Setting Goals and Moving Forward

I listened to the Fat 2 Fit Radio 5th Annual Goals Show [Pod cast #136].  [The show itself is trying to reboot itself so there haven’t been any new pod casts recently but I have high hopes.]  The host talks about why so many New Year Resolutions fail to last past March. As I struggle to get into better shape and fight the weight I continue to pick up during my travels, I am embracing their advice.

The pod cast noted that success in getting healthy and trim requires:

• defined reasons for wanting to be healthier and slimmer
• defined goals
• a plan for measuring and reaching those goals
• a reasonable time-frame

Here is a link to the Fat 2 Fit Radio Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Okay, so here are my goals:

• Lose 1-2 pounds a week for the next 28 weeks.  That should bring me to the end of June.
• I’m going to eat healthier by cooking dinners with fewer starches and eating fewer unhealthy snacks– eating 1900 – 2100 calories a day and tracking my nutrition and exercise on Sparkpeople.com
• I will work out more and actually do cardio by completing the Couch to 5K program.

The Fat 2 Fit Radio calculator generated the following chart that shows the number of calories that I should eat on a daily basis to reach my goal weight. Fat 2 Fit Radio advocates eating like the thin, healthy person that you want to become. The calorie levels provided in the chart create the caloric deficit required to get you to your goal weight in a safe manner. Once you reach your goal weight, you are supposed to eat the same number of calories for the rest of your life to maintain that weight.

Based on how much activity you do on an average day, the calories in the right column will be the number of calories that you will be able to eat at your goal weight. If you start eating those calories right now (eating like the thinner you), you will eventually become that thinner person. As you get closer to your goal weight, your weight loss will start to slow down. It is OK to eat a few hundred calories less per day (200-300) to speed up your weight loss at this point.