Personal Goal Setting - making them SMART

After hitting a major health and fitness goal this week, I find myself in need of establishing a new one.  Since we are in the process of goal setting for 2012 at work, I wanted to take a more business minded, analytical approach to my personal goal setting and thought I would share some thoughts here.  As I started writing this blog, however, I realized there was a lot more information related to this topic than most readers would want to wade through so I've abbreviated this version (believe it or not) to focus on making goals SMART - Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time bound (http://www.oma.ku.edu/soar/smartgoals.pdf).  That doesn't mean that factors such as horizontal and vertical alignment, process vs. results orientation, and others aren't important, just too long winded to go into details for this blog. 

• Specific - goals should be worded in such a way that it is clear to anyone what is to be achieved and whether there is success or not.  General  statements like "I want to get healthy" or "My goal is physical fitness"  are too ambiguous establish results.  Even something a little more specific, like "I want to lose weight", allows for a measurement of success, it's not clear on the degree of success.  I need something along the lines of "I will lose 10 lbs by Christmas" or "I will exercise a total of 4 hours a week."  Not only are these goals specific, but they are also:
• Measurable - this attribute is not only critical in determining if a goal is achieved but in providing a means for monitoring (and celebrating) progress along the way.  Because weight is easily measurable, it has become the proxy for many regarding health.  Unfortunately, weight is only one factor in the overall health of an individual and not always the best.  BMI or body fat % might be better indicators and tools like online calculators or scales with BIA (http://exercise.about.com/cs/weightloss/a/bodyfat_2.htm) are relatively easy and inexpensive to find.  If the goal is process oriented, a log of activities or diet would be necessary with periodic reviews for compliance with the goal.
• Attainable - this is where I need to be really honest with myself.  Sometimes the media provides unrealistic expectations regarding possible weight loss (Biggest Loser) or with fitness goals (Insanity).  We all want the perfect body but need to take things like age, injuries, time commitments, etc.  into consideration.  On the flip side, it's important to push oneself and set goals that pose a challenge.  I'm struggling with this right now because I'd like to get to a "healthy" BMI but it means achieving a weight that I haven't seen since I was 17 years of age.  Even at my lowest weight as a healthy adult, my BMI was firmly in the "overweight" category.  I'm questioning whether that goal is attainable and may be looking more toward a body fat % goal, but not having tracked that previously, I'm not sure of the possible results.  I could also go with a realistic process goal of fitness activities and diet.   
• Relevant - This is where upward vertical alignment of goals figures in; the goal must matter as part of the big picture.  It has to contribute to health, happiness, etc.  Just like corporations, people can do their own "strategic planning" to determine their personal mission, values, and overall life goals.  If you haven't done that, I highly recommend it to help gain clarity.  Since health and wellness are high on my list, any goal will likely be relevant but they also needs to fit into the other priorities of goals in life and contribute to what I consider to be "fitness".  Health related goals such as cholesterol below 180, a resting heart rate of 65, or washboard abs may be important to some but they don't really mean that much to me.   My commitment to health and wellness is to enjoy life without physical limitations.  To modify a statement my dad once told me about work, "Be fit to live, don't live to be fit."   I want to make sure I still have time to do all the other things I enjoy in life.
• Time Bound - Goals are not open ended; like projects, start and stop points are important so that success can be determined.  Time frames will also be linked to both specificity and attainability.  Another important consideration is whether your goal is long, medium, or short range.  I like the idea of setting long term, results oriented goals with short or medium range process oriented goals to support it (downward vertical alignment). 

After reviewing these guidelines, I've decided to establish the following goals (and these have changed as I've written the blog):

• Reduce my body fat % from 25% to 20% (per the BIA method on my Tanita scale) by March 31, 2012.
• Engage in cardio exercises 5 times a week for a minimum of 30 minutes per day through 3/31/12
• Follow current strength training program 3 times a week through 11/30/11 (will reevaluate program at that time)
• Consume a balanced diet that is an average of 1000 kcal below my daily calorie burn through 12/31/11 (will reevaluate kcal differential at that time based on BMI and body fat %)

These goals meet the  SMART criteria with only a question mark on whether I can attain the BF% goal within the time frame.   I think it is achievable based on my limited experience tracking BF% via BIA but I know that it will challenge me.   I may need to escalate my fitness training to achieve it which is why I kept the weight training goal short range.  I also feel that the BF% is relevant as a measure of progress toward overall fitness and a better one than either weight or BMI.  I also went with some process oriented goals to support long term results and to maintain the healthy habits I've established over the past few months. 

