setting weight loss goals involves coming up with realistic short-term and long-term goals paired up with your expectations. The more sensible your goals are, the more you can meet them and the more you can be successful in keeping your weight off.

Be sensible

Nobody can lose weight overnight or even 20 pounds in just one week. Even overweight people lose weight gradually. People with health problems linked to obesity and severe weight gain need to be careful in losing weight rapidly. Therefore, when setting your weight loss goal, make sure that they are realistic and achievable even if it will take you more than 6 months to be able to achieve them.

Consider your lifestyle

In setting your weight loss goal, you need to focus on the present and the past first. Consider how you are living your current lifestyle and be able to determine the following factors on why you gained weight:

o Your health status and age

o Genetic and biological history

o Using food as your response to anxiety and stress in your life.

o The kind of lifestyle you are living (i.e. Are you active or not? Do you play sports? Do you exercise?)

o What are the foods you love to eat and how much do you eat in a day?

Be able to address those factors

In setting your weight loss goal, consider those aforementioned factors so you can set realistic and attainable goals that can eventually lead to successful and safe weight loss as well as weight management. Once you have considered those factors, you need to be able to set your goals that involves changing any of the bad habits you may have encountered in your evaluation.

Check with the doc

Your doctor can help you in setting your weight loss goal especially if you have a medical condition. Your doctor can even design a weight loss program that can fit your goals without putting your health at risk, so do not forget to pay them a visit and have yourself evaluated or examined before jumping into another weight loss program.

Learn something

Your weight loss goals should also be able to teach you a valuable lesson in living a healthy lifestyle by eating a healthily and increasing your physical activity. You will know whether your goals are attainable and successful or not by judging whether your lifestyle had a complete change ever since you began your weight loss program.

Your short-term goals

You should not take your short-term goals for granted when setting weight loss goals In fact, they are important in guiding your way towards successful weight loss and weight management. Remember that something small can go a long way in promoting a complete change in your lifestyle. For instance, you can begin by telling yourself that you can lose at least a pound in a week, or you can tell yourself that you will walk around the neighborhood for 20 minutes everyday in 2 weeks, and then increase it to an hour.

Be specific

In setting your goals, make sure you are specific on what you want to achieve and make sure you strictly follow the steps to making them a reality. Discipline and self-control can help you in setting your goals and achieving them, but do not be too hard on yourself or you may end up feeling frustrated. However, even when you have specific goals in mind, do not forget to look at the big picture and imagine the end-result to inspire yourself.

Keep a journal

So you won’t forget bout your weight loss goals, you can write everything down in a journal or keep a diet blog. Your journal can even help you determine your strengths and weaknesses on your weight loss goals and methods so you can check on which ones you can improve and which ones are already unnecessary. Your journal can even serve as your checklist on which of the goals you have already achieved and see which ones still need some work.

Author: Phillip England
Article Source: EzineArticles.com

Women are generally more conscious about their body image and weight compared to men – and that is why women are usually the victims of fraudulent weight loss methods and products. Media’s portrayal of pencil-thin models and actresses do not help. In fact, this unhealthy idealization of thinness harbors unhealthy eating habits and crash diets.

Healthy weight loss for women

As a woman, you should understand is that in order to achieve a truly fit body, you need to start and follow through a program that promotes healthy weight loss for women. Such programs do not promise instant weight loss – what you get instead is gradual but sustainable improvements in your body. Avoid eating disorders and other possible problems by sticking to healthy weight loss for women .

Understanding weight loss

Scientifically, weight loss is the process of losing weight through reduction of body fat. Weight loss is generally advised to obese individuals and to those who are overweight. Obesity can be measured through one’s body mass index (BMI) or the proportion of one’s weight to her height.

There are two means of losing weight: intentionally and unintentionally. Intentional weight loss involves a conscious effort to lose weight. Different weight loss methods include dieting, exercise, and weight loss products such as diet pills and patches. For extreme weight loss, one can undergo surgery in clinics.

Unintentional weight loss, on the other hand, is usually a result of sickness. It occurs if you are suffering – or have suffered – a severe body complication or illness. Unintentional weight loss usually results from diseases such as cancer, diabetes, and other metabolic problems.

Understanding the ‘ideal’ body for women

The first step to healthy weight loss for women is setting a realistic and healthy goal. There are scientific and medical guidelines to help you determine your ideal body weight. Below is the ideal weight range for women according to different heights.

Height (ft/inches) Ideal Weight (Pounds)

5′ 0″ 97-127

5′ 1″ 100-132

5′ 2″ 103-136

5′ 3″ 107-140

5′ 4″ 110-145

5′ 5″ 113-149

5′ 6″ 117-154

5′ 7″ 121-159

5′ 8″ 124-164

5′ 9″ 128-168

5′ 10″ 132-173

5′ 11″ 135-178

6′ 0″ 139-183

What you shouldn’t do

1. Crash dieting and fad diets. Studies have shown that crash diets or empty-calorie diets are ineffective and can only result in weight gain in later years. Fad diets also do not work in the long run, often resulting in serious complications if executed improperly. Hence, a healthy weight loss program for women is the perfect solution to weight problems.

2. Un-reviewed diet products. Diet pills and diet patches are some of the products being sold rampantly and openly in the market today. However, the USFDA has claimed that several of these drugs have not undergone strict testing by the government. Hence, the long term effects of these products are still unknown. Consumers are asked to take these products with careful consideration and not easily fall prey to ad claims and shady consumer testimonials. Remember that some of these drugs require no prescription and can be bought by anyone – at any age.

The right way: Healthy weight loss for women

The only healthy weight loss program for women is this: proper diet and exercise. There are no short-cuts to losing weight. Ingesting diet pills and using diet patches may work in the short-term, but there are no sufficient studies to understand the long term effects of these products. Also, scientists are also still unaware of the side-effects of these products.

When losing weight, remember to keep in mind that being too skinny does not always equate to being healthy. Falling below your ideal body mass index can be dangerous.

Consult with a professional

To start off a healthy weight loss program for women, first consult with an expert. Talk to a nutritionist or dietitian. He or she can help you understand about your body and your weight. He can also give you sound advice on what weight loss methods you can adapt to help you lose weight the healthy way.

Cut down on calories

The next step to a healthy weight loss for women is to cut down on the amount of food you eat. Cutting down on calories and other junk foods will help you trim down your weight and live a more healthy lifestyle. Some of the foods you should get rid off include:

1. Replacing soft drinks and sodas with water.

2. Swapping whole milk for semi-skimmed, or semi-skimmed for skimmed.

3. Eating less lunch than usual.

4. Decreasing the intake of sugar in tea and coffee.

5. Having smaller portions of the food you enjoy.

6. Avoiding second helpings at dinner.

7. Cutting out unhealthy treats such as confectionery, sugary biscuits and crisps between meals.

8. Cutting down on beer and alcohol.

Author: Phillip England
Article Source: EzineArticles.com