Goals are important to supporting your weight loss.  That’s why when you begin your weight loss journey, you start by identifying your reason and your goals.  Setting your SMART goals helps define what you want to accomplish and how you will track your progress.  However, your goals need to be supported.  Building systems help you make healthy choices and find long-term success in reaching your wellness goals.

Goals vs. Systems

While both are important, there are differences between setting goals and creating systems.  As explained in a previous post, a goal is outcome based.  For instance, you may want to lose 50 pounds or fit into a size 8 jeans.  I set long-term and short-term goals that I updated as I reached the goals I had.  When I reached my overall weight loss goal, I started focusing on other goals I that support my overall wellness.

Systems are based on a process.  They focus on creating reliable habits that help us reach our goals.  For example, setting mealtimes and following it at least 80% of the time creates a sustainable habit that helps your body adjust.  Similarly, walking at least 30 minutes a day around a set time, such as 7am, supports building a habit to support movement.  As you keep following these systems, they become regular habits to build upon.

Why Systems Outperform Goals for Long-Term Success

One of the challenges with goals is that we tend to turn them into an either/or, success or failure outcome.  This mindset can make us feel like we failed even when we’ve made progress.  Often this leads to yo-yo cycles where we go up and down in our journey when we worry too much about reaching our goals at all or within a certain amount of time.

Building systems create ongoing progress regardless of whether we reach our short-term goals or not.  When we build systems, they become habits and continue working indefinitely. This creates lasting change.  For example, there were points when I hit plateaus, this happens to everyone, in the past I would have given up over frustration.  Since I had systems built, I continued my eating and exercise habits I developed. Ultimately, it kept me on track, and I reached my long-term and short-term goals, sometimes just later than originally planned.

The Problem with Fixating on Goals

While setting goals is important to a weight loss journey, they can create some problems if we fixate on only reaching them without building systems.  I fell into many of these problems.  Building systems helped me develop habits that supported me in overcoming these challenges.

Goals can lead to reduced happiness when we only focus on what will happen when we reach the goal. For a time, being fixated on reaching my short-term weight goals became such an obsession that I cut my calorie intake back to extremes at times.  I also refused to eat sweets or desserts. I developed an unhealthy relationship with food. Luckily, I had good support and slowly developed habits that allowed me to be okay with myself when I got off. I actually developed a system where I treated myself on certain days to ensure I was not creating an unhealthy relationship with food.

When we reach our goals, it can create a “now what” void. I was fortunate to have this issue since I was setting long-term goals beyond my weight loss. I have a mindset to keep challenging myself, but this can be a problem if I don’t control it.

Other issues that can come up is that sometimes there are factors outside of our control that can impact our achievement, such as hitting plateaus. Sometimes our bodies need time to adjust. As previously discussed, short-term thinking can lead to potentially harmful shortcuts. For example, my cutting my caloric intake back to an unhealthy amount for multiple days to drop to a certain weight.

Designing Your Weight Loss Systems

Nutrition Systems

As previously discussed, building systems will help you reach your long-term goals and stay consistent when you get off track.  Here are some ways to stick to your nutrition plan. 

Meal Planning System and Prep Routine

Decide the time of the week when you will prep meals and be consistent.  After doing it for a few weeks I realized how beneficial it was for the rest of my week.  I focused on breakfast, afternoon snack and lunch, but some people like to do one meal or all three.  I picked Sundays after lunch and spend an hour to three meal prepping.  Sometimes, I make extra meals and freeze them for weeks when I don’t have time to prep.

Portion Control System

There are multiple ways to do this including – weighing portions, measuring or using containers that are a certain size.  I started by measuring my portions and I use the same meal prep containers.  As you consistently meal prep you will become familiar with portions and able to eyeball your portions.  This, along with meal prepping, helps control your intake.

