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One of the most common mistakes people make when changing health habits is setting only a weight goal. There are several reasons why goal weights can be selfdefeating:

• Numbers never tell the entire story. You know those annoying height and weight charts, or the newer body mass index tables? Talk about feeling like a lost cause! Some of you may never fit neatly into the charts and tables. Does that mean you can’t be healthy? Not necessarily! Most research shows that it’s better to be “overweight” and active than at your “ideal weight” (if such a thing exists) and inactive. Another caveat of using the scale to measure success is that body weight doesn’t correlate well with body composition. In other words, you can be a slender person who carries a lot of body fat, or a heavy person who carries a lot of muscle tissue.
• Body weight fluctuates on a daily basis. Changes in body weight over the course of a day or two reflect nothing more than water balance. If you’ve eaten a salty meal or snack (remember the pretzels you had yesterday afternoon and the tasty little grains of salt you licked from the bottom of the bag?), you might be retaining fluid and weigh a couple pounds heavier than normal. If, on the other hand, you decide to hop on the scale after a brisk walk or jog in hot, humid weather, you’re likely to be dehydrated and weigh a pound or two less than normal. Does this mean you burned two pounds of fat in the last hour? Unfortunately, this isn’t the case. You’ve lost some water through sweat and evaporation, and it’s time to drink up! More specifically, you’ll need to drink 16 ounces of fluid (about .5 liters) for every pound of body weight lost during exercise (this guideline is accurate only if weighing “conditions” are similar before and after exercise—in the buff is best!) Women also experience fluctuations in body weight throughout the menstrual cycle, mostly due to fluid retention.
• Weighing can be very emotionally charged. If you weigh yourself on a regular basis without feeling guilty or righteous after seeing the number on the scale, more power to you. For most of us, that’s probably not the case. If you’ve ever starved yourself before going to the doctor’s office (or any other “official” weigh in), or feasted afterward, it’s probably best if you weigh yourself as little as possible. It’s too easy to let a number sabotage your best efforts. The fit of your clothes or even your undergarments can serve the very same purpose without carrying the same emotional “weight” as the number on the scale.
• If weight loss is your only motivation, what happens when you reach your goal? Many “successful” dieters can’t stay motivated when they aren’t experiencing the excitement of weight loss—the compliments, the new clothes, or the drama of seeing an old friend in their new body. Don’t become a dieting casualty. You are in this for the long haul, and chances are good that your weight is going to fluctuate given your life circumstances. Focus on the things that matter, such as feeding yourself well, walking whenever you can, and balancing your physical health with other priorities! Have I convinced you not to make body weight per se a goal? I hope so! But the question remains: How do you formulate positive, effective, action-oriented personal goals?

Begin by listing some of the reasons for changing your habits. List as many as you can. Try for more than 25! In general, the most powerful personal motivations will emerge at end of your list. You may begin by listing “fit into my clothes better” or “have more energy” and work your way down to “improve my relationship with my spouse/children/grandchildren” or “get the confidence I need to change careers.” Now you’re talking! These internal motivations for change will provide the foundation you need to set concrete long- and short-term goals and begin to take action on a daily basis.
After you identify your key internal motivations, honestly evaluate what it will take to get you there. This process will allow you to develop simple, effective long- and short-term goals, as well as pinpoint the action steps necessary to meet those goals.

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