Fat Loss Timelines

nighthawk584

I like goals and have met many of them this year. The most important was reversing all my horrible lab numbers in 6 months and I accomplished that in Oct. My weight loss goal posts have moved several times. At first, I just wanted to lose 50 lbs. Now I am down 83 and on my way to 100 lb goal with increased weight lifting. It would be nice to hit the 100 lbs at my year anniversary in April, but this last 17lbs I am losing a lot slower and adjusting for maintenance.

mtaratoot

I'm in maintenance, so my goals are time-bound only by "forever." When I was losing, I was aiming for an end result and a rate of loss, so in a sense I had a time-line. The tough part was accepting the little setbacks that were bound to happen and that almost all of us certainly suffer.

I wonder if I would have had an easier time setting SMART or SMARTER goals. Both of those goal setting techniques use time-bound goals, but they also have some other aspects. SMART goals are:

1. Specific
2. Meaningful
3. Achievable
4. Realistic
5. Time-Bound

So yes, you set an end date when you expect to achieve your goals. Of course then you get to set new ones. But you have to put a lot of thought into your goal. Yes, you have a deadline, and in the case of losing weight, that means a time line. But you also need your goal to be achievable and realistic. That is perhaps really difficult for someone starting out. Who hasn't wanted their weight loss to be faster? Who hasn't set an unrealistic goal at some point? So if you are careful with your goal, you CAN put a timeline on it. For losing weight, that goal doesn't even have to be your final goal, and you can have more than one goal. You can achieve the smaller goals on the way to the bigger one. You get to be successful more often!

Then there's the rest of the story that's probably really important with a goal like attaining a healthy weight. A SMARTER goal is:

1. Specific
2. Meaningful
3. Achievable
4. Realistic
5. Time-Bound
6. Evaluated
7. Revised/Readjusted

Even while you are working toward your goal, you have the ability to see how you are moving towards success. If you notice that maybe your goal was a little too aggressive, you can CHANGE THE GOAL. Make it more realistic. Change ALL the goals you set, and then keep working towards them.

Or just focus on the end state and do what you can every day, no matter how long it takes. Having a deeper look at a desired end date makes you a little more accountable every day, but you also have to be kind to yourself because you WILL have days that you don't do things the way you want, and you will likely want to take a maintenance break along the way. As you do these, you will get better at setting your next goals.

Then, some day, you get to set your maintenance goal. That's not static either because you may end up revising your goal weight and your goal weight range up or down based on evaluating how it's working for you.

You can do this!