Goal Setting and How to Stay Motivated on Your Fat Loss Journey

23.08.2017 |

Episode #9 of the course Fat loss for fitness enthusiasts by Theo Brenner-Roach

 

I’m sorry to break it to you, but motivation just doesn’t last.

Truth be told, motivation is a bit of a tease.

It comes crashing into your life like a shot of adrenaline or jolt of electricity, inspiring the crap out of you before vanishing into thin air.

Yes, it’s truly awesome when it hits but it fades fast.

You end up scrambling to do everything in the short period you’re motivated, trying to squeeze as much as possible out of the feeling.

I’m sure you’ll agree that it always ends the same way: goals and dreams left by the wayside as motivation fizzles out.

You need an alternative, and this is where goal setting and mindset come in.

 

Goal Setting

It’s the road map for your journey and will keep you on course long after motivation has faded. It lets you focus on the here and now while keeping you safe in the knowledge that everything you do is taking you closer to your overall goal.

Your goals should be broken down into 3 sections:

• long-term

• mid-term

• short-term

Your long-term goal could be something like building the body you’ve always wanted.

You would then break this down further and give yourself actual targets. For example:

• Build 10 lbs of muscle.

• Lose 15 lbs of fat.

• Do it in 1 year.

A good way to think of this goal is as the platform on which you base all your other goals.

Sure, it may change or evolve as you progress, but at this stage, it serves as the foundation for everything else.

Once you’ve decided on your long-term goal, you would then decide what needs to be done to get you there. For example, depending on your current physique, this may require a combination of muscle building and fat loss cycles.

These muscle building and fat loss cycles would be your mid-term goals, and you may decide to:

• Spend 8 months building muscle.

• Spend 4 months losing fat.

• Finish the year as close to your goal as possible.

Based on the above goals, your short-term goals would be the training and nutrition plan you follow for each cycle. Your goals may be something like:

• strength training 3x a week on nonconsecutive days

• eating a small calorie surplus to allow for slow and steady weight gain

After 5 months:

• continued strength training

• eating a moderate calorie deficit to encourage fat loss and preservation of muscle mass

The idea is that by planning everything out and setting goals, you don’t give yourself an excuse not to follow through, as you know what needs to be done and how to do it.

 

Mindset

Getting into the right mindset is vital for long-term success and will drastically increase your chances of reaching your goals.

Probably the most important mindset is realizing you’re on a journey.

The definition of a journey is the act of traveling from one place to another, and this is exactly what you are doing when you make the decision to start or change the way you eat and train.

You want to move away from the current you’re in and go on a journey to a fitter, healthier, stronger you.

Don’t rush into it expecting phenomenal results overnight; the changes in your body will be slow and incremental, but the end result after months or even years later will be outstanding.

Keep this in mind and embrace your journey, understanding that weight loss and weight gain isn’t linear. It’s not neat and pretty; it can be messy and frustrating, but it’s also a simple process, so stick with it and the results will come.

This journey is a unique and completely personal experience. Take your time and love every step on the road to a new you.

 

Summing Up

Setting goals will help keep you accountable to your progress and striving for more, but mindset is what will keep you working toward that goal day in and day out.

 

Recommended book

Habit Stacking: 127 Small Changes to Improve Your Health, Wealth, and Happiness by S.J. Scott, Jonathan Green

 

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