Our Goals! Share them, commit to them or get help writing them.

[Dr. Nili Marcia]

Goal setting eliminates the top reason for failure in losing overweight: the lack of clearly defined goals, also known as action without planning. This goal setting will create a focus for our subconscious mind and support us during the process.

Set specific, measurable, BIG goals with realistic deadlines. Set long and short term goals which are emotionally enhanced and congruent with each other. Write the goals in the form of affirmations, in present tense. Read these daily with faith and visualize them as already achieved.
Use this forum to share your goals, make a commitment to your goals and to get help in writing them in a powerful form. Be sure to tell us if you want feedback!!

[Susannah Rose]

1 )I am now a size 14
(It is Christmas week and I am buying a new pair of trousers..oops ..need help here as I see I automatically went to buy new TROUSERS)

2) I am wearing a stunning, sexy dress in size 14, with tights and a little heel on my new shoes (Christmas Day)

3) I have reclaimed my femme fatale

[sue tiritilli]

Feels like all I really want is to fit in my old clothes again - comfortably, easily, no binding, or 'spilling' out in places. I also have a goal to overcome emotional eating, so that I never have to go through this stuff again.

[Dr. Nili Marcia]

Zannie Rose said:

1 )I am now a size 14
(It is Christmas week and I am buying a new pair of trousers..oops ..need help here as I see I automatically went to buy new TROUSERS)

2) I am wearing a stunning, sexy dress in size 14, with tights and a little heel on my new shoes (Christmas Day)

3) I have reclaimed my femme fatale

Wonderful, Zannie. Now please add the emotions into the picture. This gives our goals their charge. How do you feel, easily fitting into size 14, trousers OR dress? How do you feel, it being Christmas Day and you look so good? How do you feel now that you are again the femme fatale?

[Dr. Nili Marcia]

sue tiritilli said:

Feels like all I really want is to fit in my old clothes again - comfortably, easily, no binding, or 'spilling' out in places. I also have a goal to overcome emotional eating, so that I never have to go through this stuff again.

Good Sue, you are beginning to sort out your desires. Do the words you wrote turn you on? Are they exciting goals that will draw you forward? OK, so how can you rewrite them or redefine them into goals which DO excite you? Tip: take out the words "all I really want" and "so I never have to go through this stuff again" Those are what you don't want--what is it you DO want?

[Dr. Nili Marcia]

I've written out my goals using the worksheet, revised a bit as you will notice. I realized it made more sense for me to combine the last two sections and write the goals with feelings AND as affirmations at the same time. After that I got carried away and began writing out my visualizations too... :-)

I'm posting here by way of example. Your goals, of course, will be personal and different, but maybe this will give you some ideas.

(I had done it using the chart but cutting and pasting it removed the chart formatting.)

By all means, feel free to point out omissions or anything else you think I could benefit from!

It occurs to me that we might also want to include emotional goals if we have areas where we are stuck: for example, goals like being completely comfortable in my slim, attractive body.

Fabulous Goal Setting Formula Worksheet

My specific weight goals:
My ultimate weight goal is to weigh 60 kilos by July 5th, 2010
My one year weight goal is to weigh 90 kilos by July 5th, 2009
My weight goal for the next 3 months is to weigh 110 kilos by Jan 15th, 2010
My weight goal for this week is ?? by Oct. 26 (must weigh in first to figure this)
My daily goals and other goals for the week will be
.....To record all food eaten
.....To return to my food program, 5-6 meals a day of low fat, lean protein & complex carbohydrate foods
.....To remain within 50 calories +/- of 1900 a day
.....To return to the gym and begin working out again to the best of my ability
.....To do 4 workouts at what ever intensity I am able

My specific body goals:
To be totally healthy including excellent levels of blood sugar, iron, cholesterol, triglycerides, excellent insulin balance, good bone density, and 20-25% body fat Clear, healthy, firm, blemish-free, glowing skin
Strong, responsive muscles
To be flexible with freely moving, pain-free joints
To be energetic
Having stamina
Able to do activities easily; to dance, hike, bike, swim, etc. as desired
Taking naps for relaxation or pleasure not from exhaustion

My specific eating habit goals:
To be free of sugar cravings. To stop wanting to have sugar in tea.
To be free of fat cravings, including wanting butter and to let go of the desire for fat and processed snacks like potato chips.
To develop new eating habits of automatically taking small to moderate portions; to change my attitude from "large, heaping plates look generous and filling" to "large heaping plates look gross and disgusting and translate to lard on my hips"
To be aware of my appetite and not ignore it or over stuff it.
To enjoy and prefer eating in ways which suit my goals and new body
To maintain a steady level of calorie intake with good macro nutrient ratios.

