Last Updated on September 15, 2016 by Michael Brockbank
Everyone has some kind of fitness goals when they decide to become more active. Most people center around losing weight while others simply want to improve their health. While these are OK to have, perhaps looking at fitness with more realistic goals could keep you motivated to continue. After all, the last thing you’ll want to do is become lax and revert back to where you were before.
Realistic Goals that Can Keep You Going
Here are some of the goals that I look at when facing each day. I want to go beyond just losing weight. My objectives are a bit more specific, which I’ve found to be far more engaging than just saying, “I want to be skinny.” Below are 10 of my favorites that may also help you stay on task.
1. Keeping Up with the Kids
No parent relishes in the day when their child surpasses them. Although you may say that there is a great deal of pride when the student surpasses the teacher. In reality, you’re probably a bit depressed because the passage of time is what prevents you from keeping up with the kids. Let’s face it, I’m getting older and slower.
I know there will be a time when my children surpass my physical capabilities. However, it’s my goal to make sure that doesn’t happen for a very long time. Not only because I don’t want my children beating me at sports, but because I would like to be in their lives more even if its just riding our bikes around the block.
I also don’t want any of them to beat me at my Kinect Sports games, but that’s merely the competitor in me. Physical competition can be great as a fitness tool as well as a teaching one. And yes, I do try to stress all facets of sportsmanship in my house even if we’re playing tennis on the Kinect.
2. Increasing Energy for Chores
One of the reasons why I have such a hard time doing chores around the house is because I lack the stamina to work on it for longer than 10 minutes. It’s not because I am lazy, although that does play a part in the lack of success. I just don’t seem to have the energy to continue.
Lately, I’ve been finding it easier to keep committed to completing specific chores around the house. Between proper vitamins and getting more exercise, I just seem to have more energy to do even some of the mundane and droll things.
When you start paying attention to your level of fitness, the body begins utilizing things more efficiently. The metabolism is capable of correcting itself over time, which will play a role in delivering energy to your muscles as well as properly burning fat away. It’s this process that can help you keep up the chores around the house. I’m actually looking forward to seeing what my basement looks like by the time I’m done.
3. Getting the Most Out of Vacations
A couple of years ago, I went camping with my dad and brother in the mountains. This was when I weighed more than 280 pounds. I had a hard time climbing even the slightest of hills. It was more than just the lower levels of oxygen from altitude, though. My body simply didn’t have the power to carry my ass up a slight incline.
It was at that moment that I decided to do something about my health. Although my performance has been a bit lacking in luster since I lost the first 20, I’ve found doing things like that becoming much easier to handle.
Taking a trip to Six Flags or to an outdoor retreat can be a completely different experience when you’re healthy. Instead of being content with staying in the cabin, you have potential to enjoy the experience as a whole. You shouldn’t let your health prevent you from enjoying every aspect of the vacation.
4. Improving Your Game
I love to golf and bowl. Putting effort into fitness will actually improve these games for me as I gain strength and fine-motor control. For instance, my back doesn’t hurt as bad if I spend 45 minutes at the driving range bending over to put a ball on the tee. Adding power into my roll allows my bowling ball to strke the pins with greater force.
If you don’t like physical sports, then you’re missing out. Competition, whether it’s friendly or in a team-based tournament, can be a great way to add realistic goals to your health. I’m not saying that you need to try out for a professional team. However, it’s an awesome experience when you crush a home run while playing in city league baseball.
Even a video gamer can benefit through healthier practices. Instead of trying to survive off of caffeine, healthier alternatives can be far more influential with improving brain power and memory. Even stamina can give you a competitive edge when playing against others online.
5. Being Proud of Yourself
With every small victory, I gain a sense of pride as well as confidence. How you view yourself will affect everything from your personal life to your career. Achieving fitness through realistic goals can help you build onto your sense of self-worth.
You don’t have to look like a supermodel posing for some underwear catalog in order to feel pride in your accomplishments. Simply sticking with a diet plan throughout the day can be quite influential in how you proceed.
Building confidence and self-esteem will give you the tools necessary to succeed in almost any aspect of life. From decisions in your career to painting the house over the weekend alone, it all starts with how you view yourself.
