reach a healthy weight

I’ve lost 45 lbs since September 2008. I’ve mostly been doing the South Beach Diet. I’m taking a break now out of necessity more than anything else. I’m not in a hurry though so that’s fine with me.

• Specific
• Measurable
• Attainable
• Realistic
• Timely
  By March the 13th on 2009 I intend to weigh 55Kgs
  This is SPECIFIC
  This is MEASURABLE (using a scale)
  This is ATTAINABLE. I need to lose 25 Kgs in 12 months. That is about 55 lbs in a year , this means i intend to lose about 4.6 pounds/month or about 2.1 Kg per month. I think this is pretty REALISTIC. it is less a little over 1 pound a week (about 1/2 kg /week) . In my opinion this is very doable.
  Finally putting a time frame makes it TIMELY and thus more TANGIBLE and makes it easier for me to comitt to it.’

I got this stuff from http://www.topachievement.com/smart.html

Specific – A specific goal has a much greater chance of being accomplished than a general goal. To set a specific goal you must answer the six “W” questions:

• Who: Who is involved?
• What: What do I want to accomplish?
• Where: Identify a location.
• When: Establish a time frame.
• Which: Identify requirements and constraints.
• Why: Specific reasons, purpose or benefits of accomplishing the goal.

EXAMPLE: A general goal would be, “Get in shape.” But a specific goal would say, “Join a health club and workout 3 days a week.”

Smart Goals

Measurable – Establish concrete criteria for measuring progress toward the attainment of each goal you set. When you measure your progress, you stay on track, reach your target dates, and experience the exhilaration of achievement that spurs you on to continued effort required to reach your goal.
To determine if your goal is measurable, ask questions such as…...How much? How many? How will I know when it is accomplished?

Attainable – When you identify goals that are most important to you, you begin to figure out ways you can make them come true. You develop the attitudes, abilities, skills, and financial capacity to reach them. You begin seeing previously overlooked opportunities to bring yourself closer to the achievement of your goals.
You can attain most any goal you set when you plan your steps wisely and establish a time frame that allows you to carry out those steps. Goals that may have seemed far away and out of reach eventually move closer and become attainable, not because your goals shrink, but because you grow and expand to match them. When you list your goals you build your self-image. You see yourself as worthy of these goals, and develop the traits and personality that allow you to possess them.

Realistic – To be realistic, a goal must represent an objective toward which you are both willing and able to work. A goal can be both high and realistic; you are the only one who can decide just how high your goal should be. But be sure that every goal represents substantial progress. A high goal is frequently easier to reach than a low one because a low goal exerts low motivational force. Some of the hardest jobs you ever accomplished actually seem easy simply because they were a labor of love.
Your goal is probably realistic if you truly believe that it can be accomplished. Additional ways to know if your goal is realistic is to determine if you have accomplished anything similar in the past or ask yourself what conditions would have to exist to accomplish this goal.

Timely – A goal should be grounded within a time frame. With no time frame tied to it there’s no sense of urgency. If you want to lose 10 lbs, when do you want to lose it by? “Someday” won’t work. But if you anchor it within a timeframe, “by May 1st”, then you’ve set your unconscious mind into motion to begin working on the goal.
T can also stand for Tangible – A goal is tangible when you can experience it with one of the senses, that is, taste, touch, smell, sight or hearing. When your goal is tangible you have a better chance of making it specific and measurable and thus attainable.

I believe this is the healthy weight for my height.

So I abandoned my goals for a while (hey, I’ve been in school) and am now trying to get back into everything. Today I exercised, woohoo! I hope to exercise more tomorrow and to start eating healthier.

Today I walked briskly for half an hour in the mall. And I haven’t drunk a lick of soda! Woohoo!

My friend and I decided we wanted to work on getting healthy together, not just to lose weight, but to avoid getting diabetes (which runs reeeally high in my family). We came up with a plan of “challenges” that progress each week for two months, and a points system so that it won’t be an “all or none” thing (which always happens to me). If we have earned enough points (by eating right and exercising) at the end of the two months, we get to do something cool…I haven’t figured out what my reward will be yet, but it might be getting one of those things so you can play your iPod in your car. We’ll see.