who hops in the car and starts driving without any idea of where he or she’s going.
But before you figure out how to set your goals, you need to begin by taking an honest self-inventory — a process that will toughen your resolve and help you succeed in your intermittent fasting lifestyle. With that information, you can summon the strength to keep taking steps forward and overcome the occasional roadblocks that life inevitably sends our way.
Having a firm grasp of your current weight and body composition is also very valuable information. Knowing where you are when you start can help you to track your progress as you incorporate intermittent fasting into your lifestyle.
This chapter is all about assessing where you are now and establishing where you want to go (your long-term health and fitness goals). Following one of the intermittent fasting plans that I discuss in Part 3 can give you what you need to achieve your goals and stay healthy and fit for life.
Understanding What a Healthy Weight Range Is for You
If you want to lose weight from intermittent fasting, you first need to know what a healthy weight range is for you. With that information, you can better understand what your short-terms goals are (baby steps) and your long-term goals or healthy weight range (your finish line).
You may be okay with your current weight and simply want to hop on the intermittent fasting train for the additional health benefits derived from this eating pattern such as disease prevention and anti-aging effects. If so, feel free to skip to Part 3 and dive right into an intermittent fasting plan that is right for you.
People come in all sizes and shapes, with different life experiences related to their personal health and fitness. Before you estimate what a healthy weight range is for you, you need to take several preliminary steps to help you get a clearer picture of what healthy weight range is right for you.
Taking a self-inventory
A fearless self-inventory and your weight history help you get to the root of your battle of the bulge. With this information, you can cut through past experiences and grasp the power that food has had over your life. If knowledge is power, then knowing yourself better helps you gain power over your eating habits.
The questions in this self-inventory also can help you realize that you can’t change history — but you can equip and strengthen yourself for the future. Look closely and honestly at your past efforts, challenges, and previous weight-loss success. Defining why you want to lose weight may help you stay motivated when complacency sets in.
Put yourself under a microscope and ask yourself these questions. Jot down your responses in your journal or notebook (refer to Chapter 23 for more about journaling your intermittent fasting voyage).
Were you overweight as a child? If so, how did your parent(s) react?
Does your weight affect your self-esteem? If yes, describe how.
Does your weight or the scale number affect your mood? If yes, describe how.
Does your weight affect your relationships? If yes, describe how.
Do you reach for comfort food in times of stress? If yes, describe how and when.
Does fitting into clothes or not fitting into them affect your mood? If yes, describe how.
How many diets have you tried in your lifetime? Describe them.
If you lost weight in the past, were you able to keep it off? If yes, how?
If you lost weight in the past and gained it back, what were the circumstances?
If you overeat or binge eat, what triggers that behavior and what time of day does it occur?
What is the lowest weight that you have been able to maintain as an adult for at least several months? What were the circumstances?
When you were at a weight in your adult life that you were happy with? What was your activity level? What were the circumstances?
Has your doctor ever expressed concern about your weight? If yes, describe her conversation with you.
This inventory can help you be empowered to change your life. I encourage you to revisit your answers periodically during your intermittent fasting journey. Reading your life history as it pertains to your weight can be a powerful motivator to get you back on track, should an obstacle arise in your newfound lifestyle.
Considering your reasons for weight loss
Following a reduced calorie healthy diet and exercise plan can unquestionably help you lose weight. Analyzing the reasons that drive you to lose the weight in the first place will aid you in your efforts to keep weight off. Being introspective about the real reason you want to lose weight facilitates your success in achieving your goals and is a powerful motivator for acting on and maintaining your goals.
Here are many of the most common reasons people want to lose weight. Figure out which ones motivate you the most:
Maintaining good health: Being overweight is bad for your health; it raises blood pressure (the silent killer) and increases risk of heart disease, diabetes, and certain types of cancers (such as breast cancer). Avoiding these diseases can be a strong motivator for people to want to lose weight. Living a healthy lifestyle leads to living a longer and higher quality of life.
Boosting your energy level: This reason may seem counterintuitive, but intermittent fasting leads to an energy boost. Extra body fat requires energy to maintain, so lose the fat and you redirect all that energy to living life.
Feeling better about oneself: Society denigrates the overweight with a barrage of messages that thin is in and fat is ugly. This very real social shaming can take a toll on peoples’ self-esteem. Embarrassment about one’s looks can diminish self-confidence, which can lead to anxiety and depression. Feeling better about oneself and looking good is a compelling incentive to shed those pounds.
Decreasing joint problems: One of the common side effects of excess body weight is joint pain, especially in the knees. Too much body weight stresses the joints and can lead to wear and tear, potentially resulting in arthritis. Joint pain can be extraordinarily painful, which creates a viscous circle, increasing weight gain by curtailing the ability to exercise.
Setting your weekly SMART goals
When choosing to follow a new lifestyle, you’ll need to change behaviors. Behavior change requires determination and practice, but most of all, you need to know how to set goals that work for you that are achievable. Lasting behavior change relies on goal setting. Ideally, you want to set one small goal every week. To give you the best chance of success, your goals should:
Represent concrete actions and not wishful thinking