We'll check back later on success.  Let me know what you think in comments below.

Of Plateaus and NSVs (Non-scale Victories)

Last week, I was prepared to post a new blog about goal setting as I was confident I was going to hit a personal weight loss goal on Saturday.  However, as I stepped on the scale for my official weigh-in last Saturday, I came face-to-face with the stark reality of the inevitable and dreaded weight loss plateau less than 1 pound from my established milestone.  Yes, I could round down and declare a victory but that isn't in my Virgo nature. Did I have some self doubt and question my resolve on this journey?  Of course I did; that's in most people's nature; but I also knew that I had stuck with all my fitness and nutrition guidelines for the week and there didn't appear to be any underlying self-sabotage.  The bottom line is that I knew this plateau was coming.  I've had steady and sustained success with my weight loss over the past 5 months without much of blip, and I knew at some point my body was going to say "Wait a minute while I readjust".  I don't know if its coincidence that the plateau struck right before reaching my intermediate goal weight, but considering I'll still reach that goal 7 weeks early, I'm not letting it bother me too much.  I'm powering through it with the same resolve and commitment to fitness and know that I will have success without need for any major adjustments.

 

The other thing that was so interesting about the plateau was that it came when I had probably more NSVs (non-scale victories) than at any time in the past few months.  This is in part because I had a number of meetings and get-togethers with people I hadn't seen in a few weeks or few months.  I'm very thankful that many of them were kind enough to comment on my transformation.  I didn't think I would ever here words like "skinny", "slim", or even "svelte" used to describe me.  My personal favorite, however, was "you look 10 years younger."  That's something everyone approaching fifty wants to hear.  Thanks again to all of you for your kind words and support. 

I have also been in desperate need of some work clothes that didn't hang loose on my body.  My favorite clothing store was having a great sale so it was a good opportunity to get a new suit and blazer (and maybe give me the ego boost that the scale wasn't giving me).   The first, best realization was that my jacket size had gone down enough that I restricted to the big and tall section.  Every suit in the store was now available to me; no limits on fabrics and designs.  The second big NSV was that the jackets and shirts that now fit me best are the "tailored fit", "slim cut", or "European cut" designs.  Again, those are not words that I expect to be associated with my body type (check that: old body type).  The salesperson did the obligatory piling on of superlatives but that didn't change the way the clothes fit. I can't wait to get them back from tailoring.  I even bought a shirt with horizontal stripes this week!

Update: As I finish this blog at the end of the week, I have reached the weight loss goal.  Is one week a plateau?  I guess that's all a matter of perspective.  Regardless of the length of time without progress on the scale or the original goal I had set, the most critical thing was that it was not the weight loss that defined my success in this endeavor, but how I feel about myself and my commitment to living a healthy and fit life.  To that end, my next post will be focused on setting new goals that aren't weight-related.  

The Standing Desk Experiment

Originally posted to myfitnesspal.com on 10/8/11

Early last year, the New York Times posted a great online piece on the benefits of standing at work (http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/02/23/stand-up-while-you-read-this/).  These include reduced risk for obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and even some type of cancers.  For those of us trying to lose weight, standing at your desk also burns about 60 more calories an hour than sitting.  But there aren't a lot of alternatives for most of us with desk jobs.  Every year, I ask my facility manager to look into convertible desks (those that can be used either sitting or standing) but the short term costs are prohibitive. 

So I decided to take matters into my own hands.  I first did some research on the desks themselves and quickly came to the conclusion that I wasn't going to invest in them myself.  While there are some inexpensive solutions, there weren't any that would work in my situation below about $1500.  There are some good options to just raise a computer workstation (display, keyboard, and mouse; check ergodesktop.com), and, while I like them, I still felt that the initial investment was a little high if things didn't work out.  A DIY project seemed to be my best option for this trial.

