S = specific
M = measurable
A = attainable or achievable
R = realistic
T = timely

If you set your weight loss goals following the SMART method, you will be much more likely to succeed!

SPECIFIC goals are much easier to reach than general goals. To do this, ask yourself these questions:

-        What do you want to accomplish?

-        Where will it happen? (i.e., eating well at home, and/or exercising at a gym)

-        When will it happen?

-        Why do you want to do this? Be specific here, with reasons to reach this goal

Your goal needs to be MEASURABLE. For example, to reach your weight loss goals you should be able to identify how many pounds you want to lose, or how many clothing sizes you want to reduce. You need to understand when your goal is accomplished – it can’t just be open ended. Perhaps a way one would measure their goal would be to say that they can walk up a flight of stairs without feeling winded.

Do NOT set unreasonable goals! This is the biggest reason why people face problems losing weight. It took years to put on the pounds you have now, so it is not reasonable to think it will all come off in a much shorter time period. An ACHIEVABLE goal would be to lose 5-8 pounds a month, not 30! If you set goals that are too hard to reach, you are setting yourself up for failure.

Be REALISTIC in your goals. You can only do this by being brutally honest with yourself. You are not super-woman so don’t try to pretend you are. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t push yourself to get what you want – it just means you should be aware of your weaknesses and drawbacks, and create goals that are realistic for YOU.

Your goal needs to be TIMELY – have a start and end point and exist for a specific duration of time. Having a “due date” will help keep you motivated and allow you to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Don’t create the deadline way off in the future or it will be too easy to procrastinate. At the same time, don’t create a deadline too soon and put unrealistic expectations on yourself.

Remember that goals are not FIXED – they should be FLUID. This means that you can and should review your weight loss goals on an ongoing basis. You might find that they need readjusting from time to time – and that’s perfectly understandable. Modifying your goals is not cheating – it’s simply showing that you are aware of what you want and what you need to achieve it.

After you’ve established your SMART weight loss goals, you need to look at what resources are required to reach those goals. For example, you might need new fitness gear (such as sneakers) and stock up on healthy recipes. More ideas include motivational magazines and finding a “dieting” buddy. You should start a journal or diary and track what tasks you need to complete in order to achieve your goals.

Think about what milestones will be important along the way. If your SMART goal is to lose 20 pounds in 3 months, perhaps a milestone would be the first 5 pounds you lose, and the next 10 pounds etc. As you reach these milestones you set for yourself (they are like mini-goals), reward yourself along the way!

A lot of times our motivation is lacking because a) we set our sights too high and need to re-evaluate our goals or b) we forget why we want to lose weight in the first place and thus lose the passion we started out with. What originally was driving you to embark on your weight loss journey?

Why Do You Want To Lose Weight?
If you’ve lost your way, or can’t see the forest through the tress – get out a notebook or journal. It’s time to get back to the basics and figure out what is propelling you to lose weight. You MUST have your own reasons for losing weight, and not be driven by others who want you to lose weight (such as family or doctors). You need to be clear on why it is something that you want, so that you are able to develop a passion towards reaching that goal.

Continue Keeping a Diary or Weight Loss Journal
Don’t just write in your journal during those times you feel less motivated – write in it every day! Keep track of all of the positive steps you’ve taken towards your goals. When your motivation IS low, you can pick up your journal and feel uplifted at all of the progress you’ve made. The goal is to focus on the positives in your journey, not the negatives. Remember there are no rules to keeping a journal, you decide what get written down and how you organize it. Try creating a list of all of the good things you’ve accomplished and what you like about yourself physically.  Just keep it all positive!

Remind Yourself What Happens If You Don’t Pursue Your Weight Loss Goals
This relates to understanding why you want to lose weight. We are driven towards our goals because we see the results as pleasure, or we see the results as moving away from pain. It is pain or pleasure that motivates human beings, in simple terms. So, do you see yourself accomplishing your goals for pleasure (i.e. to feel better about yourself, healthier, more attractive, etc.)? Or do you focus on moving away from pain – such as losing weight to help you breathe better, not feeling so sick and tired, having muscles that don’t ache all of the time. Whatever your mindset is, take a few minutes and remind yourself how your life will be, or how your body will feel, if you do not pursue your weight loss goals.