Eating Window System

This has been discussed previously but pick certain times throughout the day when you will eat. It doesn’t mean you can’t go outside of these times, but staying consistent will allow your body to adjust to portions and your schedule. I eat in the mornings between 7 and 8am after my workouts, around 11am to 12pm for lunch, 2:30 or 3:30pm for snack and 5 and 6pm for dinner.  If I need a snack in the evening, I keep nuts, fruit or other options around, including ice cream.

Grocery System

Develop a standard shopping list with staple items you use every week or every other week.  Your meal preps will change, but there will be items that you eat regularly.  For instance, I eat a banana a day, so that is always on my list.  Add other items to your list as you need them. When you make your meal prep plan for the week, go through your cabinets and determine what you need.  I try to stick to this list in the store to create consistency. Sometimes, I divert a bit.  This helps you plan and helps your budget.

Decision Reduction System

Keep pre-determined options around the house for common meals when you don’t have them meal prepped.  This is also useful for snacks. It makes it easier to make decisions, thus you avoid going out a lot or making “panic” decisions that lead to overeating.  These can and should be changed to avoid burnout over certain foods.

Movement Systems

Scheduling System

Have consistent times blocked out on your calendar or during the day for intentional movement.  The more you are consistent, then it becomes habit. You miss not doing it. For instance, I am a morning person and like to photograph sunrise, so, I head out for a walk, run or hike about an hour before sunrise.  Some days I predetermine my route to capture the best photos. I also have days and times set for lifting weights and walking after school.  I’ll move at other times, but these are consistent.

Progression System

Have planned increases for duration, distance, intensity and complexity of your workouts.  For weightlifting it was easy for me because I was a powerlifter for years, so I was able to build a program that worked for me. I walked a lot, so I started focusing on adding hills and going longer.  When I began running, I got a book to help me progress because this was brand new to me. Ask for help and get advice, it’s not a bad thing to do.

Variety System

Mix up your workouts, otherwise you might get bored. Rotate weightlifting routines to focus on different muscles, this is good for your body and to avoid boredom. Change your walking routes. It helps with boredom, and it helps avoid having someone possibly following you, unfortunately this is a reality.

Move During the Day

Make it a point to plan movement throughout the day, outside of your planned periods. This helps keep your metabolism up, keeps your muscles loose and prevents boredom. My smartwatch reminds me to move every hour if I haven’t.  I make it a point to walk in place at my desk or around the halls to get a few minutes of movement in each hour.

Environment Systems

Home Environment System

This can be done over time as you figure out what works for you. Organizing your home environment helps reduce the mental stress that can come with a wellness journey, especially when making decisions. I have also found that having less clutter and designated spaces makes me feel more relaxed in general.  My cabinets are organized with certain foods and products. Even now I am working on a labeling system for things I keep in containers.  My workout equipment is stored in bins in specific spaces that are easily accessible, but out of the way.  This is a constant process for me that I am still working on.

Workplace Systems

Different jobs allow for different movement and eating habits. Consider where you work and brainstorm ways to be able to move and eat healthy at work. Meal prepping can help with a lot of this.  When I worked retail, I struggled with my weight because the deli was a quick option and that’s what everyone was eating. I moved all day at work, but I didn’t do intentional movement after. Now, I work in an office and broadcast studio. My movement changes daily, but I meal prep every day to stay consistent.

Travel Systems

Set up strategies for when you travel away from home.  No matter where I am going, I always carry protein bars, nuts or trail mix in my suitcase.  If I drive, then I take food that is easy to travel with or fits in my hiking bag for hikes.  When I fly, I make it a point to find a store close to where I am staying. I get fruit and a few other healthy things I couldn’t travel with. I still go out, but I plan those.

Social Environment System

This may be the hardest to navigate for most people, it was for me. Going to restaurants, parties or holiday events can be hard to control. When I go to restaurants, I look at the menu before I leave and plan my meal.  This causes less stress at meals. At parties and holidays, I try to stay as far from the food as possible, but even then, sometimes I overindulge. This is where developing an understanding that one day, a few days or a week of being offtrack will not destroy the journey.  I’ve actually found that getting offtrack at times helps my body reset to continue the journey.

