Step 3: Begin with the end in mind.

This goes hand-in-hand with setting your goal. Many times, we “kick the tires” so to speak with our weight loss goals. We don’t ever set a realistic goal; a goal with the end in mind. We think if I don’t set an actual goal I won’t be let down when I don’t hit it. On the other side of the coin we sometimes set a goal that is way too difficult to achieve and we again become discouraged when we don’t see us achieving it. Therefore, when determining what the end looks like, decide on how much weight you realistically want to lose and in what amount of time.

Let’s say you decide you want to lose 24 pounds in 12 weeks. The easiest thing to do first is break down the weight loss into pounds per week. 24 divided by 12 is 2 pounds per week. Pretty simple right? Ask yourself, is this realistic? Yes. 2 LBS of weight loss per week is spot-on for healthy weight loss. If your goal was 50 LBS in 10 Weeks, you would be attempting to lose 5 LBS per week. While I have seen this work in the past, it has been short lived and generally only on someone who had over 100 LBS of total weight to lose.

Action Step – Now that you started writing your goals each morning, it’s time to start making them realistic and begin with the end in mind. Think about the advice above and change the goals you wrote yesterday. Maybe they work perfectly or maybe you tweak them a little. Either way, this exercise is to bring to your conscious and subconscious mind how serious you are about hitting your goal. Now the next part is fun and it might take a little time, but it will be well worth it.

I suggest sitting down and start writing what a single day might look like once you have achieved all of your goals. It might look something like “I wake up feeling refreshed and ready for the day. I jump on the scale and see my weight is “XXX” and feel that sense of accomplishment. "I get dressed to go workout and put on the clothes I could not fit in when I started my journey and they now fit perfectly. As I bend over to tie my shoes, I now realize how easy it is and briefly remember the struggle I once had. I am now fit and ready to take on the day”. Again, this exercise is for you. Dream it up and make it look like what the end of your journey looks like. I actually do something like this every morning myself to train my mind to see the ending….making it seem real now! That is the power of the mind.

By now you have already taken more steps toward your weight-loss than most do and you have not even gotten to the good part. The next step will only add to your excitement and keep you well on your way. I might suggest you get a note-book for each of these activities and do the exercises each day of writing your goals and then writing about your day with the End in Mind activity.