Get Your Mind On Something Else!
Sometimes the problem with lack of motivation is just simply the fact that you are obsessing about your goals and what “looms ahead”. If this is you then it’s time to get your mind on something – anything! If you have a passion or hobby, now is the time to dive in and get involved. Sitting around with too much idle time will likely provoke thoughts of snacking and you’ll end up just making it harder on yourself in the long run.

Why Medifast is Worth It

Don’t assume that Medifast is somehow a cheap program that doesn’t work just because there are Medifast coupons. In fact, the opposite is true – this diet system has been proven to work very well, and the small investment you will make will help to “prime” you psychologically so you are driven to succeed. The reason coupons are offered is to help retain customers who are on a budget, so you can continue to succeed with Medifast coupons, no matter how much you can afford.

How Medifast Works

Whether or not you have tried Medifast before, you are doubtless aware that the program is not intended to last forever. The first phase of the program will be the most difficult and expensive, since you have to eat five Medifast meals each day, plus one “lean and green” meal you prepare yourself.

As time goes on, you will transition into cooking more of your own meals as you learn how to do so while maintaining a healthy diet. You will order fewer Medifast meals (and thus won’t need Medifast coupons much) when this happens, but you can continue to supplement your cooking with Medifast if you prefer, using Medifast coupons to continue saving money.

How Medifast Coupons Work

Medifast coupons for 2011 typically give you a fixed amount off when you purchase a certain amount of food, so you can plan your meals carefully and spend just enough to get that coupon. This means you could get $25, $50, or even more food free!

Medifast Coupons for 2011

Every month, the company releases new coupons. They tend to vary in the exact details, to keep interest fresh and give you new opportunities for savings while helping you continue to save money every month. Some of the Medifast coupons have included significant discounts on meals when you sign up for the VIP program, free meals, or Medifast coupons for money off when you purchase a specific amount of food.

Medifast Coupons for May 2011

[This month, you can get $50 off a purchase of $275 or more, which is excellent if you tend to purchase a few weeks or a month's worth of food at once.

You can also get $25 off a $150 purchase, which is great if you place a few orders each month or are on a maintenance plan where you only eat a few Medifast meals per week and mostly cook yourself.

If you like getting free food, consider signing up for the VIP program and get two weeks of meals for free with one of this month's Medifast coupons.]

Monthly Medifast Coupon Codes

Remember, there are Medifast coupons released every month, and the exact coupons offered tend to change frequently. Bookmark this site to visit it next month when you place another order so you can continue saving money with Medifast coupons every time you order! We do our best to provide you with the latest Medifast coupons!

Being even a little overweight or obese, as 62% of adults are, isn’t just a problem of vanity. It can decrease your quality of life, make you feel insecure and unhappy, and lead to serious, unreversible health problems like developing type 2 diabetes or suffering a stroke. It’s no laughing matter, especially when you feel like the laughing-stock of your skinnier friends.

Weight loss is difficult, but not impossible. (If it were easy, we’d all be size 0s and diets wouldn’t even exist!) It requires long-term lifestyle change if you want to succeed and keep that weight off, instead of yo-yoing back up to an even higher weight than when you started. You need to alter your diet, learn how to cook healthy and delicious foods so that you will lose weight without suffering constantly, control portion sizes, exercise regularly, and stay motivated.

Doing this on your own can be a real challenge. After all, most of us aren’t born knowing the nutrients and vitamins in every food, how much sodium is acceptable per day, and which foods to eat each day. You might find yourself getting overwhelmed and reaching for the closest chocolate bar instead, which gives you a brief sugar rush and burst of endorphins (the happy chemicals in your brain), but this is replaced with guilt and annoyance at how you gave in to the temptation… and it becomes a cycle.

