Time frames and rewards for milestone goals??

jennp1313
jennp1313 Posts: 29
in Getting Started
I'm curious to know how many people have set milestone goals, and if so, how successful you have been in reaching them. Additionally, how did you decide on realistic milestone goals? Did you do some sort of calculation, or just arbitrarily choose a number and time frame? I want to set milestones to encourage myself, but I don't want to inadvertently get frustrated instead if my milestone goals turn out to be unrealistic. I'm also looking for suggestions on how to reward oneself for meeting a milestone, when money is a bit scarce. In the past I've bought new clothes, but that won't be an option for me for awhile. What have you all done to reward yourselves? Thanks!

Replies

  • 4legsRbetterthan2
    4legsRbetterthan2 Posts: 19,590 MFP Moderator
    I have a goal weight for every month. I tried every 2 weeks but that is a little harder to work with since the scale can be finicky.... It is up to you what you use, you can do big days (birthday, vacation, holidays) or any frame of time you want.

    I find milestone goals really helpful in keepig me focused on my long term goal. Ususally I don't really do a big reward but you can make one; treat yourself to a shopping trip, or a day off, or a fun meal out, a new book, anything you want really.

    As long as you set your goals realistically it can be a great stratagy for large weight loss goals.
  • liftingandlipstick
    liftingandlipstick Posts: 1,857 Member
    Most of my goals I don't set a specific time frame for, simply because I don't know how long it will take. I have two tiers of goals:

    First is numbers, and those are easy enough to figure out. I even give myself a little wiggle room. Ex: I started with MFP on 2/27. My first number goal was 20 lbs by 4/15. That's just a little over 2 lbs per week, but I have a bunch to lose, and it tends to jump right off me at the beginning (can you tell I've done this before?) so it was doable.

    Numbers get boring for me pretty quickly. Don't get me wrong, I love stepping on the scale and seeing even a one lb loss, but setting the same type of goal repeatedly gets old, so . . .

    Second tier: tangible. I'm the type who has tons of old clothes in the closet that don't fit. So my next tangible goal is to be able to wear this gorgeous sheer white polka dotted non stretchy top that I have without looking like an overstuffed sausage. Then there's that amazing pair of jeans I've never been able to button up. And so on. If you don't have that kind of thing in your closet, hit up Goodwill for something you love that's just a touch too small- you won't be out much, and when it gets too big you can take it right back to them as a donation (along with the rest of your too-big clothes!) and pick out a new goal :)

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