Resolutions VS. Goals

Transcription

1 Resolutions VS. Goals Americans often approach their New Year s resolutions as just ideas, rather than goals to set and meet. The problem with these ideas is that they are not very effective behavior modifiers. Behavior modification, more than anything, is what will help you grab ahold of your ambition and reach your desired destination in life. It is best to approach New Year s resolutions as attainable goals rather than as vision statements for your future. It s completely acceptable to lose weight or be healthier, but the resolution without accompanying goals is unlikely to move you from your couch and into action. If you set reasonable and strongly worded goals, however, you re far more likely to modify the behaviors that will help you fulfill your vision in the future. 1. New Year s Resolution: I m going to lose weight in the new year. 2. New Year s Goal: I will lose 5 pounds by spring break, and I will do so by working out three days a week while also reducing my food intake by 500

2 Setting S.M.A.R.T Goals Characteristics of a S.M.A.R.T Goal A good goal is one that firmly spells out who is responsible for a desired outcome, and how they are responsible for meeting that outcome. As you set goals for your new year, you re naming yourself as the party that is responsible for the result, and you are clearly indicating what success must look like. A firm goal has the following S.M.A.R.T characteristics: - Specific. A good goal is a specific goal. It indicated the who, what, when, where and why of your vision for the future. It tells you not only what you eventually hope to accomplish, but also the steps you must take to get there. - Measurable. Effective goals also specify what success looks like, and they do so by including measurement. In the example above, the goal-writer indicated that success means losing 15 pounds. The specificity is much more effective than the hope for a vaguely worded outcome. - Attainable. You can set ambitious goals, but make sure that you break down the goals into attainable steps. You can do this by breaking your goals into measurements that you can reach within a couple of months. If you need to lose 50 pounds but haven t had success with losing more than 20, then make yourself an attainable goal of losing 15 pounds. Give yourself the ability to meet your goals in a step by step manner that helps you avoid discouragement along the way. - Realistic. Goals can t be just be attainable they must also be realistic. Realistic goals aren t just those goals that you re able to attain; rather they re the goals that you re willing to attain. If you are setting your goals too high then you will only end

3 Weight Loss Scams of HCG Diet Direct The HCG diet was the most common scam that most people fell for this year. There were even a few doctors selling this fraud. The pitch was that there was a hormone (human chorionic gonadotropin) from human placenta that would boost your metabolism. You either get a shot (which made it seem very medical) or put a few drops of it under your tongue. They claimed it would reduce your appetite, reset your metabolism and help you lose a pound per day. You must stick to a 500-calorie diet at the same time, which has anyone dropping weight fast, sometimes 10 pounds in the first week. The HCG diet caught on like wildfire. Of course, it doesn t really work, but they made a fortune with it. 2. Sensa Products This scam appealed to people who wished there was some sort of magic fairly dust that they could sprinkle on food to make the calories disappear. Sensa had it! Their explanation, according to the FTC, was that the chemicals in the stuff you sprinkled on the food made you feel satisfied with less food and therefore would eat less. There is no legitimate evidence to suggest that is true. Of course, most people never even heard that explanation. They just saw the ad that showed someone sprinkling it on food saying it was clinically proven to help you lose 30 pounds without dieting for going to the gym. ABC reported Sesna ads stating, Simply sprinkle Sensa on, eat all the foods you love and watch the pounds come off. The FTC ordered them to pay back $46 million for false advertising, but they paid back less than half. As they said they were broke. 3. LeanSpa Remember the acai berry craze? There was a firestorm of gossip on the internet about the unique properties of this nutritious and exotic fruit that Dr. Oz liked. LeanSpa ads said that it would boost your metabolism and make you lose weight. They said it would cleanse your body of fat and the toxic build-up that weighs you down. There were even news stories that proved it! But it was all a lie. The FTC said LeanSpa and its principal executive used fake news websites to promote acai berry and colon cleanse weight-loss products, and offers of

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