The Jenny Craig program is a solid, critically acclaimed diet that helps break this cycle. It provides you with support and help every step of the way, a customized diet plan and food options, education on exercise choices, and teaches you how to set the right goals to lose weight. Scientific studies have backed it up, and celebrities have used it successfully. But most importantly, if you enter it with the right mindset, it will do what you need it to – help you lose weight.

When you consider the features of the program, the Jenny Craig cost is quite reasonable. You first meet up with your consultant at the local center or by phone for an initial consultation, where you determine how heavy you are right now, what your goals are, and what kind of program you will go on to lose that weight. You order Jenny Craig food to eat, supplemented with your own food, every day. This teaches you portion control, so you learn how much you should be eating at each meal. It also takes care of all the nutrients and vitamins you need for you.

A few weeks later, you start to celebrate your successes and revise your goals, and you also begin introducing exercise into your daily routine. You also learn how to cook food on your own and begin eating all your own food for two days each week, and Jenny Craig food for the other five. This is the perfect solution for weight loss, and one of the reasons why the Jenny Craig cost is so reasonable – it not only gives you a short-term weight loss solution, but the skills to continue maintaining this weight for a long time.

After you have reached your target weight, you still have access to online tools and support to help you keep your weight there. You will be eating your own food seven days per week by this point, which helps you avoid the “yo-yo effect” of many other diets, where you find yourself gaining weight as soon as you stop eating their brand of food.

The actual Jenny Craig cost can vary depending on promotions and your location. It is typically somewhere between $200 to $400 for a lifetime membership, plus about $70-$140 per week for food, depending on how well you budget and whether you make any substitutions to help save money.

For instance, you can easily swap out Jenny Craig brands of cereal for Kashi cereal, diet soups for Campbell’s Healthy Request soups, and cook scrambled eggs with vegetables for breakfast. Salad dressings are good to order initially, so you learn how much dressing should be on your salads, and then you can switch to purchasing bottles at the grocery store to save money.

Substitutions are a fantastic way to save money, but rewards are even better! It’s often cheaper to pay the extra money to purchase a rewards program from Jenny Craig, cost upfront notwithstanding. Over time, the investment will pay back – 10% discount on groceries for the first 10 weeks, 20% after week 20, and 30% after week 30. If you spend $100 a week on groceries, you could end up cutting your bill to $70 per week with no extra work.

The Jenny Craig cost is definitely worth it as long as you look at the program as a way of enabling yourself to start living a healthier lifestyle. Weight loss will give you that look you’ve always wanted, help prevent fatal diseases, improve your overall health, give you a self-esteem boost, and much more. No diet will work if you look at it as a temporary solution; weight loss for the long term isn’t an overnight sensation.

By faithfully following the Jenny Craig program, then starting to substitute identical foods once you understand why they are identical, you can significantly reduce the Jenny Craig cost, while benefiting from the program and all the support and lessons you receive. Keep an eye out for special promotions, such as “$1 per pound” — they sometimes don’t include all the features of the regular program, but help introduce you at a lower cost.

If you want to improve your health and weight today, signing up for a free consultation will help you commit to the goal, learn about the Jenny Craig program, and talk with the consultant about the Jenny Craig cost compared to what you will get out of the program. Ways to reduce the cost may also be discussed as well!

Sick and tired of being overweight, suffering from weight-related health problems, having low self-confidence, and more? Weight loss is the one of the most effective ways to turn your life around and make yourself feel great while looking fabulous.

Are you ready to lose weight? Do you have more questions about the Jenny Craig program? Speak with a weight loss consultant for free TODAY!

We’ve all been there before. If you’re like most women, you want to avoid the embarrassment of feeling like you’re squeezing into sizes too small for you, feeling like people stare at you, and even feeling insecure about your relationships.

For many women, this means an endless cycle of “yo-yo diets” that make you lose twenty pounds, then gain thirty back! This type of diet is both unhealthy and unsafe for long-term use. Doctors have known for quite some time now that the only diets which truly work for a long time are those which involve setting attainable goals, staying accountable, and changing your lifestyle to include more healthy food and exercise.

What’s the problem? It’s hard to do this by yourself. That’s where the Jenny Craig program has set itself apart. This program involves carefully researched methods based on scientific and psychological evidence.

