What are your thoughts on goals?

Annerea

My current mini goal is to lose 10lbs by the end of Feb. My first goal was 5 lb by the end of Jan, which I got.

I wanted to make my next goal realistic, and given that Feb is a short month, I thought 5 lbs more would be achievable.

Well, I'm 1lb off getting the mini goal now, and I don't feel like it's enough of an achievement to warrant celebrating. I was thinking maybe I should make it 1 stone by the end of Feb, which would mean I had 5lbs more to lose in 2 weeks, which is a bit ambitious...

Is a realistically achievable goal better than an ambitious one???

mjcrothers

Definately realistic is better than unrealistic. You need to feel like you are achieving something and if you keep setting goals you are going to fail than you might get disappointed and quit.

All the best!!

lulabellewoowoo

Why not reward yourself for those 5 lb? That's great. Make it like a pedicure or manicure or a new book (something non-food related). You deserve it. How about just making it 7 lb for the month instead of 10? 2 lb in the next weeks might be doable. Or better yet, be ecstatic about reaching your goal so early and maybe the rest of the month's goal not so much weight loss, but maybe fitness goal, or inches lost. Those can be inspiring too. You are doing great!!!

backinthenines

Hello fellow Northern Numpty,

Southern Softie here. :flowerforyou:

Why don't you as a matter of principle do as best as you can (both in terms of food & exercise) each month, and just take what you can get.

My personal goals were not about an arbitrary set amount of weight each month, it was more about certain principles, like:

- getting up earlier and adding 3 mornings a week at the gym to my usual routine and not to bail out of training sessions
- eating more lean protein (I have a daily protein goal)
- getting stronger (I have mini goals for increasing my barbell squats, press ups etc)

And when you put all that together... out pops the weight loss as by magic. :drinker:
Sometimes it's better than the week before, sometimes a bit less... but it's all cool.

lesley1981

I had started off my weightloss journey focusing too much on weightloss goals. I was actually stressing towards the end of the month when I still had 2lbs to go!

I decided to change my goals to incorporate fitness and measurements, and found that it worked much better for me!

Annerea

I always think I work better with goals. I think it's just my personality type - I like to know that I've achieved something and know what I'm working towards.

My reward for the first goal was a pedicure - they obviously have to be non-food related!!

backinthenines

Whatever works for you!!

As long as you can recognise that achieving 9lb out of a goal of 10lb is a success, rather than interpreting it as a failure because you were 1lb short!

ingeborgv

I try to make my mini-goals less about numbers/weight and more about action/behavior. My mini-goals so far have been in the "no alcohol before Feb 15" and "five times a week at the gym" category.

But I am a huge believer in goals! I need that kind of challenge to keep me going. And rewards... mmmm, rewards.... I have a pedicure coming up as a prize for reaching my January goals.