Mini goals

whatang

I started losing weight again on November 10, 2014. I weighed 232 lbs, up from 207 in 2012 after getting down from 242 in 2011. My original goal was to get down to 200, which seemed impossible when I started.

This time around I've made it all about the mini-goals. They're all made up and don't mean anything, but always just concentrating on losing the next 2-4 lbs is a lot easier than trying to lose 30+. Also, I'm a bit obsessive about numbers and this really helps me keep everything in context.

It seems to be working - I'm at 204 right now, so 200 seems really close. I've decided to stretch myself and aim to get down to a healthy BMI at 185. We'll see.

So here's what they were/are.

232 lbs - Starting weight. November 10, 2014.
224 - 16 stone. A stretching first mini-goal to convince myself that I can do this. December 2nd, 2014.
222 - 10 lbs down. December 5th, 2014.
220 - 100kg. December 16th, 2014.
218 - 1 stone down, BMI from obese -> overweight. January 19th, 2015. Christmas kind of screwed me...
212 - 20 lbs down. February 6th, 2015.
210 - 15 stone. 10 kg down. February 11th, 2015.
207 - Lowest weight in previous 10 years. February 24th, 2015.
204 - 2 stone down. March 3rd, 2015.
202 - 30 lbs down.
200 - Freakin' 200 lbs! Original goal weight.
198 - 90 kg.
196 - 14 stone.
192 - 40 lbs down.
190 - 3 stone down.
188 - 20 kg down.
185 - Healthy BMI.
182 - 50 lbs down.

Is 50 lbs impossible? Maybe. But if I get as far as 185, I'll sure as hell want to get to that 50 lbs mark, and at 188 the healthy BMI doesn't seem so far away, while at 190 getting to 20kg down seems totally doable... you get the picture. The point is that although before I was looking at 50 lbs and saying "That's too much, I can't do that" I've now got a picture in my head of how I'm going to get there. Right now I'm working on that 202, and then 200 will be just around the corner, and then....

It works for me. What are your mini-goals?

kelroberts21

I did this. Just consistently focused on the next 10 lbs. The funny part is, I'm now down to my original goal weight...and focused on the next 10 lbs! (I reassessed my goals as I got lower.) It definitely worked for me; I'm down 60 lbs. My next "weight" goal is 165, and then I'm going to go more by body fat % than weight since I lift pretty heavy and am trying to tone. So as far as that next goal: 22% (I'm at 24.7% now.)

Great job losing your weight!!

amandawaits39

I'm going to work on mini goals like you. That just seems a lot more doable. Great job and thanks for the inspiration! I'm down 26 lbs

Kittens08

Great Job.. Keep it up!

Liftng4Lis

Way to get it!

jmgj27

Congrats! I love a mini goal too! Next one for me is 220 (pre-pregnancy weight). 5.4lbs to go!

casshazelwood

Mini-goals are the way to go. I can't think about losing 100lbs, but I can definitely manage the 2lbs down to the next milestone.

whatang

amandawaits39 wrote: »

I'm going to work on mini goals like you. That just seems a lot more doable. Great job and thanks for the inspiration! I'm down 26 lbs

Great, I hope it helps! Keep at it, 26 lbs is excellent

mallen1

I'm working on mini goals too my aim is to lose 2lb a week which in a month could be up to 10lb. So far so good lost 11lb from end of jan til now

sballgirl23

What is your diet/exercise regimen? Great job btw.

whatang

sballgirl23 wrote: »

What is your diet/exercise regimen? Great job btw.

Thank you!

Nothing special, mostly just CICO. I've tried to stick with the MFP recommended calories for a 1.5 lbs/week loss, and make sure I get plenty of protein within that. For me that was about 1700 calories/day. I've actually been losing more like 2 lbs/week on that, and when MFP recommended that I revise my calorie goals this week the 1620 that it wanted me to stick to was too low, so I've now changed to the 1lb/week target. My diary is open if you want to look.

As well as the calorie counting, I've been trying to get a reasonable amount of exercise. I play football (soccer) once a week (and wow, it is great not carrying round an extra 2 stone while doing that now), and I took up running at the start of the year. I today ran my 75th mile - not a huge number, but given that on my first run on December 29th I could only run 1 mile before I had to stop I'm feeling pretty good about it. I usually eat back a fair number of my exercise calories, but there are some days when that just isn't possible. I don't worry about that too much.

Like I say, nothing special. But focusing on the mini goals means I don't ever feel like I'm having to do anything special. It's only a couple of pounds, right? I can do that!

whatang

mallen1 wrote: »

I'm working on mini goals too my aim is to lose 2lb a week which in a month could be up to 10lb. So far so good lost 11lb from end of jan til now

That's a fantastic start, well done