Weight loss goals: how to set realistic SMART goals you can actually reach

Weight loss goals: the short answer

Good weight loss goals combine one outcome you can live with and a few small actions you can repeat this week. For most people living with obesity, a sensible first outcome is to lose 5 to 10 % of their current weight.

The actions matter more than the number. A goal such as “a 15-minute walk after dinner on five days” gives you something to do tomorrow, while “lose 30 kilos” on its own gives you nothing to start with.

Does setting goals actually help? A meta-analysis by Epton and colleagues pooled 141 papers with 384 effect sizes and 16,523 participants, all from randomised trials. Setting a goal had a small but real effect on behaviour, with an effect size of 0.34.

That review covered many kinds of behaviour, not weight alone, so it shows that goals help people act, not how many kilos they lose. Goals worked best when they were challenging, set publicly or shared as a group goal.

So a goal is a tool, not a promise. Talk to your doctor first, then use the steps on this page to choose a goal, write it down and check it each week.

Outcome goals and behaviour goals: what you control

An outcome goal describes a result, such as a lower weight or a smaller waist; a behaviour goal describes an action, such as a daily walk. You decide the action every day, while the result depends on your body, your sleep, your medicines and time.

Both have a place. The outcome goal gives direction and a reason. Behaviour goals are the route, and they give you a win on days when the scale does not move.

Nothwehr and Yang surveyed 385 adults in rural Iowa twice, one year apart. People who set goals more often used more practical strategies for food and activity.

Goals aimed directly at eating or exercise predicted those strategies better than goals about weight loss in general. It was a survey, not a trial, but it fits common sense: a goal about walking gets you walking.

A third kind of goal is easy to forget: how life feels. Climbing the stairs without stopping, playing with a grandchild on the floor or sleeping through the night are goals you notice in your body long before a doctor measures anything.

A practical rule: keep one outcome goal in the background and put your daily attention on the behaviour goals. If you want ideas for what to record besides kilos, our page on tracking progress beyond the scale lists the options.

What is a realistic weight loss goal?

A realistic weight loss goal is one you can reach and then hold; for a first step that usually means 5 to 10 % of your present weight. For someone who weighs 110 kg (243 lb), that is 5.5 to 11 kg (about 12 to 24 lb).

Many people start with a much bigger number in mind. In a classic study, Foster and colleagues asked 60 women before treatment what they hoped to weigh. On average they weighed 99 kg (218 lb).

Their goal weight meant losing 32 % of their body weight, roughly 32 kg. A loss of 17 kg, about a sixth of their weight, was rated “disappointing”.

After 48 weeks of treatment they had lost 16 kg on average, an excellent result by medical standards. Yet 47 % had not even reached the weight they had called disappointing.

The lesson is not that they failed. The lesson is that the yardstick was unfair. A loss of 16 % is a large health gain, and judging it as a letdown can make people give up just when the hard work is paying off.

Why 5 % is already worth aiming for is explained on our page about safe weight loss per week. To turn the percentage into kilos or pounds for your own body, use the weight loss percentage calculator.

If you want to see a goal weight and an estimated date, the weight loss calculator does that. The healthy weight calculator shows the range for your height as background, not as a must.

Is it bad to have a big goal?

No, a big goal is not harmful in itself, as long as you also plan the next small step. The research on this question is reassuring and a little surprising.

Linde and colleagues asked 302 women in a weight-loss trial about their goal weight and their dream weight. On average the goal meant losing 24 % and the dream 30 % of their weight, far more than most programmes achieve.

Yet these high hopes were not linked with psychological distress. Women with bigger goals expected to work harder and to gain more from it, and their goals were only weakly related to how much they lost.

The only clear link pointed the other way: a bigger dream loss went with more weight lost at 18 months. The authors concluded that unrealistic goals were not a strong enough problem to tell people to lower them.

