Day 2: Goals

January 2nd, 2008 · No Comments

According to weight loss experts, the secret to success is setting reasonable, yet high goals for yourself. With that being said, I will admit that when it comes to weight loss, “reasonable goals” isn’t in my vocabulary. Like most people, I want the weight off – yesterday. Off course, unless you really are a Biggest Loser contestant, losing 14 pounds in a week is impossible. And when you fail to lose 14 pounds a week– which you will – you feel bad about yourself. (And if you’re anything like me, delving into Ben and Jerry’s to soothe the discouragement and reinforce the I’ll-never-lose-weight mentality isn’t far off.)

So this year, I will try my hardest not to set myself up for failure. In total, I’d like to lose 40 lbs. I think a reasonable goal is 2 to 3 lbs. a week.

I will track my weight loss each week with a “Weight Loss Log” post every Friday. The Weight Loss Log will include the week’s weight loss, pounds lost to date (so I can see how far I’ve come), and a tally of how many times I worked out and how many days I stuck to my diet per week (so if I don’t lose any weight, I can figure out where I went wrong). I’ve used this tracking system before, and it really does help.

Another helpful trick I’ve learned is keeping a food and exercise journal – again, something the experts have recommended over and over again to dieters. I bought a dollar purse-size notebook at the drugstore and carry it with me wherever I go. As soon as I’ve finished eating, I write down what I had – I’ve learned if you wait too long between eating and journaling, you either forget it or fudge it.

Personally, I’m choosing to follow a simple low-calorie diet. No no-carb, no-sugar, high-protein or any other special diet plan. I’ve tried all those before (read my diet review section to hear my comments) and I just couldn’t stick to them.

So if you’re like me, and you need a simple, no-nonsense, old-fashioned calories in – calories out plan, here’s a few tips:

You need to calculate how many calories a day you need in order to lose weight. This number will vary from person to person based on age, sex, activity level (you get the point). For the most precise daily calorie number, you’d have to go to the doctor and participate in a battery of special tests. Personally, I’m too lazy and cheap to do that. So here are two easy and free methods to calculate your daily calorie needs:

1) Take your target weight and multiply it by 12. For example, if you want to weight 120 lbs., multiply 12 by 120 = 1440. Therefore, each day aim for 1440 calories, give or take.
2) Or visit www.caloriesperhour.com. I love this website (and no, I’m not a paid endorser)! It has awesome interactive calorie counters, BMR and RMR calculators, activity calculators, and other cool stuff. I’ve checked out a lot of calorie counting websites, and personally this is the best one I’ve found yet.

For myself, I should really be eating about 1300 calories a day. But in reality, I’m eating more like 1600. Hopefully, I can cut down as I progress, but for now I’m too damn hungry. (It’s only 8:30 p.m., I already ate 1650 calories today, and I’m still starving!)