When you are trying to reach a goal, it is important to create mini-goals to help you stay on track and to show you little successes before the finale. This can work for everything from adopting a vegetarian diet, organizing your entire house, or losing a certain amount of weight.
Summer’s coming, so let’s talk about weight loss. Maybe you want to lose 20 lb. by mid-August for a beach trip. You can do one of two things. First, you can break it down to monthly goals, like 5 lb. each month. That means you have four individual opportunities to reach a goal (one goal each month). Each time you meet your goal, you will be more motivated to keep going than you will if you just focus on one big end result goal. Instead of weighing yourself and thinking, “I only lost 5 lb.,” you can think, “Yes! I made my monthly goal!”
The second way to do it is to focus on getting your body ready for holidays or parties between now and August. This is what I do. For instance, I know that the first summer holiday is Memorial Day on May 28, so I have set a personal goal to lose 3 lb. and to tone up my stomach by then. The next holiday will be the 4th of July, and I will have another goal for that date.
Having these mini-goals will keep you on track and help you see progress. Other ideas that may help you are creating a goal poster with pictures or a plan of action that you can look at everyday or hanging a bathing suit in the kitchen so each time you go in the kitchen, you are reminded of your goals and you don’t cheat. Find what strategy works for you and work with it!
Diet Tip by Jill Foley, Assistant Manager at Lucille Roberts Roosevelt Blvd. and nutrition student at Lasalle University.
