A goal is your vision. It is what you desire; what you aim to achieve. Goals should be personal and meaningful. It is important to define your goals for weight or behavior change for yourself. We can give you ideas and suggestions but, unless the goals feel right, it will be hard for you to make a lasting commitment to them. And commitment is where the road to success begins.

Let's talk about the two types of goals. You will need to have both. Outcome goals which are the "prize" for all your hard work, and behavior change goals, which are strategic plans you make to help you reach your outcome goal.

It is a common mistake to write behavior change goals as the desired outcome, such as a weight you wish to reach or a clothing size you would like to fit. But, your desired weight will be hard to reach unless behavior changes support it. So, stay focused on behavior patterns or habits in this section. It is the focus you need in order to succeed.

Identify Your Problem Areas

Three types of behaviors listed below directly effect your weight. Everyone is a little different. While late night heavy meals might be one person's reason for weight gain, and inactive lifestyle is the main problem for others. Look at the explanation for each one of these areas and decide for yourself where changes would benefit you the most. Don't waste your time or effort setting goals in areas where you already do well. Prioritize your energy on those which will make the biggest difference in your life.

• Why And How Do You Eat?
• Do You Get Enough Exercise?

Select A Behavior To Work On

What new behavior pattern would you like to develop? Is there a diet change you want to make, or would you like to change something about the way you eat? Or perhaps, exercise is where you want to begin.

It is up to you to select a problem behavior or pattern to work on. Let's say you determine that you are inactive and that a daily brisk walk would help you lose weight. That is the start of a goal statement. You identify a problem and state a change that would solve the problem! That is all there is to it.

Here is a templete for you to work from and a few more behavior goal examples:

Now, it is time to begin working on your goals. Print out a copy of the Setting Goals Worksheet and follow along.

Pace Your Changes

It is important to pace your changes. Limit your efforts to only one or two behaviors each week. Behavior change is not just something you decide to do one day, and "Poof! That's it; it's done." This is a process. You need to pay attention to your cues and routine patterns of reacting, then purposefully shift your behavior. Plans for how to do this are importatnt. Following through with the plans is work, attentive work.

At times you will need to make adjustments, or change your plans. This doesn't mean you give up on the goal. It means you are finessing it, working it, setting up contingency plans for the unforseen obstacles that get in your way. You may need to stop and build some new skills before proceeding. For example, when stress is an obstacle to limiting eating frequency, stress management development skills might be a valuable detour..

Pacing your behavior changes allows you to focus fully on each effort you make. We have intentionally limited the number of behavior goals you can write out on the goal setting worksheet for one week.

Monitor Your Progress

Another aspect of pacing goals is that it requires you to set a time frame for each one. This means you define the beginning, middle and end of a behavior change effort. It does not go on indefinately. While you are working on the goal, you must be attentive. Don't just let it slip back into your unconscious. Don't take it for granted.

While monitoring progress, you are asked to evaluate, at regular points in time, how well things are going. Track your efforts and the results you get. Once things are going well, in a week or a month, you will not need to put as much work into it. At that point, you can decide it is time to take on a new challenge. Set a new goal. But if things are going poorly, you have the opportunity to rethink your strategy, adjust and recommit. Or you may decide it is time to go deeper.

When To Go Deeper

If you are frustrated by a behavior change effort that seems to go nowhere, you may need to go deeper. By this we mean, you may need to better understand the motivation which sustains the behavior.

It is usually easy to identify why you want to change weight and the behaviors associated with sustaining a high weight. There are negative consequences to it. The negative consequences of poor eating and inactive lifestyles lead us to want to make change. Included in this list are unpleasant emotions, poor health, social complications and low self confidence.

Negative Consequences of Weight Gain and Behaviors Which Cause Weight Gain

But, focusing only on the negative confuses our understanding of a behavior cycle in progress. It is important to look also for the positive reinforcements (payoff) you are getting from the behavior you want to change, since you will need this information to fully understand your actions and make meaningful, lasting changes for the future.

Reinforcements are the positive feeling or outcomes you get when a specific behavior is performed. Some reinforcements are very obvious, while others are more subtle and harder to recognize. Both are important to acknowledge.because, when you change the behavior, you may miss the reinforcement (payoff).

Take Good Care Of Your Whole Self

If you identified a Positive Reinforcement for a behavior you want to change, you will need to find an alternative means for meeting your pleasure, social and emotional needs when that behavior is ended. So, just as you set goals to change behaviors that cause weight problems, you also need to set goals to care for yourself in new ways that have a positive effect on your health.

Self care is a very important aspect of behavior change goal setting. When you take away one pleasure, you need to introduce another. And, of course we would say, it is worth every effort to find meaningful pleasures that enhance your health and well-being.

New skills may need to be acquired. Personal skills through which we can reap positive emotional, social and enjoyment rewards include positive thinking, stress management, social support, and emotional management skills. As you read through each of these sections of our program, consider how to practice and build your skills in these areas. They are important to build your whole self care.

Printer Friendly Version
Email to a Friend