What's your Health Goal Type?

Have you set any health goals?

Setting health goals is the very first thing you should spend time to do because it will give you clarity, purpose and direction. Don't allow your goal to control you, as you change so will your goals.

Do you step on the scale every morning and let that number that appears determine your mood and the amount of energy you have? That number is the only determining factor as to whether you are closer to achieving your goals. So many people torment themselves each day and live for a goal with no real plan in place or understanding how they can even start to work towards those goals. This is how most people set their health goals and it leads to overwhelming frustration and failure when they just can't seem to reach it.

How have you set your goals in the past? Have you just simply said "I want to lose X pounds?" Did you know your metabolism type and speed? did you set only one major goal or a number of short term goals? Did you have any real plan in place to work with? Was the number on the scale the only measurement you started with? Let's begin with understanding what Goal TYPE you are.

Understanding your goal type first will help set you on the right path of choosing the correct nutritional parameters. Not everyone is the same, that is why not all diets work for everyone. In this article you will learn your specific parameters that will set you on the path to reaching your health goals permanently. There are TWO main goal types. Which one best fits your needs?

Goal Type 1: Lose Body Weight/Body Fat & Tone up.This goal is the most common goal with the main focus being on losing body fat while toning up.

Goal Type 2: Gain Weight / Increase Strength / Build Muscle Mass. This goal is designed for people at a performance level. The main focus is to gain lean body mass, increase strength. If your body fat is higher than the performance level of health, it is recommended to start with Goal Type 1. Goal Type 2 is not designed to lose body fat, it's designed to increase or maintain it. Once your body fat falls within the performance level you can shift to Goal Type 2.

Regardless of what your goals are your internal results are the same for both goal types. Following the correct nutritional parameters that are based around your Goal Type will stabilize your blood sugar and create internal balance. Visit my article on "Mastering your meals to learn more. Both goal types will achieve an increase in energy, clearer focus, reduced sugar cravings, better quality sleep, lower stress, optimal digestion, an improved balance of hormones. An overall higher quality of health.

Once you have identified your goal type and have an understanding of what you want to achieve, it's time to put some time frames around your goals. Have you ever heard of the concept called the "Kaizen method"? Kaizen is a Japanese term defined as "continuous improvements in small increments" It's a method that works wonders when setting your health goals. Regardless of how long we have chosen to neglect our body when we hit our tipping point we feel the need to have our body fat leave immediately. We forget the core principles of progress and that the reality is that everything takes time. This usually results in setting BIG unrealistic goals which sets us up for failure, and we forget the meaning of "patience". We focus on the destination and forget about the journey we must take to get there! Imagine standing on a map with your current health being point A. Now visualize what you want your body to look and feel like placing your new confidence on the other side of the map at point Z (your long term goal) a long distance away. Now what if you set a few short term goals in place along the way creating a clear path to enable you to see continual progress on your way to your long-term destination. This mindset will allow you to have small win's along the way over and over again and the feeling of success will be achieved along this path towards your long term goal.

Think about driving across the country, since the distance is extremely lengthy you can approach it with 2 mindsets; the Kaizen mind-set or the "Big Goal" mind-set. If you focused on just the final destination to get there as soon as you possibly could it would be exhausting and you wouldn't enjoy it. You would be too tired to have fun. The Big Goal mind-set you live for the destination and because the experience is so unpleasant you end up not enjoying it. The Kaizen mind-set on the other hand you would plan stops along the way of places you can see and enjoy so you look forward to the journey on your way to your final destination. Embracing the Kaizen method mind-set is key to achieving success in reaching your long term goals permanently.

1. Enter your initial measurements in your chart below: weight, body-fat percentage, pounds of fat and pounds of lean body mass.
2. Set your short term goals. Using the chart above, take your starting weight drop about 2 lbs for every 1lb of body fat; for example losing 10 percent body fat means losing 20 lbs of weight. To achieve this result you would set a long term goal of 20 lbs and 10% body fat, along with a short term goal of 10lbs and 5% body fat. This ratio of weight to body-fat percentage will keep your body composition within a good range. One important note: your long-term goal must reach at least a Moderate level of health. (refer to the chart above)
3. Calculate the lbs of body fat & lbs of lean body mass for each goal set.
   Weight x (% body fat) = lbs of fat.
   
   Weight - (lbs of body fat) = lean body mass
4. 
   Remember this is an approximation; you may lose 14 lbs for every 5% of body fat. The important things are that you are confirming that the weight you are dropping is body fat and maintaining or increasing your lean body mass.

GOAL TYPE 1 TIME FRAMES:

• In order to achieve permanent results your body must be in homeostasis. You should begin to achieve your INNER health goals in and around the same time as you begin to achieve your OUTER health goals.
• If you are at an inflated weight (a weight higher than your average weight, you most likely will drop weight, body fat and inches quickly, until you reach your true weight otherwise known as your "set point"
• The average losses of weight, body fat and inches in the first 2 - 4 weeks following the Venice Nutrition (blood sugar stabilization) program.
  View article on FREE 8 Week Challenge available
  Lose 10-20 lbs of weight
  Drop 5%-10% in body fat
  Lose 2-4 inches in measurements
• Once your reach your set point, a weight that you usually get stuck at, the following list will provide you with reasonable short term goals.
  Lose 2-4 lbs every two weeks
  Drop 1%-2% body fat every 2 weeks
  Lose 0.5-1 inch per body part every 2 weeks

Calories per Meal: 250

Protein (40%) 25g

Carbs (35%) 22g

Fat (25%) 7g

Meal Intervals - 3-4 hours

Calories per Meal: 400

Protein (40%) 40g

Carbs (35%) 35g

Fat (25%) 11g

Meal Intervals - 3-4 hour

1. Enter your initial measurements in your chart below: weight, body-fat percentage, pounds of fat and pounds of lean body mass.
2. Set your short term goals. Using the chart above, take your starting weight and increase it by 2 lbs per column. Your body fat should remain the same and your weight should start to increase which means that your are gaining lean body mass.
3. Calculate the lbs of body fat & lbs of lean body mass for each goal set.
   Weight x (% body fat) = lbs of fat.
   
   Weight - (lbs of body fat) = lean body mass
4. Only those at a Performance level of health should focus on gaining weight.
5. It's important to give yourself a cushion of plus or minus 4 lbs and 2% body fat on your long term goal.

GOAL TYPE TIME FRAMES:

• In order to achieve permanent results your body must be in homeostasis. You should begin to achieve your INNER health goals in and around the same time as you begin to achieve your OUTER health goals.
• Due to the anabolic (growth) environment created for stable blood sugar levels and high quality protein, you should gain 2 - 4 lbs of weight quickly.
• Once your reach your set point, a weight that you usually get stuck at, the following list will provide you with reasonable progression every month.
  Gain 1-2 lbs every month until you reach your goal
  Gain inches in areas where you want to build muscle mass (measure these body parts on a monthly basis)

Calories per Meal: 300

Protein (35%) 26g

Carbs (35%) 26g

Fat (30%) 10g

Meal Intervals - 3-4 hours

Calories per Meal: 500

Protein (35%) 44g

Carbs (35%) 44g

Fat (30%) 16g

Meal Intervals - 3-4 hour