Keeping it simple

StargazerB

Happy New Year! Last year I really struggled with motivation. Thankfully I was able to continue to maintain my weight. But I kept giving myself too many goals and didn't meet any of them. I had a hard time sticking with any kind of plan and often felt terrible with myself for this. This year I just want to keep it simple. I have an upper weight limit that if I hit it, I will then have to work on losing. Other than that I just want to maintain my weight, exercise at least 3x a week (I'm not planning on following a program at this time), walk every day, and eat mindfully. I want to focus on loving myself and longevity. Is anyone else "planning" on telling it fairly simple?

jenncornelsen

I've broken mine down to simple monthly goals( i already have an established workout routine)
January- gallon of water a day
- no refined sugar( my weakness)

Febuary I'm planning to work on my fruit and veggie intake. I also find if i set too many goals i get overwhelmed

AnnPT77

I've never been very goal-motivated; for most of my life I've instead focused on taking advantage of opportunities, and making habits.

2020 will start year 5 of maintenance. I'd like to verrrry slowly lose a little bit more.

Routinely, I "calorie bank": Eat a bit under maintenance most days, to have an indulge-y day once a week or so. I've been pursuing the slow loss for the last few months mostly by reducing the frequency and magnitude of indulgence; and a little bit by leaving a few extra calories uneaten, when it's especially easy, on some routine days. Other than a closer-to-level weight period around my November birthday though holidays, it's working fine.

On the exercise front, I usually try to do something fun/active or extra-active/productive most days of the week (strive for 6, though I'm a bit less active in Winter).

I've never been one for NY resolutions: To me, it makes more sense to make life changes when a particular change seems ripe for picking, instead of on an arbitrary date.

That's pretty simple, I think.

kristen8000

My goals is to weigh in 1x a week (preferably Sunday) for all of 2020. If the scale reads 153 and above I need to get back to a calorie deficient. Some of you may think "Well, that's easy", but if I have 'bad weeks" I avoid the scale. So much that one day everything in my closet is loose, then months later it's too small - just like that. I have a history of getting to my current weight (or under) and regaining 15-20lbs without even noticing.

I'd like to add more activity in my life in 2020, but I'm not sure how that looks yet.

NovusDies

My longer term health goals are mostly vague. If it were a road trip I would not have a goal to get to a specific destination like San Diego it would be more like go to west. Along the way if I see a sign on the road for world's largest hourglass 10 miles ahead I might may decide to make that a short range goal. Since my goal is to go west I accomplish it each day I head in that direction.

My apple watch informs me that based on my December habits my January achievement goal is to average about 50 minutes of exercise each day for the month. That seems reasonable so it is a short range goal in my longer term goal of improving fitness.

suesseals

I lost 7.5 stone in 2014 and have done well to maintain this until the last 12 months. I have put on 1.5 stone which I am now determined to lose as the last time I weighed 149lb was in 2014. The slow steady creep is awful and it stops me from thriving with happiness. So great advice on here for 2020. Keep it simple. A few months below my calorie goal (by logging on MFP every day) with healthy simple home cooked fruit veg and some protein and I will be back to where I want to be - probably only one stone lighter and very very much happier with less self doubt!

elisa123gal

Over the years I've come to a point where I feel setting a goal almost makes a person think they've achieved the goal. Goal setting and getting pumped up creates a false sense of victory.

I'm harsh on this..because after truly losing weight and doing the work.. you just have to do the hard work to get the great stuff you want. That applies to all aspects of life; work, relationships, material goals, and fitness weight goals. It isn't easy.. and just friggin do the time and work to get what you want ..or don't.

NovusDies

elisa123gal wrote: »

Over the years I've come to a point where I feel setting a goal almost makes a person think they've achieved the goal. Goal setting and getting pumped up creates a false sense of victory.

I'm harsh on this..because after truly losing weight and doing the work.. you just have to do the hard work to get the great stuff you want. That applies to all aspects of life; work, relationships, material goals, and fitness weight goals. It isn't easy.. and just friggin do the time and work to get what you want ..or don't.

This is another reason I like vague master goals. They can't really be accomplished and setting them is really just adding a new label to yourself. For me improving health and fitness is no different than choosing to be a hygienic person. My daily routine to improve my health and fitness is the same as taking a shower, brushing my teeth, shaving, etc.

Master goals set the direction but the process is what drives you forward. I would rather focus on the process and let the goals take care of themselves.

