Getting Slim the SMART way

You wake up, you look in the mirror and you decide that you are not content with the shape you see in the mirror. It isn’t that you are obese at all. You aren’t really fat but you would like to have a sexier, shapelier figure on your wedding day.

You tell yourself firmly that today, you will work on having a better figure. Then you walk into the kitchen and grab a soda and some chips. Hold it right there! That’s what is keeping your figure the way it is.

If you are truly serious about reshaping your form, you need to start eating smart. You can’t just go off and eat anything you crave. This impulsive eating is going to keep you from becoming slimmer.

You need to make your goal very clear to yourself. It isn’t enough to say, “oh I want to be slimmer for my wedding”. That’s like saying, “I wish I was thin”. We all know that that doesn’t work. You need to make your goal SMART.

S-specific

Decide what exactly you want to happen. How many pounds do you aim to lose? How many inches do you want to lose and in what areas? Knowing these numbers makes it easier for you to visualize what you want to look like on your wedding day. It can make a big difference in achieving your goal.

M-measurable

How do you know if you actually are accomplishing your goal? The only way to know is if you are able to measure it. It would be ridiculous to say simply buy a dress too small for you and keep trying the dress on everyday until you fit into it. True, you will at least be able to determine that you did slim down but it’s an erratic process.

It would be far easier to use a weighing scale and a tape measure. They will not lie to you. You’ll be able to see for yourself every week what kind of progress you are making.

A-achievable

If your wedding is only a week away, don’t set a goal to go from a size 15 to a size 2 in the time remaining. You are setting your self up for failure and ill health. Achievable means you have to work with what your body can truly do.

Unless you will spend the next few months living in a “Biggest Loser” farm, you will have many concerns to distract you from your goal. You have to decide, given your schedule, eating habits and current form what figure can you realistically achieve - in terms of both weight and inches.

R-realistic

If in order to achieve your specified goal means you will only eat one small meal a day and spend 5 hours in the gym, you might not be able to stay committed to your target. It is just too unrealistic. You will be too hungry and tired.

Aiming to lose two to three pounds a week is realistic but will still call for some effort on your part. If you want to lose more, you will need to make a bigger commitment in terms of time to exercise and eating habits. It will be a change of lifestyle. Take a good look and decide can you truly commit to doing this everyday?

T-time bounded

This is the simplest part because the deadline is quite clear: your wedding day. The question you have to ask yourself to set your goal is how much weight or inches can you lose between now and your wedding day?

For example, assuming that you aim to lose 2 pounds a week and your wedding is 6 months away, you can lose a whopping 48 pounds.

Target weight or inches to lose per week
X Number of weeks to the wedding
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Goal: Target weight or inches lost by the big day

You can do this easily if you just stay focused. You’ll be very pleased with yourself when your wedding comes around.