6. Saving Money at the Grocery Store
A good diet plan doesn’t necessarily have to cost you anything extra. In fact, simply making healthier choices can actually help you save money at the grocery store. And it all starts with portion control.
I’ve already demonstrated once how you can lose weight simply by cutting back on your portion sizes when eating. This cut-back influences your grocery bill as you wind up making the food stretch further. This is especially true if you spend a lot of money on cupcakes and donuts like I have. Simply cutting back on the sweets has saved me more than $25 per week…by myself. This doesn’t include the snacks I bought for the kids.
Instead of six ounces of chicken, use three. Instead of two bags of ramen noodles in your bowl, use one. Keep track of the portions you serve yourself and it will impact how much you spend on food each month. You’re not starving yourself; your eating healthier. Remember, a whole pizza does not a serving make.
I use things like MyFitnessPal to keep an eye on portion sizes and caloric intake. This is a free app that can be used on your smartphone as well as through the website itself. I enjoy it because I can put in the exact numbers of everything I eat if it’s not in the database. Plus, there’s a social element to the app that I kind of enjoy.
7. Generally Feeling Better
If you’re anything like me, you’ll probably feel like crap if that is what you eat all the time. There are days when I am lethargic, my stomach aches or I just feel like trash all-around. However, I never feel this way on days when I eat healthy.
Eating better and getting exercise can help you physically and mentally feel good. It can impact your emotional states, the way you process information in your head and many aches and pains throughout the body.
As I continue to improve myself, I’ve noticed a significant difference in my mood and physical energy levels. I am more apt at going out, I enjoy doing things around the house more and I just generally feel good. Of every one of these realistic goals, feeling awesome is probably one of my favorites.
8. Protecting the Family
The only true fear I have is not being able to protect my family in the event of an emergency. Whether it’s wrestling with a home invader or getting everyone to safety during a tornado, I know I am too out of shape to be a lot of help. While adrenaline will undoubtedly give me a boost to power and stamina, there’s only so much an out-of-shape body can do under certain conditions.
I’m not trying to turn myself into a fighter for the UFC. However, I would like to be able to keep my family safe when things go terribly wrong. I don’t want to be the one who is a burden during a crisis. Living as close to tornado alley as we do, this is a constant worry of mine. Realistic goals don’t need to be centered purely around yourself as they can also impact loved ones.
9. Enhancing the Sex Life
I believe that a couple needs to have some kind of basic physical attraction in a relationship. While it is possible to love someone based on what’s inside, arousal usually starts with site and smell. I know this is a bit of a controversial subject, but it may be more true than you want to admit. This doesn’t mean you’re a shallow person. It means you have physical needs that are better achieved when you’re with someone with whom you’re attracted.
There is more to sex than just looking good to your partner. Fitness will also play a role in stamina and longevity. I’m not just speaking about being fit enough to tear through the Kama Sutra within a few days. Intimacy can be difficult to keep up if you’re too out of shape to continue. It’s actually good if your realistic goals can benefit your partner in an intimate way.
This isn’t to mention keeping your heart healthy for sexual activity. Yes, your cardiovascular health will contribute to your sex life. For those who have heart conditions brought on by being overweight or other unhealthy aspects, sex could potential kill you. I doubt the last thing you want to put your partner through is to drop dead on top of him or her. As far as realistic goals are concerned, living through a climax should be a priority if you enjoy intimacy.
10. Making the Ex Jealous
I know, I’ve brought this point up before. But it can be part of realistic goals by living better now than when you were with your ex. Like the saying goes, “Living well is the best revenge.” It has a great deal of truth behind it.
It’s quite a confidence builder when you can say, “no” to someone who rejected you in the past. It’s that moment when they see you and realize they made a mistake is when you can relish in victory. Just make sure you’re not getting into shape in order to lure that person to you. That individual already demonstrated his or her shallow personality. Is that what you really want to be with?
Realistic Goals And You
You don’t have to slog through exercise routines with only “losing weight” as being your primary motivator. Focusing on aspects that are real to you can make the experience seem more imperative. Find what can drive you to success and live better. Fitness is more than just fitting into those pants you’ve had in your closet for the past five years.
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