Setting Realistic Goals

It's important when setting goals that you be realistic and it's ok to have multiple goals.

My original goal was to reduce my weight to 170 pounds from 213 but no one said that I couldn't do it in reasonable steps so my first goal was to get below 200 pounds.

Another side to being realistic is a recognition that weight alone doesn't necessarily tell you much. As my fat loss continues I will need to emphasize weight less and focus on other things like body measurements or body fat percentage.

There might even come a time when I am not being realistic. I read somewhere that 12 percent body fat is a reasonable amount for a man. Apparently 17% is the equivalent for a woman. A woman aiming for 12% body fat percentage is not likely to be healthy.

The other side of being realistic is giving yourself enough time. Losing a pound a week for 26 weeks means that you should be down 26 pounds within six months. Trying to lose 26 pounds in one week is just not reasonable.

As long as you make your goals reasonable you are very likely to succeed at them. Creating unrealistic goals on the other hand will just cause mental anguish on the way to probable failure.

On to Hitting Plateaus.....

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