Sometimes people fail at their fitness goals because their fitness goals are crap. You can’t achieve something that’s vague, too difficult, or not worth achieving. Please, do yourself a favor and avoid craptastic goals like these:
“Lose Weight”
Oh, like five pounds? Or 50? And is it really weight you want to lose, or is it inches? Depending on your starting weight and other factors, it’s possible to make huge changes in the shape of your body without dropping a lot of numbers on the scale. If you’re setting a weight-related goal, be specific in the number and in how you intend to get there. That said, I don’t think pounds are the best measure of your success.
“Get Cameron Diaz’s Arms”
Are you Cameron Diaz? (I kinda hope so; it would be GREAT to have you reading this. Your arms are gorgeous.) If not, you don’t have her arms. You have your arms, and those are even better. (Sorry, Cameron.) Focus on toning them along with the rest of your body and accept the way they develop. Appreciate the changes that happen. Let your goal be centered around what you’re going to do with your arms rather than what they look like.
“Go to the Gym”
When? Where? How long? You’ve got to be specific or it’s not going to happen. Something better might be: “I go to the gym every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. I lift weights for 30 minutes, ride the bike for 15 minutes, and attend the yoga class at 5:15.”
“Eat Healthy”
It’s hard to even know what this means anymore, between vegetarian and paleo and dairy-free and gluten-free and desperately trying to avoid GMOs. But, like anything, if you want to make changes in your diet you’ve got to be specific. Replace soda with water. Eat a big dressing-free salad for lunch every day. Learn to prepare some healthy meals. A little effort goes a long way.
“Never Eat Sugar Again”
Do you hate life? Just kidding, this is actually a really awesome goal and one I wish I could commit to. It’s possible. I know some people doing it, and if you can be one of them, DO IT because sugar is one of the worst things you can give your body. However, my point here is really this: all or nothing goals are recipes for disaster. Because if you slip up, you get sad, and you might quit altogether. And while it would be really awesome to never eat sugar again, it’s still pretty awesome to eat 95% less sugar than before. Or 50% less. Give yourself some leeway–but be firm with the limit of that leeway.
Have you ever failed at a terrible goal? How can you rework the goal to make it specific, challenging but attainable, and worth it?