Fortunately, my display is mounted on an adjustable swing arm and I found that I could rotate it up to a point where it was easily viewable from a standing position. While not at the ideal viewing level, it would do for a month or so until I could make a determination if this was going to be something I would want to do permanently.  The next step was to elevate my keyboard and mouse.  I built a small table, similar to a piano bench, that I could place on my desktop when I wanted to stand.  I used a solid oak stair riser and some matching balusters which I cut and measured to give me the ideal keyboard height.  Some non-skid, rubber feet, a couple of coats of dark stain, a decent pair of shoes to stand in when at the desk (dress shoes are not made for standing), and I was ready to go.  You can see the look of the setup below.

With those things in place, I started my experiment in late August.  My goal was to stand at my desk whenever I was in my office on the phone, working on projects, etc. The only times I would sit during the day was when I had meetings or lunch.  It was tough at first; my feet, legs and back would get sore toward the end of the day and I got more than a few funny looks and comments.  After more than a month, however, it feels much more natural and I don't tire as easily, even when I've hit the gym in the morning.  While the improvement could be part of my better overall fitness level (a loss of 19lbs during the experiment to date), I can't help feel that standing at work has had its contributions.   While I'm not quite ready to make the investment in a more advanced system (partially because my DIY solution works pretty well), I know that I will be standing at my desk whenever possible for a long time to come.  I might even change my daily activity level from "Sedentary" to  "Lightly Active" on myfitnesspal.com. 

Even if you can't make accommodations to stand at your desk, at least make sure that you take small breaks to get up, walk around, or stretch.  The Times piece has other good suggestions plus the web is full of options for keeping healthy at work.

Which equipment do you believe?

Originally posted to myfitnesspal.com on 8/14/11

In the world of instrument calibration there is an old saying: "The person with one clock always knows what time it is.  The person with two is never quite sure." Monitoring weight loss and calorie burn seems to fall into this same category. 

With weight loss, the solution seems relatively easy: always use the same scale.  I've heard some concerns in the forum about not seeing weight loss or even seeing gain but admissions that they are using more than one scale.  The clock analogy works great here because how often does your watch and the clock at the gym match?  And pardon me for being a skeptic but I never trust scales at the gym.  I think there is a vested interest in making you feel better about yourself when you're there.  How often have you heard someone say "I like the scales at the gym better?"  Not to mention that those scales take a beating and are more likely to be out of calibration.  For the most accurate weight readings, I bought a good scale and officially take my weight readings once a week on the same day at the same time and under the same conditions (clothing, placement of scale on the floor, etc.) condition permitting.

Calorie burn is where I struggle.  I try not to put too fine a point on my calorie consumption and burn because everything is just an estimate, and I usually try to stay about 200 - 300 calories below my daily goal as a rule.   When I first starting logging here, I used the estimated burn for the activities but found that it differed somewhat (on the high side) from what my elliptical cross trainer was telling me.  After reading some posts in the forums, I decided to take the worst case scenario and go with the lower calorie burn reading from my machine.  However, I was on a similar elliptical cross trainer in a hotel fitness center this week and the calorie burn reading was much more in line with the MFP estimates.  In fact, the distance traveled, speed and calorie burn were all quite a bit higher than a similar workout (approximately the same resistance and RPMs) on my machine at home.  It would appear that the primary difference is the speed and distance traveled.  I would think the calorie count would be more in line if those numbers matched.  But why don't they when the RPMs are similar?  The distance should actually be further on my home machine because it has a very long stride length.  So, do I play the skeptic again and not believe the fitness center machine, even if it matches the MFP estimate (and isn't in a gym wanting my money)?  Should I shift to the MFP estimate for my home workouts regardless of what my machine says?  My elliptical is high quality (Smooth Fitness); shouldn't I be able to believe it even if two other sources tell me it's wrong?   

My first step will be to contact Smooth Fitness to see if there is a way to recalibrate the computer.  I did move the machine recently but I remember the readings being the same before the move.  If that doesn't resolve issues, I'll probably go back to the worst case scenario.  It would be better to underestimate the calories than go over and wonder why I hadn't lost any weight.  Maybe I should just stick to one machine like I do with the scales.   

