Setting your health goals is your first step to being able to actually achieve them.  Having a defined purpose for your actions and the changes that you make in your lifestyle will give you a considerably larger amount of motivation and drive so that you’ll increase your chances at being able to successfully arrive at where you’d like to be.

Although you may think that it is alright to tell yourself that you simply want to “do your best” or continue until you feel happy with the results, that type of undefined target doesn’t provide you with enough incentive to genuinely do your best.  There is no way to know if you are genuinely applying yourself and you won’t be able to measure your progress toward a destination.

Once you’re signed up for ShareFit, it’s time to set your health goals!

Use the following steps to help you along the way:

• Take some time to think your goals through.  Don’t make them on a whim.  Know why you want to set this health goal.  Are you trying to lose weight?  Do you want to lower your blood pressure?  Are you attempting to stave off diabetes?  Find out your reason!
• Be specific about your goal.  Now that you know what you want to achieve and why in a more general sense, define it in a more precise way.  For example, if you want to lose weight, how much are you aiming to lose? Is it 25 pounds? Set a number so that you can aim for your target.
• Make sure that the goals that you set can be measured.  That way, you can track and observe your progress as you draw closer to arriving. After all, how else will you know that you have achieved it?
• Track your progress.  Once you know your target and know how to measure the distance that you have travelled, you need to actually track your progress along the way.  Use the ShareFit online trackers for food and fitness to help you to monitor your diet and your exercise.  At the same time, record the measurable element(s) of your progress toward your goal.  For example, if you are aiming to lose weight, record your weight once every week.  That will allow you to see how much you have lost over time.
• Give yourself a deadline.  Set a deadline for completing your goal, as well as shorter deadlines for certain landmarks along the way.  For example, you may be aiming to lose 25 pounds in total, but you might also be hoping to lose three pounds every two weeks.
• Be realistic.  Make sure that your goal is something that is attainable, and that it will remain that way even when the initial enthusiasm wears down a little bit.  Take into account the fact that life happens and that you will have great days, good days, and not-so-good days.  This way, you won’t become rapidly discouraged when you don’t make the progress you want toward a goal that is simply too extreme.

By using these steps and giving your health goals setting some thought, you’ll help yourself to stay motivated and on track the entire time!  You’ll always know where you stand and will be able to feel proud of yourself every time you measure more progress along the way.