Digital Environment System

Digital media can be positive and negative when going through the weight loss process and moving through your wellness journey.  At the beginning I avoided sharing my progress because I was afraid of negative comments. I eventually started sharing with Facebook friends and have now moved into sharing on other platforms.  Most comments are positive, and I get more negative from people privately. This could change as I share my journey. 

The good part about sharing on social media is that it does two things – holds you accountable and gives more people to celebrate with you. Posting progress, at least when you hit certain goals gives you a record of the journey. Posting more can act like a journal of to see your progress and setbacks, then adapt. Remember, if you experience negativity, you don’t have to keep those people in your life.  You have a choice.

Implementing System-Based Thinking

Start Small with Minimum Viable Systems

As I say regularly, it’s all about mindset and also conditioning yourself into certain habits.  Don’t overhaul everything all at once.  Start with 1 to 3 systems that are extremely easy to follow. Then focus on being consistent, not perfect at them.  Don’t beat yourself up for missing once or twice.  Build foundation and become more complex. For instance, I started with adding a fruit or vegetable to my meals that I liked. Then built from there. I’ve actually expanded the healthy foods that I like.

Creating System Triggers

One way to build your new systems is to link them to existing habits. Do this by establishing cues that trigger a behavior, such as something that happens during a certain time or event. You can also develop visual reminders. The vegetables were linked to a time and visual.  I set myself to eat at a particular time and kept my vegetables in a space that I saw when I opened the fridge.  As it became habit, I moved them to other spaces to set other visual cues.

System Recovery Protocols

There will be setbacks or changes in your life where you have to adjust, such as when you travel.  Create some pre-planned response, when you can.  Think about what you can do to minimize challenging periods. When I travel, I find stores close to my hotel before leaving or take things with me.  When I am on social media or at the store, I look for alternatives to foods I eat in case they aren’t available or get too expensive.

If you get offtrack, have a system of re-entry.  Again, this isn’t about perfection.  If and when I get off, I start back slowly.  I still allow myself to snack, but I work on focusing on my small habits. I also find things to do to distract my need to eat. Another trick I use is that I always keep a water bottle with me so I’m drinking regularly, which curbs my hunger.

Integrating Goals with Systems

The last step of building systems is to integrate them with your long-term and short-term goals. Integrating them gives greater chance that both will be successful.

Using Goals Effectively

The first step is to figure out how your goals can work with your systems.  Set goals that allow you to measure that your systems are working.  Create milestone markers using short-term goals and use goals as feedback that your systems are working, not end points to the journey. Lastly, don’t forget to celebrate achieving a goal, but at the same time, focus on maintaining the system.

Examples of System-Based Goal Setting

When going through the process of setting up your goals and systems, this goes beyond the scale.  Make your goals realistic and remember to make sure they work within your wellness systems. 

Some examples of what I did to start was, I took my meals to work at least 5 days a week, then upped it to only going out at work once every two weeks.  I also set a goal to walk at least 30 minutes a day for 5 days a week.  Now, I do some form of intentional movement at least once a day for 30 minutes. Another was to try to practice yoga or meditation for a stress-free response practice.  I’m still working at staying consistent with this one.

Measuring System Success

Throughout the process of building your systems, remember that it’s not just the outcomes, it’s about how consistent you are staying.  You may not always see the outcomes but may feel or notice them in other ways. 

Practice some form of journalling or tracking so you are able to note and make improvements.  You can also determine what is and is not working, then adjust.  You can do this without journaling, but this makes it less stressful.  Lastly, this will help you recognize how you react in stressful situations.  When you know how you react, you can adjust to support your long-term goals.

Building Systems Lead to Healthy Habits and Long-Term Success

Building systems may sound overwhelming at first but start small and build on your successes.  If you stay consistent and stick to them even when you get off track, you will eventually develop healthy habits.  Small, consistent practices lead to long-term habits which help you reach your goals. Be patient, give yourself grace and adjust if it’s not working for you.

Next, we’ll go further into starting small and building up.