Expectations and Goals

I know it is important I set realistic goals as well as have realistic expectations during my transformation.  Many times in my schooling and career I have been taught to use the SMART acronym as guideline when setting goals.  When trying to lose weight I have also been taught to start with a first goal weight that is a percentage of the entire weight you hope to lose. 

If you have not heard about the SMART theory of goal setting,  they have a good explanation on  Wikipedia which is comparable to any text book explanation I have ever read.  These guidelines are good to use when setting any goal, personal or professional.

With this in mind, here are my goals for my journey

• Lose 90 pounds in one year.
• The initial weight I hope to lose is 40 pounds so I weigh what I weighed when I got pregnant almost three years ago.  I WILL reach this weight loss total within six months of starting the program.
• Retrain my brain and body to seek healthy food alternatives instead of the fast food or processed food I eat and crave now.
• Exercise at least three days a week for a minimum of thirty minutes each time.
• Continue to educate myself in order to facilitate the maintenance of my lifestyle change.
• Continue to grow my support group and ultimately become an inspiration to many others seeking to achieve a healthy lifestyle as well.
• Overcome my emotional eating tendency by finding other ways to cope when times are tough.

I expect challenges along the way.  I expect to give into temptation on occasion.  I expect this to be one of the most difficult things I have ever done.  I expect others will not believe I can do this.  I expect there will be times when I believe I cannot do this.  Above all, I expect I CAN change my life, I have too, or I can expect to live a life with health issues and sadness.