Meeting your goals

taniahboo

So what is best? Setting your self a major goal. Or setting yourself little goals until you reach ur desired weight?
I need to loose ALOT OF WEIGHT! But I dont know how to go about doing this. I also plan on exercising at home any suggestions?

edgehollow2

I think its best to have smaller goals and one long term goal. That way you feel some accomplishment as you meet each goal. Having your goal weight as your only goal can be a bit overwhelming!

DoryG

For me several small manageable goals work best.

dixiechicdana

A lot of people set mini goals. I didn't. I have about 70 pounds to lose and thats the goal. I am happy evertime I lose a pound though. Mini goals seem to help people stay on track more though because it takes a while to reach the ultimate goal.

MaryDreamer

I took my cue from what I was seeing here at MFP which was several mini-goals, that way you can celebrate at each milestone!

lutzsher

If you have a lot to lose it is best to break it up as the "whole" can seem really overwhelming. I actually had to go on the "one day at a time" philosophy for quite a while myself. That really helped me be accountable as I figured that anyone could stay determined and maintain your good habits for only one day. Every morning I would get up and promise myself to remain dedicated for that day only.
When I hit a rough patch I revert back to this, has helped me a lot!

Sarahr73

I like the smaller goals. You get to feel good everytime you meet one. I have 5 goals, which is what I want to lose broken up into 4 parts and then the goal to fit into my clothes from last year.
For the home workouts, I got a mini stair stepper. It is easy to store and I really enjoy doing it. But, I carry most of my weight in my thighs and butt and I notice a difference in a few weeks from it. I have also read about people doing P90X and 30 day shred. I say look at some options and narrow it down and then look more thoroughly at your final options. Be realistic on which one you would actually do though (I have a bunch of workout dvds I don't even use).
Good luck!

Mrz_Rich

I think it's whatever you're comfortable with. When I started MFP I set my goal at 50 lbs. knowing that I need to lose more. As I have lost I upped it to 75 lbs. but I'm sure the closer I get to that I will up it again. For me it's discouraging looking at the big #'s...as soon as I see them I wonder how long it's going to take. As far as the mini-goals...I have them, I just don't have them posted. 30 lbs. is my first mini-goal...it's a tanning package cuz this girl needs some color before it gets warm out!!

BrandNewMia

I do both. I have my overall goal set at a loss of 120lbs, but I will set my own mini-goals as I go along. I think I am going to reach my first mini-goal tomorrow when I do my weekly weigh-in, I am SO excited, it will be a week early if I do it!

At first I didn't set any mini-goals, and I questioned the point of it. But a couple weeks ago I sat down and calculated where I would be if I stayed on track, and I was pleased to see that by my wedding anniversary I could reach the weight I was when my husband and I first met. So, in order to keep myself on track, I set my first mini-goal - my birthday is coming up, and I wanted to be out of the 230's for that.

My next mini-goal will be for a friend's wedding in May. She's an old coworker and there will be a lot of people there that I know so I want to look good and shock some people! So I will aim for another 10lbs lost by then.

It's easier for me to look at my mini-goals, at this point. It is really daunting to think of losing 120lbs (I mean, my own SISTER weighs 120lbs, and that's how much I want to lose!), so the mini-goals help me stay focused. I have already told myself that if I DON'T reach my mini-goals by the deadlines I set, I will NOT be disappointed in myself, because I know how hard I am working. It's just something to shoot for and it keeps me motivated. Reaching my goal weight seems kind of unattainable at times, but I already KNOW I can lose 10lbs, so it's less stressful for me to think about.

Bunny711

I really like the one day at a time approach.
As for myself I have several small goals reaching up the the large number. I have just over 100 pounds to lose and my goals are set to 230 (the smallest I can remember being), 199 (to be in ONE-derland), 160 (to have the last ten pounds) and my main goal of 150 to join the Navy. It can be hard looking at that huge number and seeing little loses each week.

JenCM

I'm all for small goals. Because every other time I've tried to lose weight, I've focused on the big number. Which at one time was the amount of weight I've already lost! But I'd focus on that number so much, I'd get overwhelmed and discouraged and eat another 40 lbs onto myself.
I know overall I have about 200 lbs I wanted to lose at the start (to get to my temp goal weight area where I decide if I want to lose more or I like where I am there) and now I'm about at 120 lbs left. It's been easier for me to set 15 lb goals and just work at that.
It's working sooo much better for me personally.