Update: after reading many forum posts here on MFP, it appears that the HRM is the way to get the most accurate readings.   If my elliptical is basing my calorie burn on my HR, it could be down because I have my hands on the grips less at home (messing with remotes, music, etc.).  I do have a chest band HRM that I'm going to try and see if that makes a difference.   

Basic Tenets of Fit for Life (at least how I apply them)

Originally posted to myfitnesspal.com on 8/14/11


Fit for Life is not just a great overall principle for adopt for life long health, but it also a term coined by Harvey Diamond in a series of diet and lifestyle books over the last 25 years that stem from the principles of natural hygeine.  The ideas are rooted in naturopathic medicine and espouse a diet to enhance the overall efficiency and health of the digestive system and thus its owner.  The theories, and Diamond's background, aren't without their controversies, but I have found the basic tenets to be very effective in supporting overall health and fitness, especially for vegetarians.  

I must admit that I have only read the first book and that was several years ago but it is the publication that really outlnes the ideas of natural hygiene and provides the guidelines for eating.  I have summarized them below but would suggest picking up a copy of the first book to anyone who is truly interested in learning more.  

Eat the right foods at the right times in the right combinations

1. 80% of dietary intake (by volume) should be live, high water content foods, e.g., fresh fruits & vegetables
2. Eat foods at the right time of day
   • Elimination Phase            0400 - 1200          Fruit Only
   • Acquisition Phase            1200 - 2000          No Restrictions
   • Assimilation Phase           2000 - 0400          Nothing

  3.   Eat foods in the right combinations

• Fruit shouldn't be combined with any other food groups
• Complex food groups (e.g., meats, complex carbs) shouldn't be combined with each other
• Dairy (if consumed at all) shouldn't be combined with any other food groups

As a vegetarian, I have found that it is easiest to follow the guidelines by sticking to a mostly vegan diet.  However, nutritional supplements may be necessary to ensure ingestion of the proper amount of Calcium.   I usually throw in a veggie egg beater omelet or some cheese on my salad every once in a while to make sure I'm nutritionally balanced.  The latter isn't strictly sticking to the plan but all things in moderation.  

Getting Fit

Originally posted to myfitnesspal.com on 8/7/11

I've been using myfitnesspal.com for about 2 months and have found the calorie counting and activity logging tools to be invaluable in helping me continue to get fit and lose weight.  But it has also become obvious that one of its most valuable resources here is the community.  I haven't been participating in that much (partially because I'm a guy) but decided to change that this week and become more involved.  And, if no one reads this but me, it gets my commiment and thoughts in writing for my own review.

My commitment is to fitness and health, not weight loss.  The weight loss is a by-product of getting healthy.  Weight loss has become a good indicator of health for many of us but the NSVs (non scale victories) are even more critical.  Things like not being winded walking up stairs, feeling like you have energy at the end (and beginning) of the day, the compliments and comments, the appreciative spouse (or equivalent).  I've appreciate those much more over the past months than the drop in numbers on the scale.

I've become my commitment to a healthy and fit lifestyle and live into it every moment.   Here's what I'm doing:

• Eat the right foods in the right amounts at the right times - myfitnesspal.com has been instrumental in helping with the first two parts of this and I'm hoping they build "time of day" fields into the activity logging in the future.  I'll talk more about my diet in future blogs but the short version is that I'm lacto-ovo-veg following the basic tenets of Fit-for-Life.  
• Be physically active - This includes at least 30 minutes of moderate cardiovascular exercise 5 days a week, mostly on an elliptical machine, and I've recently added some light strength training to build lean muscle mass.  I've also made modifications to my desk at work so that I can stand to work.  

What, me blog?

I never thought that I would actually post blogs because the written word is certainly not my milieu.  But I found myself posting information to myfitnesspal.com but thought that site might be more restrictive than what I was looking for.  So, we will give this a try and see how it goes.  My first task will be to move the blogs from MFP to here and then work on my list of possible topics over the next few weeks and months to see how it goes.  Even if no one reads this, I can use it as a personal journal.  Thanks for indulging me.