Short-range goals, for me, are just for additional spice. I am going to do the process anyway but if there is a way to add a little hot sauce to it, it makes it more fun. There is nothing wrong with a little competition as long as it is not the only thing driving me and I don't push myself much harder than I would have normally.

apullum

My primary goal is to consistently be within my maintenance range every morning when I weigh myself. If I'm not in my range, I ask myself why that is, and take action if needed to fix it. Being at or over the top of my maintenance range does not necessarily mean I should change anything. Almost always, it's because I ate restaurant food recently and I'm seeing normal water/waste fluctuations, so I don't need to do anything other than my normal routine. However, I also log all my food as accurately as possible; folks who aren't doing that may approach the scale differently.

If I see a weight on the scale each morning that's in range, then I've already accomplished a big goal for the day. It feels good to accomplish something important seconds after I wake up.

My other relevant goals are fitness related, like beating my half marathon PR and not re-injuring myself in the process. Those translate into concrete, routine actions (i.e., sticking to my training schedule as much as possible).

I think the key to both of these things is creating routines/habits/patterns/however you want to think of them. The human brain, generally speaking, loves patterns. If you have a habit of going to the gym every other morning at 6 am, for example, most people are more likely to do that than they would if they just planned to work out three times that week. So I would actually recommend that you have some training plan, even if your plan is as simple as "30 minutes on the elliptical every M/W/F at 6 am."

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RCPV

Why were the last two posts by @NovusDies and @apullum flagged? Seemed like good advice to me and nothing inappropriate was said that I could see.

NovusDies

RCPV wrote: »

Why were the last two posts by @NovusDies and @apullum flagged? Seemed like good advice to me and nothing inappropriate was said that I could see.

I would not worry about it. I think some people hit it by accident and other times it is because my common sense sometimes offends people who want to think some fad out there is magik so they randomly flag me. It does not bother me.

tuckerrj

I keep it very simple. I drew a line in the sand at 195 lbs. If I weigh more that, I eat below maintenance until I'm below 195 again. Can't get much simpler than that.

sijomial

Regarding goals as they have been mentioned many times in this thread.....
If people have done any phycological profiling (Belbin for me) they will realise people are very different as regards the importance, motivation from and compliance to, goals. You really do need to know yourself and do what works for you as there isn't one way or one response to achieving a goal.

There are a huge motivator for me and I get a lot of satisfaction from ticking them off but that doesn't mean "I'm done" when I got to goal weight. It made me feel good but I then set a new goal to maintain in a certain range - same determination and importance.
It's the same for the many fitness goals I tend to have on the go at any one time, some big, some trivial, some probably beyond my reach but I still get a reward from trying.

But they are performance goals and not behavior goals as that doesn't work for me. A performance goal drives my behavior to attain that performance but things like "exercise 3 times a week" simply doesn't inspire me. I don't exercise - I train towards an outcome and it's the outcome that drives me to exercise the required amount of time.

Katmary71

Aside of maintaining my weight my goals are fitness-related. I saw a bullet journal and decided to try it and I'm awful at journaling! I just started some new cardio and yoga so on Sunday nights I make goals for the week with checkboxes for strength training, cardio, and yoga and check boxes off each day I do them. The one I saw had rewards for boxes checked but I'm still thinking on those, I'd rather hit larger amounts for a Fitbit and air fryer plus new clothes can't wait. I also have goals about increasing weights and stairs climbed on the stair treadmill both short and longterm.

rainbow198

Keeping it simple and being kind to myself has helped me to maintain my 80 pound loss for the past 6 and a half years.

I plan my meals and loosely track my calories in my food/exercise journal. I don't deprive myself of foods/treats that I want. I save some calories during the week for the weekend when I go out and/or bake a tasty dessert at home. I do exercises that I enjoy. Overall I have a good balance of living life and staying fit and healthy.

Also the following helps me to maintain and keeps me from getting bored:

• Working on fitness goals and continuously working on improving
• Trying new sports, exercise and activities
• Experimenting with new foods and recipes
• Buying new toys, workout dvd's and fitness equipment for my home gym
• I try to improve my NEAT by taking stairs instead of an escalator, parking further and walking, pacing etc.
• Also I have a larger weight maintenance range which helps me mentally

For me the most important part is to keep going. Whether I'm on vacation, it's my birthday, anniversary or if it's a regular Tuesday I plan, track, exercise/move. Everyday. Also I check in with myself often and try to stay balanced.

Good luck! It sounds like you have a good plan there.

kenthepainter2

My goal- I want my clothes to fit better , 2 holes on my belt to go !

StargazerB

Thanks for all the replies! I have decided to add in some fitness based goals but they aren't aesthetic at all, which is where all my problems were coming from. I want to improve my push up and my chin up reps and maybe I'll go for a freestanding handstand (that was a goal from last year that I have up on).

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