What Is Your Goal
Posted by PhilifeFeb 24
What is your goal?
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Weight loss isn’t the goal, weight loss is how you think you’ll get to your goal…whatever that may be. My guess is that you’re assuming it will give you some or all of the following things:
1. Positive attention from other people (this could be admiration, envy, respect, even jealousy…whatever floats your boat)
2. Confidence
3. Self assurance (removing self doubt)
4. Is one less thing people may judge you on
5. Health/longevity (maybe)
…this is just my guess, and I’m sure there are many others that I’ve missed.
Weight loss doesn’t get you any of these things by itself, but actually getting to your goal weight might.
Weight loss without a specific final weight isn’t a goal it’s just a process. Once you define your goal weight, then you have a target. Without this target you can fall prey to endless fitness marketing products, systems and lifestyles that have their own measurable goals.
If you’re not clear and specific with your initial goal, you can end up adopting and committing to goals you’ve never chose for yourself (ex: building functional strength) and that never get you to your real underlying goals (see above list).
In today’s podcast we’ll discuss choosing your own goal vs. adopting someone else’s. Although this seems simple, it’s very easy to find yourself walking down a road you never chose.
John
P.S. If the audio doesn’t play on this site, just download the file and play it on your media player.
9 comments
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Comment by Jordan on February 24, 2010 at 6:03 pm
Re: goal weight. As a 5′11″ male, I assume I’ll look my best somewhere in the 170-185 range. Is that specific enough? I’ve had trouble picking an exact weight. Perhaps I could say 185, and then re-evaluate once I get there. On the other hand, John is in the low 180’s at a muscular 6′, so it may be futile to have that as a goal. I certainly wouldn’t want to feel disappointed when I get to a goal weight, after all that work getting there.
Self-confidence/ assurance is a big part of it. I think the point is that it’s not about the weight on the scale, or even looking good per se, but how one feels about it, and how others feel about it. I want to like what I see in the mirror. I want to be proud of it, not embarrassed or upset by it. I used to look good and I want that again. Sure, I want women to find me attractive, I want to not be seen as “the fat guy,” etc. Those things are good, but my goal, first and foremost, is to like what I see in the mirror. The rest can follow from there.
I think the health goals boil down to being pain free, being there for loved ones, to enjoy life without being hindered by discomfort and limitations, etc. These health goals, especially in terms of obesity, can be expressed as concerns over diabetes, cardiovascular problems, joint problems, etc. Those of us who are *significantly* overweight are genuinely concerned with these issues. I know I am!
Being pain free also applies to exercise. The main goal of exercise is physique, but I also want to avoid injury so I can be pain free, or as pain free as possible.
“Building functional strength” is such a great example. There’s nothing wrong with it, but deep down I don’t really care about that. Moreover, some of that stuff that people do to build “functional strength” interferes with my goal of being pain free. I couldn’t care less about having the “functional strength” to do a muscle up, for example. I will never, ever, ever want to do a muscle up. Ever! lol. And after getting aches and pains in my lower back and shoulder from doing ballistic kettlebell exercises, I’ll never do those again either. I’m very happy with having those two basic goals of exercise (physique, pain free) with absolutely no other distractions.
Comment by Cooper on February 24, 2010 at 7:23 pm
Interesting podcast. Any tips on working out what your goals are when you’re not sure what you want?
I originally wanted to go into the health and fitness industry because I found it such a complicated and interesting topic but since hearing you guys talk, I’ve reconsidered. I don’t want to be the guy preaching 6 meals of chicken and broccoli a day knowing now that the whole bodybuilding eating style is more likely to cause OCE than help anyone. I’m a perfect example of that myself.
I’ve also come to realise that losing weight has a lot more to do with psychology than nutrition knowledge, so getting a qualification in nutrition seems pointless.
I completely agree on the part about being dragged into other peoples goals. I know a lot of people who wanted 6-pack abs and are now preaching “functional training”!
Comment by Philife on February 24, 2010 at 7:30 pm
Cooper,
It’s a tough one isn’t it! You gotta be honest with yourself and do a bit of introspection to figure out what you really want. Sounds like such a simple question, but it’s hidden to almost all of us until we really dig to find it.
JB
Comment by Philife on February 24, 2010 at 10:30 pm
I think the idea of wanting to be pain free is an excellent point, unfortunetely I don’t think most people realize this is a goal until you are full of pain.
When a kid your goal is to be super crazy strong…deadlift 1,000 pounds while still being ‘lean’ until you herniate a disk…then your goals change quick.
B
Comment by Jordan on February 25, 2010 at 3:30 pm
Exactly.
Comment by Phyllis on February 26, 2010 at 3:46 pm
Great podcast.
Made me think about my Goals, and more clearly define them.
One might think that as a retired attorney in my 60s I’d “have it all down”, but no.
I can see that my Goal has never actually been to eat “Healthy”, or to “Get fit” or “Get in Shape”.
These are goals that others have imposed upon me.
My goals are to be flexible “enough”, and to be fit “enough”, and for me, this means enough to continue to do the daily activities that I enjoy.
I now realize that I don’t really care about the percentage of my bodyfat either, and I’m happy with it just in the normal range.
My goal is just to be tiny, i.e. tiny as in a normal BMI with my small 5′0″ frame, while remaining a bit round. I, personally, don’t even find the female look: “lean” “muscular” or “thin” to be attractive.
So, I’m pretty much at my goal right now (am maintaining a very large weight loss after a lifetime of obesity).
My OWN Goal is NOT to eat “healthy” or eat 3 meals a day or 6 times a day or eat low-carb, or low-fat, or raw foods, or non-processed foods. I see that those are goals that others have Imposed upon me.
My own personal goal is actually to eat as much delicious food as possible while meeting my body-size goal.
I achieve this by working to count calories. I have done this for the past 5 years by logging all the food I choose to eat into a software food journal, and working to keep my average calorie intake a bit less than my average calorie burn. Logging my food has actually become an enjoyable Habit which takes very little time, and I plan to continue this for the rest of my life.
During this process I’ve experimented with numerous ways of eating, including lots of Intermittent Fasting plans like EatStopEat. I’ve also tried QOD, Alternate Day Eating, and Fast 5, but EatStopEat seems like a better fit for me.
I very much enjoy these podcasts, and find them thought-provoking and instructive.
Comment by Philife on February 26, 2010 at 5:05 pm
Phyllis,
Great post, thanks for sharing.
JB
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[...] last podcast was “What is Your Goal?” from Phi Life with Brad Pilon and John Barbon. Perhaps it’s my age, I’m sure I’ve [...]