Setting Goals

1
Setting Goals and Keeping Track
2
Introduction

• Youve seen how healthy eating and physical
  activity each plays a role in losing weight the
  healthy way.
• The next step is to develop a plan to put these
  ideas into action.
• Having a plan gives you confidence that you know
  where youre going, how to get there and what to
  expect along the way.

3
Setting Goals
 The first step is to set some goals

• Setting goals help give you confidence that you
  are on the right track and that youre actually
  making progress.
• Long term goals
• Reflects something that you want to achieve in
  more than one year from now.
• Short term goals
• Reflects something that you want to achieve in
  much less time on a daily, weekly or monthly
  basis.

4
Be S.M.A.R.T. About Setting Goals
S specific - be clear about what you want to
achieve M measurable - you will know if you have
reached your goal A achievable - this is a goal
that you can reach, within reason R realistic -
you are likely able to do what it takes to reach
your goal T time - you have given yourself a
reasonable amount of time to reach the goal
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Goals for Healthy Weight Loss

• Base your long term goal on your own healthy
  weight range from the BMI chart (see
  Presentation 1 Introduction).
• Short term goals are very important in helping
  you reach your long term goal.
• For many people, losing as little as 10 pounds is
  enough to achieve health benefits and to feel
  more energized.
• Healthy weight loss is based on SLOW weight loss,
  1-2 pounds per week.

6
Short Term Goals
for Healthy Eating Set some short term goals to
reduce your energy (calorie) intake. Some
examples include I will eat at least 2 servings
of fruit during my work day for at least 4 out of
5 work days for the next month. I will reduce
the number of times that I eat French fries to
not more than twice during the next week and will
limit the amount to a small serving.
7
Short Term Goals
for Physical Activity Set some short term goals
to increase your physical activity. Some examples
include I will walk for at least 15 minutes
during my lunch break at work at least 3 out of 5
work days during the next week. I will start a
structured physical activity program that will
make my heart beat faster and that I will do for
one hour at least twice a week for the next
month (examples may include aquatic fitness
class, power walking, tennis lesson, dance class
and aerobics class).
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Short Term Goals Change Over Time

• When your initial short term goals become habits,
  you can add on to these goals by
• Eating more of the foods you identified
• Eating these foods more often
• Eating smaller amounts of high-calorie foods
• Eating high-calorie foods less often
• Doing that specific activity you identified more
  often
• Doing that specific activity at a greater
  intensity
• Adding another kind of physical activity to your
  plan

9
Keeping Track
Keeping food and activity records is very helpful
in tracking your progress and spotting problem
areas.

• Include in daily food records
• Time and place
• Food choice
• How hungry you were when you ate the food
• What you were doing when you ate the food
• Portion size (compare to Canadas Food Guide to
  Healthy Eating)
• You may also include how you were feeling when
  you ate the food (e.g. content, sad, angry,
  frustrated, etc.)

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Keeping Track
Keeping food and activity records is very helpful
in tracking your progress and spotting problem
areas.

• Include in daily activity records
• Time
• Activity
• Length of activity
• Intensity
• Carry your tracking book with you during the day
  so you can make notes.

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Keeping Track
Tracking form resources

• You will find tracking forms that you can use for
  your food intake and your physical activity in
  the files attached to this presentation
• Tracking form for food intake
• Tracking form for physical activity

12
Expect a Challenge

• You will likely experience times when you start
  going back to old eating and (in)activity
  habits. Set backs are normal and unavoidable.
• Dont panic! This is an opportunity to
  strengthen and reinforce your problem-solving
  skills. How you deal with setbacks can make all
  the difference between success and failure in
  reaching your long term weight loss goal.

13
Dealing with Setbacks

• Here are some suggestions
• Re-examine your short term goals-are they
  realistic?
• Make sure you have support from your family,
  friends and co-workers.
• Make sure youre eating enough healthy foods to
  fill you up whether youre at home, at work or
  on the go.
• Do some form of physical activity during the day
  if you havent been active for a few days or a
  week, even if it is less than the amount you
  were doing. This allows you to begin to build up
  to the level you originally set for yourself.

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The Best News Is
As you begin to feel better and have more energy,
youll discover how good it feels to move your
body and experience the pleasure of eating foods
that make you healthy!
15
Remember
Weight Loss occurs when Changing long term
behaviours for eating and physical activity
doesnt happen overnight. Dont give up YOU
CAN DO IT!
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Additional Resources
Check out these websites for more information on
Losing Weightthe healthy weigh.
Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada Click on
"Healthy Living" http//www.heartandstroke.ca/ Ca
nadian-Health-Network "Getting There-How healthy
eating and active living helped one woman reach
her goal" http//www.canadian-health-network.ca/ht
ml/newnotable/nov1a_2002e.html WebMD Healthy
Weight-Tools for Change http//my.webmd.com/encycl
opedia/ article/2731.1433
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Additional Resources
More websites on Losing Weightthe healthy weigh
Winning by Losing www.caloriecontrol.org/winweig
h.html Shape Up America www.shapeup.org Web-base
d weight loss program www.navigator.tufts.edu/focu
son/weightmgt.html American Dietetic
Association Excerpts from "Dieting for Dummies"
book (2001) www.eatright.org/dieting.html
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Self-learning Quiz
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Self-learning Quiz
1
An example of a short term goal for healthy
weight loss is, I will be more active next
week. (true or false)
2
Besides recording what you eat, name at least 2
things that you should include when you keep
track of your food intake.
3
When dealing with set backs during your weight
loss program, you should fast for one day and
stop all activity for three days to help you get
back on track. (true or false)
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Self-learning Quiz
1
An example of a short term goal for healthy
weight loss is, I will be more active next
week. (true or false)
False. Short term goals need to be SMART to be
effective specific, measurable, achievable,
realistic and time-focused. For example, I will
go skating for at least one hour at least 3 times
during the week.
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Self-learning Quiz
2
Besides recording what you eat, name at least 2
things that you should include when you keep
track of your food intake.

• Besides recording what you eat, you should also
  include
• Time
• Place
• Portion size (compare with Canadas Food Guide
  to Healthy Eating)
• How hungry you were when you ate
• the food
• What your emotional state was when you ate the
  food (e.g. content, sad, angry, frustrated,
  etc.)

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Self-learning Quiz
3
When dealing with set backs during your weight
loss program, you should fast for one day and
stop all activity for three days to help you get
back on track. (true or false)

• False.
• To help you get back on track, you should
• Re-examine your short term goals-are they
  realistic?
• Make sure you have support from your family,
  friends and co-workers.
• Make sure youre eating enough healthy foods to
  fill you up whether youre at home, at work or
  on the go.
• Do some form of physical activity during the day
  if you havent been active for a few days or a
  week,
• even if it is less than the amount you were
  doing.
• This allows you to begin to build up to the
  level you originally set for yourself.

23
For more informationon
For more information on Losing Weightthe healthy
weigh, contact the Windsor-Essex County Health
Unit 258-2146 x 3100. Ask for the latest brochure
and newsletter from Working Toward Wellness
Workplace Health Promotion Program.