SMARTE Goals

The mind is a ‘goal-seeking mechanism’. Whatever you desire, with sincere intention, will be delivered to you. Unfortunately, most people use this energetic power to their detriment, focusing on what they don’t want rather than what they do want.

An example of a positive goal is: On the 30 th June 20XX, I am at 18% body fat and I am a size 12; as opposed to I need to lose 12 kg of body fat/ weight by 30 th June 20XX.

If you link a goal to your purpose, there is a far greater chance of success. A goal without purpose is like a spur of the moment, ‘New Years Resolution’ with little chance of success.

Your goals must be SMARTE:

Specific

The goal needs to have clarity and be specific. Describe exactly what you will see, feel, hear, (and to a lesser degree) taste or smell when you have it. Unless you ask
specifically for what you want, you are unlikely to get it. Use specific numbers if possible. What will this outcome get for you or allow you to do?
Note: In most cases, it is better to set a body fat percentage goal rather than aim for a particular weight. If you’re obese, then weight goals are best, but if you have less
weight to lose, continual focus on your weight will mess with your head, distract you from the real issues and is more of a hindrance than a help. How your clothes fit or
your body fat percentage is a far better indicator of progress.

Meaningful

The goal needs to create a strong, heart-felt desire for you to accomplish. Write downwhat inspires you about this goal and make a list of your personal reasons for needing
to accomplish this goal. This should be in line with your purpose and be for you!

As if Now

Your goal should be written in Present Tense but with a date in the future, e.g. ‘It is now 30 June 20XX and I am at 18% body fat and am a size 12’.

Realistic

The goal needs to be realistic. Your goals should be challenging but achievable. Nothing breeds success like success. It is disempowering to strive for goals that cannot be
reached. For example, your weight as a 17 year old may not be attainable. Set a target. Maybe the target needs to be an interim target to enable you to reach a shorter-term
goal and then re-assess to continue further or not. This enables you to focus more easily now on what needs to be done in order to reach the larger goal. The best
strategy for successful lifestyle change is to set these small, achievable goals that fit your lifestyle.

Tangible

The goal needs to be tangible and therefore measureable. You need to be able to explain it or see it. Write down how you will measure your progress. Set a target of a
clothing size, specific weight, body fat percentage, etc. It is advantageous to also set non-weight loss goals that will help in your weight loss endeavours, e.g. to run a fun
run.

End Step

Describe the final thing (scene) that has to happen for you to know you have accomplished the goal. Step outside of the goal and see the final scene. Describe
exactly what you will see, feel, hear, (and to a lesser degree) taste or smell when you have it.

What’s Realistic? – A Guide to Effective Weight Loss

Many people start out on a journey to lose weight with unrealistic expectations that not only can’t be reached in a healthful way, but also, can’t be maintained. That is, by far the majority of people that lose weight rapidly, put the weight (and often more) back on. You may have taken a decade or two to put on 10 or 20 or 30 kg, you should not expect to lose it in an unrealistic short timeframe.

For most people, a loss of 500 grams per week is realistic. This may be a little more if you have more weight to lose, and less when you approach your ideal weight. Your body has a natural ‘set point’ and will naturally try to maintain what it thinks is your natural weight. This ‘set point’ needs to be naturally adjusted gradually. Also, when you lose weight too quickly, especially when you do it with diet alone, you will lose muscle mass which affects your metabolism. This in turn makes it increasingly difficult to lose weight but also causes you to put weight (with a bit extra) back on. This cycle of dieting decreasing metabolism dieting etc. is very difficult to turn around.

How Much Do You Really Need to Eat?

If you eat exactly the number of calories your body needs for your basal metabolism and physical activity, your weight will remain stable. Weight gain will occur when you consume more calories than your body burns. These extra calories are converted into fat and stored within your body. Approximately 50% of fat is stored under the skin. Conversely, if you use more energy than you take in, you will lose weight. To lose, 1 kilogram of weight, you need to expend 7700 calories more than you consume.

Calculate your daily requirements

Firstly, calculate what your daily requirements are and then manage your eating intake (e.g. food choices, portion sizes and frequency of meals) accordingly. If the energy consumed is not used, the balance will be stored as fat.

You can assess how many calories your body requires by calculating your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR). Your BMR is the amount of energy (calories) that your body needs to function and maintain itself. You can then use this information to calculate how many calories you need to consume to lose weight or maintain a particular weight. For fat loss, the aim is to expend more calories than you consume. To achieve a weight loss of ½ kg per week the deficit needs to be 550 calories per day. The aim should generally be a deficit of 500–1000 calories per day. This can be more if you weigh more than 130 kg. Minimum calorie intake should be 1200 for women and 1600 for men. This however, will be dependent upon your size.

Note: Calorie restriction (without exercise) may lead to greater fat storage. During moderate caloric restriction, exercise helps maintains your BMR.

You can use the formula below to calculate your BMR.

BMR = {[9.99 x weight (kg)] + [6.25 x height (cm)] – [4.92 x age (years)] + S} x activity factor

where S is +5 for males and –161 for females.

