How to Lose Weight Easily and Practically
If you’re just getting started with medical weight loss in New Jersey, you’ve likely given a lot of thought to your individual weight loss goals. Perhaps these are milestones you’ve dreamed of reaching for years before beginning medical weight loss, or maybe they’re the landmarks you discussed with Dr. Chhabra during your initial consultation—regardless, keeping your goals within easy reach is one of the best ways to stay motivated and enthusiastic about your continuing progress.
We’re often told to have lofty goals (“Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars”—Les Brown), but this isn’t always the most practical choice. If you aim for goals that are far beyond your reach, falling short can result in a bevy of frustrations, pushing you into a dietary slip-up or even the abandonment of your weight loss program. Because of this, the most effective goals for your New Jersey medical weight loss program will be small, easily attainable ones; the type that bolster your resolve to continue towards the finish line.
Because many of us do not have experience setting our own weight loss goals, you may find it challenging at first, but a little practice can make personal goal setting an invaluable part of your weight loss plan. Dr. Chhabra will be able to tell you what a normal amount of weight loss will be for each stage of your program, but the following tips can help you stay motivated and moving forward by setting your very own easy-to-reach goals:
Details, Details, Details
The more information you record on your diet, exercise and lifestyle habits, the easier it will be to determine what’s working and what is not. Before setting a goal, think first about the particulars of reaching that goal. Is your goal to exercise four times a week? Think about what activity you’ll be doing, when you’ll be doing it and how to work it into your schedule effectively.
Record your progress toward your goal at least once a week using a journal or spreadsheet. At the end of the week, look back over your progress and determine whether or not you successfully reached your goal. If you did, congratulate yourself and think about how to emphasize that week’s positive habits to reach the next week’s goals. If you did not, try to determine what could have sabotaged your progress.
Forget the Scale
The ultimate goal of your rapid weight loss program may be to slim down, but that isn’t the only benefit it will provide. Completing your medical weight loss program will help you make your whole life healthier, introducing you to all sorts of positive habits that may not have been a part of your life before. Keep in mind that the number on the scale will change slowly and is usually a poor indicator of how successful you’ve been, particularly in the early days of your program.
Instead of fretting over the scale, try focusing your goals on achieving other healthy feats in your lifestyle. Though aiming to cook a healthy dinner for your family three times a week may not make much of an impact on that week’s weigh-in, it is still something to be celebrated. Healthy lifestyle changes like these will be just as important to your long-term health as losing weight, so be sure to give yourself credit for making them.
How else can we set up effective goals during medical weight loss in New Jersey? Share your tips, experiences and questions with us in the comments below.