ideal body fat percentage Goals

- James Stevenson (MSc, IEA) - Positive Psychology Coach

So you're thinking about aiming for your ideal body fat percentage...

I think showing an interest in your ideal body fat percentage can be a good sign. It means you care about yourself and your body, and you're trying to turn that care into action!

By looking at things now that may prevent certain problems later on, you are likely high in the character strength of perspective.

Setting a goal and taking action to improve your health is a massive contribution to yourself, to those around you, and to society in general.

It's never too late to start. What action can we take today?

What are you aiming for?

With all the wonderful variety in natural body shapes it's likely a good idea to have plenty of flexibility when we're measuring a healthy or ideal body fat percentage?

From a starting place of possibility and hope, while also holding a sense of realism, flexibility, and things that are unique about you, you can make a bold advance here. You can use the following charts as a rough guide while also considering the limitations by having a look at what different body fat percentages look like in reality with pictures.

Once you've decided on your goal, I'll help you get started below.

So what do you think is your ideal? What will you go for?

Going over your reasons again and again is motivational

Have you been able to tap into and harness the power of your motives? Of course there are likely multiple reasons that are relevant for you.

Do any of these typical reason's to move toward your ideal body fat % resonate? Which feel most important to you?

Want to be healthy
Want to lower stress
Want to improve mental health or mood
Want to have more energy
Want to reduce joint strain
Appearance
Want to be more flexible
Want to feel lighter and more agile
Want to lower your risk of heart-disease, type 2 diabetes etc
Want to improve back pain
Improve quality of sleep

Is there 3-5 in particular that really sum up your motivation... why this matters to you personally?

Having a clear sense of why this matters to you, combined with a concrete goal and initial plan of action will give you a solid start.

How to reach your ideal body fat % goal

I recommend getting started with the following two worksheets. The first one can be used to make sure your goal is SMART. Print it out and fill it in. This is the process to constructing your one sentence goal.

Your final goal will be a simple sentence like "To achieve ____ by ____" which you can write in the 2nd worksheet below.

Once you've decided on your goal statement, it's time for some planning

You can use this worksheet to start your planning. Things like preparing for obstacles, deciding first steps...

Once you've taken those first 5 steps and ticked them off, you can revisit this page and restart the process. As you move along, your goal may change, new obstacles may present themselves, and new steps will arise.

Good luck and feel free to get in touch for extra support.