Why goals without a system will not help you lose weight

It is a common belief that to lose weight, all you need to do is set a SMART goal.

While this is true to some extent it is not the whole truth. While setting goals is important in your search to lose weight (or to achieve anything for that matter), setting a goal isn’t enough.

You need a system to help you get there.

This explains why people continue to set the same goals year after year and never achieve them.

You probably have many goals that you’ve never achieved, despite your good intentions or hard work. Or maybe you’re still procrastinating about your goals. Either way, the reason you’re struggling is that you don’t have a system.

What is a system?

A system is a way of working, organising or doing something that follows processes and plans to achieve a goal. Systems can comprise other smaller systems or subsystems that work together as part of a whole. 

You probably already use systems in your workplace. For example, you would follow processes around when you have your breaks, how long your breaks are, what to do if you’re sick, what to do if you’re late when you get paid, and how much you get paid.

Systems are everywhere and enable us to maximise results with minimal stress. Systems give us clarity around what is important and show us the necessary steps we need to take to solve challenges and achieve goals. 

Many businesses understand the power that systems can have. Unfortunately, individuals are often resistant to using structured systems themselves because they believe that it will limit or confine them.

However, failing to implement structure into your life will mean that you’ll never achieve all the things you say you want to achieve. And that includes losing weight.

What happens if you don’t have a weight loss system?

Without a system, your weight loss goals will never become a reality. 

It’s one thing to know where you want to go, but if you don’t know how to get there, you’ll only go around in circles. This explains why so many people go on diet after diet — they’re too busy focusing on the result and are unaware of the individual actions and processes they need to take to help them reach their goal. When one diet doesn’t work, they change to another one, hoping that one will work, which of course doesn’t, and so they look for another.

It’s a bit like driving from Point A to B. Would you go without directions, without a road map? And if you had a map, would you ignore the milestones marked along the way, and do your own thing? Of course not! If you did, chances are you may never get to your destination, and if you did, it would be by sheer luck, plus it would take you a lot longer than usual to get there.

That’s exactly what happens when you set weight loss goals and don’t have a weight loss system to follow. Other problems associated with just focusing on your goal include:

• Doing too much (i.e. training like an athlete) instead of focusing on what will give you the best results 
• Focusing on the wrong things (i.e. diet and exercise) instead of working on your habits
• This is likely to lead to injury and burnout or feeling overwhelmed and giving up
• Comparing yourself with other people instead of focusing on yourself
• Copying what other people are doing instead of what’s right for you
• Lack of consistency due to acting on your emotions and relying on willpower to do things
• Constantly questioning yourself, overthinking and wondering if what you’re doing is ‘right’
• Jumping from one diet to another only compromises your metabolism and takes a toll on your physical and mental health
• Always guessing on the best action to take. Mixing and matching bits and pieces of other diet programs to try to work out the ‘perfect’ diet
• Not recording data to determine what works and what doesn’t work
• Lack of awareness about what you need to work on, and therefore lack of clarity on the right actions you need to take
• Feeling stressed, which will significantly impact your weight loss
• Lack of structure in your week means you never have enough time to do the things to help you lose weight (e.g. do your workouts, go for your walks, and do weekly food prep)

How does a system help you lose weight?

The right weight loss system is a powerful tool to help you lose weight. Here’s why.

You’ll always know what to do

A system will outline the steps you need to take in order for you to keep progressing. This removes the guesswork which means that you will be working on the things that will make the biggest difference to your weight. This will keep you focused on your action steps and will help you stop comparing yourself and copying what other people are doing. Knowing what to do also reduces stress and makes the process of losing weight a lot easier.

It helps you develop new habits

The right system will give you the right action steps to help you develop new habits that will support long-term weight loss. Contrary to popular belief, it’s not food and exercise that has the biggest influence over your weight — it’s your mindset and habits. By addressing the habits that led to your weight gain, and developing new habits, you’ll be able to lose weight and keep it off.

It helps you be consistent so you get results

The best and fastest weight loss results come when you’re consistent. This doesn’t mean getting it right all the time. It means working on making progress every day, even if your progress is small, and even if you stuff up and make mistakes. A lot of people think that losing weight is all about making BIG changes, but the truth is the power is in taking lots of small actions consistently. Following the small daily and weekly action steps outlined in your weight loss system will lead to increased consistency and better results. Note, that consistency doesn’t mean perfection. It just means doing your best on any given day. 

You won’t need to rely on willpower

When you follow a system, you won’t need to rely on willpower. Too many people let their emotions get the better of them and they pick and choose what they do based on how they feel. An example of this is skipping your early morning workout because you feel too tired, or unmotivated. Willpower is a short-term measure that requires self-control, determination and hard work, which is why it never lasts. However, if your structured weight loss system specifies that you train early in the mornings, then you’ll stick to your early morning training sessions regardless of how you feel because doing so is part of the system. 

You won’t sabotage yourself

Self-sabotage is a big problem for many people trying to lose weight. You can read more about this in our blog self-sabotage. Weight loss sabotage occurs when you make decisions based on your emotions. However, a system removes the emotional element of weight loss and instead maps out the simple steps you need to take. When you know the right steps, you’ll find that you’ll be able to take the right actions — actions that are based on common sense, rather than actions that are based on your emotions.

It is not overwhelming

Let’s use the analogy of driving from Point A to B. While the goal is B, there are lots of other things you need to pass through along the way first in order to get there. You just don’t get straight to B. Instead, you aim for the first milestone, knowing that if you stick to the route, you’ll eventually make it to B. Losing weight is the same. Too many people focus on the result which can seem overwhelming, especially if you have a lot of weight to lose. However, when you have a step-by-step action plan, all you need to do is follow the single steps in the plan and focus on the journey. If you stick to the system, weight loss will take care of itself.

It helps create awareness of the things you need to work on

A system will also allow you to collect data, which creates awareness of what is working and what is not. Action steps that are difficult to complete highlight the habits that you need to work on. For example, if you find it hard to make time for your weekly food prep, this may indicate that you need to work on prioritising yourself or getting rid of your people-pleasing habit to find the time. Without awareness, you’ll always work on the wrong things, which won’t give you the results you’re looking for.

It allows you to continually progress and get results

Having a weight loss system allows you to continually make progress without getting stuck. When you are aware of the habits you need to work on, you’ll always have the right steps to take. When you know the steps you need to take, you’ll always take the right action. And when you take the right action, you’ll get results.

Takeaway

Setting a SMART goal is important for weight loss but it is pretty much useless if you do not have a weight loss system in place.

If you don’t have a weight loss system, you’ll continue to go around in circles, focusing on the wrong actions, and never reaching your goals.

A weight loss system helps you lose weight by removing the emotion and guesswork often associated with dieting.

Our exclusive Habit and Accountability Tool which is an integral part of our system, gives you clarity around what you need to do and clarity gives you power.

When you know what to do, when to do it, and how to do it, you’ll remove all the emotions associated with weight loss and you’ll always get results.

How I work with you.