A systematic review by Crawford and Glover of 13 studies came to a cautious view. Most findings were unclear, the link between early expectations and weight loss seemed to change over time, and the studies on regain suggested no link with high expectations.

So keep your dream if it inspires you. Write it at the top of the page, then put this week’s small goal right under it, because that is the part you can act on today.

SMART goals for weight loss, with examples

A SMART goal is specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound, which makes it clear enough to do and to check. Each letter asks one simple question about your goal.

• Specific: what exactly will you do, and when or where?
• Measurable: how will you know you did it: minutes, days, portions or glasses?
• Achievable: could you manage it on a tired, busy day, with your body as it is now?
• Relevant: does it link to your reason for losing weight and to your health?
• Time-bound: by when, or for how many days this week?

Pearson reviewed 18 community programmes for adults with overweight or obesity that used goal setting for food and activity. Common features were goals that were specific, close in time, chosen together with the person and followed by regular feedback.

Because those programmes also included other parts, such as lessons and food records, the review could not say which ingredient did the most. Still, the pattern is useful: small, concrete, near-term goals that you help to choose.

When SMART is not the whole answer

SMART is a handy memory aid, not a law. A critical review by Swann and colleagues points out that the acronym was not built on scientific theory, is applied in many different ways and can even carry a risk of unhelpful effects.

One practical reading: for a complete beginner, a fixed target that turns out too hard can feel like failure. In the first weeks an open goal, such as “see how far I can walk comfortably in 10 minutes”, can work better. Once you know your starting point, make it specific.

Bailey, in a review on goal setting for health, suggests looking at the kind of goal, not only its size. A goal can be about doing something (“eat fruit after lunch”) or avoiding something (“no more chocolate”), and about learning a skill or reaching a performance number.

Thinking about these features, and how hard the goal is, can help you pick one that suits you and that you can manage. If a “stop” goal keeps slipping, try rewriting it as a “do” goal and see whether it works better for you.

Weight loss goal examples for every part of life

The best goal examples cover more than food: drinks, walking, strength, sleep, support and your health checks all count. Choose one or two areas to start, not all seven at once.

For walking, our 12-week walking plan for weight loss builds from a few minutes upward, so you do not need to invent the steps yourself. For strength, the free workout videos start at a level that suits a heavier body.

Family goals count too. Cooking one new vegetable dish together, or a short walk after the evening meal with the people you live with, helps everyone at home and makes your goal easier to keep. If you observe Ramadan, set goals that fit the fasting month and pick up your usual goals afterwards.

When the changes begin to show in clothes and in other people’s eyes is the topic of our page on how long it takes to notice weight loss.

Short-term and long-term goals: build a ladder

A goal ladder links small weekly goals to a monthly check, a six-month outcome and, finally, keeping the weight off. Each rung is close enough to reach, and together they lead to the big goal.

1. Weekly: one to three behaviour goals, such as walking minutes or vegetables at dinner. Review them every seven days.
2. Monthly: look at the four-week trend of your weight or waist, and at how many behaviour goals you kept.
3. Six months: your first outcome goal, often 5 to 10 % of your starting weight.
4. Holding steady: a planned period of keeping your new weight before you decide on a next step.

Here is how the ladder can look in numbers. Someone who starts at 110 kg sets a first outcome goal of 5 %, which is 104.5 kg. At around half a kilo a week, that takes about 11 weeks, though real progress is rarely that even.

Planning a time of holding steady is a goal in itself, not a pause in effort. Keeping weight off asks for its own skills; our page on why weight comes back and how to keep it off explains what helps.

If you like to work with a daily calorie target, the calorie deficit calculator gives a gentle starting figure. Treat that number as a guide, and let your behaviour goals do the daily work.

What to do when you miss a goal

When you miss a goal, make it smaller rather than dropping it, and keep the direction the same. A goal you reach on five days out of seven does more for you than a perfect plan you abandon.

Start by asking what got in the way: was the goal too big for this week? Was the timing wrong, for example a walk planned for an evening when you were always tired? Or did something unusual happen, such as illness or a family crisis?