The Jenny Craig program works in stages. In the first stage, you meet with a program director to evaluate where you are right now and where you want to be, weigh in, and set your initial goals. Next, you begin to eat Jenny’s Cuisine meals – which are actually tasty and nutritious, a combination many other “diet meals” haven’t mastered. Each day, you eat three Jenny’s Cuisine meals and one snack, and supplement these foods with your own groceries. You will have consultations and constant support the whole time to make weight loss seem achievable and painless.

After five weeks, you have a checkup where you discover the progress you have made in your Jenny Craig program, celebrate the successes and milestones you have achieved, and set new goals. You will also begin to transition to cooking your own food again, and to facilitate this, you are assisted with learning how to plan menus, cook nutritious food, and eat out properly.

You will also begin a gentle exercise program where you learn to decrease the number of calories being added to your waistline with regular exercise. Between diet modifications and exercise, your weight will continue to decrease as planned, and your Jenny Craig program will be adjusted if necessary. Emotional and motivational challenges will also be overcome with the help of your consultant.

Finally, when you have reached your weight goal, you will find yourself not only at your target weight, but prepared to maintain that weight for good, thanks to the meal preparation skills, changes in your mindset, easy and energy-boosting exercise routine, and continuing online support. Unlike other fad diets, the program gives you these tools to allow you to transition to a weight maintenance program. With the Jenny Craig program, your body doesn’t think you lack access to food and turn down your metabolism, so you simply regain the weight and then some – the reason many yo-yo diets don’t work.

The innovative and scientifically validated Jenny Craig program helps you reap the benefits of a healthy lifestyle and lose that weight you’ve always struggled to keep off for good.

1: Enjoying exercise.

If you’re like most people who could stand to lose a few pounds, you probably dread exercise. It conjures up memories of embarrassing high school P.E. classes and gym showers. There’s a reason reputable weight loss programs like the Jenny Craig program include sessions where you learn to exercise. Even the best diet can only accomplish so much if you don’t change your lifestyle, too. Moderate exercise actually decreases your appetite, packing a double punch in the calorie world. Also, exercise helps make you happier, scientific studies have confirmed.

2: Boosted self-confidence.

No longer do you have to compare your weight to that of everyone else in the group you’re in, and worry about whether they think negatively about you. You may have built up a self-image that includes being unable to accomplish what you set your mind to, particularly if you’ve already tried fad diets and yo-yo diets unsuccessfully. When you realize that you can actually achieve weight loss and keep the weight off for good, you realize that you can accomplish great things.

3: Reduced health risks.

There are a host of health benefits associated with losing weight. You have more energy and mobility, better breathing, lower blood pressure and cholesterol, less risk of angina and type 2 diabetes, better blood sugar levels, and even a lower risk of death from heart disease and stroke. With all these health benefits, you may find yourself not needing expensive prescriptions and doctor’s visits to fix problems that are really just a side effect of needing to lose weight.

4: Better sleep.

Sleep apnea, when your breathing is interrupted during sleep, can make you wake up during the night, sleep in, feel drowsy during the day, and increases your risk of death overnight. It also decreases your desire to exercise and helps lead to snacking and binging, which fuel the weight gain cycle. Simply losing five to ten percent of your body weight drastically reduces the likelihood you will have sleep apnea.

5: More enjoyment of food.

By learning how to properly cook food, seeking healthy alternatives, and educating yourself on delicious foods that won’t make you gain a lot of weight, you will find yourself enjoying food more than ever before. You may feel like food is a great thing now, but it’s often a quick enjoyment followed by guilt and anxiety. When you learn to relax and enjoy foods, you broaden your palette and increase your food enjoyment. When you’ve lost weight, you can dress in nicer clothes, learn to shop for clothes that are both comfortable on you and flattering to your new body, and undergo the transformation in self-image that accompanies weight loss. With this new image, a love of physical activity, better self-confidence, better health and sleep, and the ability to enjoy food like you never had before, weight loss could be the best thing that has ever happened to you!