My specific life / lifestyle goals:
Loving physical activities and doing them frequently
Being in tune with my body/ enjoying my body
Finding it easy and comfortable to eat in the way which enables me to lose weight and later to maintain my weight.

How I will measure my weight goals:
Weekly scale, keeping track and recording my progress and comparing to my intended goals.

How I will measure my body goals:
Blood and urine tests, bone density scan, noting the lack of joint pain, noting my skin quality, feedback from others, body fat calipers, monthly tape measure check for body fat % cross check, recording the increasing amount of exercise and weights I am able to do, increasing success in doing sit ups and chin ups

How I will measure my eating habit goals:
Keeping track of intake via FitDay, looking at the weekly and monthly averages as given in FitDay, occasional "check ins" to notice if I am craving sugar or fatty foods. Awareness of the use or non use of sugar and butter.

Continued below...

[Dr. Nili Marcia]

How I will measure my life / lifestyle goals:
Noting that I am going dancing, biking, swimming, going on pleasure walks or other types of physical activities at least once a week.
Being aware of the ease and comfort with which I maintain my new eating habits.

My goals re written with as much feeling as possible and as affirmations and visualizations.

weekly goals for this week:
I am so happy and proud of myself that I am steadily and steadfastly doing all the things I know are bringing me to my weight loss success. I am eating according to my food program, 5 or 6 meals a day of low fat, lean protein & complex carbohydrate foods. I am finding it a breeze to record all the foods in Fit Day and easily remain within 50 calories +/- of my 1900 daily calorie goal. I am back at the gym, working out to the best of my ability, feeling great, feeling empowered and purposeful.

My weight goal for this week: (?? to be filled in after I weigh in tomorrow)
I am satisfied and pleased to see the scale showing ?? today, Sunday, Oct. 26th.

My weight goal for the next 3 months:
It is so exciting to see how wonderfully I have succeeded in weighing in at 110 kilos on January 15th, 2010. I'm in the gym and cheering myself on and Danit is so pleased she is calling the other trainers to come hear of my great results.

My one year weight goal:
Here I am, one year into my terrific 60 by 60 program and I am perfectly on target. It's my birthday and I have given myself the glorious present of bringing my weight to 90 kilos. I feel so much lighter than I did a year ago. I'm loving my new clothes. I am glowing from the compliments of friends and family. I feel so good in my body. I have strength I don't ever remember having. I am doing exercises I barely dreamed I could do! I'm so very proud of myself! I feel fantastic!

My ultimate goal:
I am beside myself with joy and satisfaction! It is my 60th birthday and I am getting on the scale which reads a glorious 60 kilos! I am wearing the cutest workout outfit and look fantastic! My friends are all around me and cheering for me! We are celebrating! I demonstrate my strength and fitness by doing the most amazing thing! I do six push ups while everyone counts and cheers. And I follow that up with 6 pull ups to their amazement and my thrilled pride! I've done it! I've done it!

Someone is putting a big bouquet of the most beautiful flowers into my arms! I'm overcome with joy, delight and pride.

Thirty years of overweight, and more years before that of , are well and truly behind me. That person I was is no longer! I show my series of 104 photos, my once a week progress shots, to anyone who is interested to excite them and show them they too can do it!

I can sense the loving presence of my parents who are extremely happy for me! My daughter is especially proud that I have succeeded so well and stuck wonderfully to my plan.

This is the greatest feeling. I feel so light, so strong and so competent. I move and walk with confidence, my core body strength gives me a natural, elegant, upright posture. My skin is firm and glowing. I look great and feel even better!!