Activity Factor

1.2 Sedentary (little or no exercise, desk job)
1.375 Lightly active (light exercise/sports one to three days/week)
1.55 Moderately active (moderate exercise/sports three to five days/week)
1.725 Very active (hard exercise/sports six to seven days/week)
1.9 Extremely active (hard daily exercise/sports, or two times/day training)

The ideal macronutrient breakdown

Providing you restrict your calorie intake to the amount calculated, you will lose weight. This will not, however, allow your body to necessarily perform optimally. Your body requires certain amounts of protein, carbohydrates and fats and the balance of these is very important. Our bodies convert food into energy and nutrients from these macronutrients in order to perform our daily functions. Focus on nutrition for optimal performance and weight loss will happen.

Even racehorses are fed quality food in precise portions to get the best from the horse. Shouldn’t you treat yourself just as well?

In summary, the macronutrient requirements for optimal weight loss and health are:

  • Protein – 1.05 g per kilogram of body weight
  • Fat – 20 - 30% of your overall calorie intake (Use 25% for your calculation)
  • Carbohydrates – The remainder of your calorie intake will come from carbohydrates. This will generally be (but is determined by your overall weight) 50–60% of total calories.

Exercise is the foremost predictor of weight loss success (including maintenance), i.e. people who commit to exercise are the ones who are the most successful. With this commitment often comes an increased discipline in food choices and other factors that affect weight loss. It is imperative that you plan regular physical activity that can be maintained. The common barriers that people have are lack of time, lack of facilities, lack of money or lack of workout partners. Do whatever you need to do to include exercise in your daily life.

You Can’t Change a Problem with the Same Thought Process That Created the Problem

Are you frustrated at losing weight only to put the weight back on? Are you struggling to budge that last 5 – 7 kilograms to fit into your favourite outfit?

Chances are, you are going about it the wrong way, either having unrealistic expectations or losing weight in such a way that makes it difficult to maintain your weight loss.

The vast majority of people who lose weight regain it, and most people who get fit, get unfit.

Holding on to what you’ve achieved ALL comes from your mindset. If, in the past, you have not maintained the results that you have achieved, you need to discover why you have self-sabotaged – and only you know that. Referring back to your food diary, or observing eating triggers, may help you to identify the reasons. Whatever the case, continuing to do what has not worked in the past is ‘insane’!

The divide in today’s society between health and wellbeing, and a lack of the same continues to grow. Whilst the majority of people continue to gain weight and/ or lead lives of less than optimum health and wellbeing, there are a minority who are actually improving their health, wellbeing and quality of life with the choices that they make.

It’s worth the effort because you are worth it! You deserve to have the body and the quality of life that you desire.

So, go ahead. Make the changes that you need to make TODAY and create your best life now.

Getting Ready

While the theory of weight loss is simple (energy in versus energy out), the practical reality of transforming your body and creating lasting change is significantly more complex and challenging.  What’s happening on the outside is largely a reflection of your state of mind.

Creating change

The four steps needed to bring about a change are:

Awareness → Focus → Support → Action

Awareness

Become aware of what it is you need to change. We are boxed in by the boundaries (conditions) of our thinking, e.g. our environment, conditions, patterns and programming. It may be that you need to change your eating, exercise, stressors or social habits (or all of the aforementioned). It may take considerable thought and reflection to establish what you need to change.

Focus

Change the way you do things by changing your neural pathway (habit) immediately. You need to be committed to the process of change. It’s not enough to consciously decide to make a change. Change happens at the sub-conscious level immediately. Everything prior to the change is just a lead up or a set-up. What is it you need to change and what habit will you replace it with? Create a compelling pathway – what will it feel/ sound/ look like? Pave your imagination with as much detail as possible. If you have been able to develop poor eating habits, then you are equally able to develop healthy ones.

Support

Form a circle of support around you. Ideal people to provide this support include family, friends, co-workers and/ or a coach. They are generally people that want to help but sometimes may not know how.

Action

We create via our actions or not. When you make the decision to change something, it is important to establish clearly defined, manageable steps that will lead you to accomplish your goal. Learn to love doing what is necessary to accomplish your goals, e.g. eating well, food preparation, cooking and exercising.

You cannot achieve change without taking action! You need to decide if you are willing to do whatever it takes to accomplish your goal or whether it is just wishful thinking. If you are not ready to make the necessary changes, it is better to admit to yourself that now is not the right time, and wait until the time is right. Trying to do something that you are not totally committed to will just lead to failure. This will adversely affect your belief system, making it harder in the future when you do decide you’re ready.

All problems and solutions are created in your imagination. You can’t change a problem with the same thought process that created the problem.

Commitment to change

Change can be difficult, but by establishing a definite reason (purpose) and creating a strong support base, together with education, you can become a person who exercises regularly, eats well and loses weight successfully.

There are some things you can’t change and other things that you can. The key is to focus on what you can and need to change and forget the rest.  Invest your physical and emotional energy where you will get the best return for your effort. When you have identified what you can change, create action and finish what you start. Many people spend their lives not finishing stuff. If that’s you, this is the first thing to change. Do it now!