Then adjust one thing. Shorten the walk, move it to the morning or swap the day. Write the new version down and try it for another week.

Do not make every goal easy, though. In the meta-analysis by Epton and colleagues, goals that asked for real effort changed behaviour more than easy ones. Aim for a goal that feels like a stretch but still possible on a normal day.

To link a goal to a fixed moment in your day, read how to turn goals into if-then plans. To let one behaviour grow week by week until it runs by itself, see our guide to weight loss habits.

If you keep your goals for several weeks and the scale still does not move, look at the practical causes on our page about not losing weight. Missing goals now and then is normal; a long standstill deserves a closer look, and perhaps a chat with your doctor.

Should you share your weight loss goals?

Sharing a goal with someone you trust tends to help, because a goal that someone else knows about is harder to quietly forget. In the meta-analysis by Epton and colleagues, goals set in public and goals shared by a group both worked better.

Sharing does not mean posting your weight online. It can be as small as telling your partner you will walk after dinner, or agreeing with a friend to send each other a message every Sunday.

Group goals can be fun: a family step total for the week, or a walking group that aims for a set distance together. Our page on finding a weight loss buddy explains how to ask someone and what to agree on.

Choose people who are kind about setbacks. If a remark about your body would follow a missed goal, keep that goal private and share it with someone else instead.

In your free Obesity Foundation Club account you can write down your goal and log your workouts, privately or to show someone you choose.

When a weight number is the wrong goal

For some people, a goal on the scale is not a good idea right now, and goals about behaviour or health are the safer choice. In these situations, set your goals together with your care team.

• Pregnancy and breastfeeding: weight goals belong with your midwife or doctor; healthy food and gentle walking goals can still fit.
• A past or current eating disorder: numbers can trigger old patterns, so focus on regular meals and support.
• Older age or frailty: keeping muscle and strength may matter more than kilos.
• Medicines that change your weight: some medicines make weight loss slower; do not stop or change them yourself.
• Serious illness or recovery from surgery: healing first, weight goals later.

The healthy weight calculator page explains more about mind, medicines and weight targets. If food, the scale or your body cause you a lot of worry, psychological support can help you set goals that feel safe.

Structured programmes often include goal setting with a professional. Our page on the behaviour part of lifestyle treatment describes what that looks like.

Talk to your doctor first before starting a new eating or exercise plan, especially if you have diabetes, heart or lung problems, high blood pressure, painful joints, or if you take regular medicines. Your doctor can tell you which goals suit your health today.

Your free 12-week weight loss goal worksheet

This worksheet gives you one behaviour goal per week, a way to check it and a question to review at the end of the week. Talk to your doctor first, then copy the table into a notebook or print this page.

Write your outcome goal and your main reason at the top of the page before you begin. For example: “Lose 5 % in six months, so I can walk to the market without stopping.”

Fill in the “Days done” column honestly. A week with three days out of five is a good week to build on, not a reason to start again from zero.

At week 12, look at the whole sheet at once. Most people find that a few goals have become part of daily life, and those are the foundation for your next twelve weeks.

Free help to set goals and lose weight with good food and walking

At Obesity Foundation we help people lose weight and get healthier with good food, suitable exercise and walking. We can help you choose goals that fit your body and your life, and everything we offer is free.

• Your own eating plan with filling, everyday meals, so your food goals are ready to use. Ask for your free eating plan.
• Exercise videos at the Start, Build and Strong levels, so a strength goal always has a session to match. Get the free workout videos.
• A free video meeting (in English) to talk through your first goals and what to do when a week goes wrong. Book a free video meeting.
• A Club account to write down your goal and log your workouts at no cost. Join the Obesity Foundation Club.

New to all of this? Our step-by-step guide on how to lose weight shows where goals fit into the bigger plan. Once your doctor agrees, write down one goal for tomorrow.