I think with pride and gratitude of my fabulous group at Lose Weight with me and EFT and all the wonderful successes the members have had. I applaud them and they applaud me! We are the most wonderful supporters for each other. I go off to do my celebration birthday workout with a group of friends. We know how great it feels to exercise hard and feel our muscles work. I already have my endorphins pumping!

I have a delightful shower, dry myself with the bath towel which, now that I am at this fabulous weight, is plenty large enough to wrap around me. I dry my hair, admiring my powerful arms in the mirror.

continued below...

[Dr. Nili Marcia]

I have worked long for this day and am now enjoying it fully! I smooth on the most luxurious cream and dab on exquisite perfume which smells as good as I feel. I put on a little makeup and get dressed in my beautiful, brand new, red silky dress. I lift my arms and it falls over me so softly and easily, swirling over my hips and perfectly fitting my shapely body. I am almost in tears for joy. I slip on dainty low heeled pumps and I come out of the locker room beaming to reclaim my flowers and friends. I'm greeted by cheers and whistles!

I have exciting new challenges planned, beginning tomorrow. But today, well, today is my 60th birthday and it is absolutely the best birthday of my life!

[Dr. Nili Marcia]

I love the power of your intention and commitment Sarah. I have no doubt you will get there.

Bless you for writing about the importance of goals. I have also been writing about this and shared Tom's goal setting ideas with the group. I discovered when I went back to working on my goals again that I had conveniently forgotten the daily and weekly goals.

I have learned recently that I do very well in reaching my daily food/eating goals if I get laser focused and concentrate only on the next meal, eating what I'd planned at the time planned.

I just realized I can use this meal focus to fix a problem I have been having which is drinking very little water. If I add in two glasses of water as part of my meal plan I might just get over that problem.

[Nancy Garrison]

I was just reading Nili's goals and her 60th birthday celebration. These are such good goals and lets us see them as achievable and exciting. I am beginning to explore these for myself now and see how helpful it will be. I wrote the list of highlighted sentences, like, write a weekly goal in the present tense, with emotion and expectation and intention. Good food for thought. I realize you asked many of those questions in the intro of self section and know it is a good idea.
Thanks! Nancy

[Dr. Nili Marcia]

Nancy, I'm so glad you are seeing that our goals can be doable and exciting. I am learning along side you how to work successfully with goals. It is really nice to decide on our goals, to move toward them, to use them as points of attraction. And it's thrilling to see the successes accumulate.

What I haven't gotten into place yet is the habit of consistently renewing my short term goals. We need the major or end goal as our guide post and the shorter term goals to help us keep on track. How can I (we) create a new habit of setting our goals for tomorrow each day and our goals for the next week weekly? Any ideas are appreciated!

[Dr. Nili Marcia]

Tammy =] said:

Hi there! Just want to put my goals out there for this week....I chose just this week because when I start the weight loss journey, if the task it too big, I get discouraged. Thus, I shall take it one week at a time....Here are my goals....and I am open to feedback!!!

Wow Tammy, you've chosen goals for one week and you have bravely jumped in with magnificent and challenging goals. There is a lot of awareness involved and as you work on more and more of this you will be strengthening and developing yourself. That will be fantastic. I do think you are taking on an awful lot. In the past I have taken on a group of tasks and fallen on my face because I expected too much from myself.

What is your strategy for dealing with less than perfect results? Most of us tend to beat our selves up if we don't reach our intended level. What will you do?

I'm reminded of my dear role model Ben Franklin. My post about how he handled self development is here Read it and see what you think. (There is more information in that post's comments too.)
I want you to get stronger and happier and more and more successful!

PS I love your photo; great smile, pretty lady!

[Ilana Wolfson]

Tammy, those are all fantastic goals to set for yourself. However, like Nili, I am concerned, as I want you to succeed. So, just like it says in the tips and tricks forum, please pick only one of them for this week. Next week, if you did well and feel ready, add another. Keep up like that, adding at most one more per week. If you ever find one of them is not for you, drop it, and pick up something else. Let us know which one you chose. Also, I'll be looking for your feedback on your journey.