Setting Goals

anniesmomjlr

Hello! I was wondering if some of you could give me a couple ideas about setting goals. All I have is one big goal; to lose 100 pounds and get myself another tattoo!

It seems like such a BIG goal, I need to think of some smaller rewards for 10, 20 pounds lost. Thanks for any advice you can share!

So glad I found this site. : )

wbgolden

I have no idea why, but I set my goals 9 pounds at a time, weight wise. As far as exercise, I set mileage goals.

ShellyMacchi

i love using mini goals (every 10 pounds)

My daughter (she is also here in mfp) and i decided to use 'troll bead' type charm beads as a tangible mini goal, a new one for every 10 lbs lost. They can be worn all the time if we want *S* and are visual reminders to ourselves how far we have come and besides, we love the charm beads and it's incentive to earn the next bead!

elizabeth135133

Try percentages.
Shoot for loosing 10% in 5 weeks. (That is 10 pounds in 5 weeks, 2 pounds a week)
Once you reach that goal, shoot for loosing another 10% in 4 1/2 weeks (That is 9 pounds in 4 1/2 weeks)
Then keep going, shortening the length of time each time so that you're losing at a consistent but healthy rate. It breaks your goal up into reasonable chunks. I used to get so overwhelmed at how much I had to lose (157 lbs) so that I put it off for many years. Breaking it up into smaller chunks makes it not so overwhelming.

audjrey

The key to goal setting is to begin with your big picture, which you already know, so you're halfway there.

Now you need to decide a timeline. So say, for example, you want to give yourself one year to lose 100 pounds. Get out a calendar and circle that date one year from now as your final weigh in date.

Still working with that number of one year, now you need to divide 12 months into 100 pounds. This will give you approximately 8.33 pounds to lose each month for the next 12 months to achieve your goal.

Now let's reduce this number further to help you decide what you need to lose each week. 8.33 divided by 4 weeks gives you a total of 2.08 pounds a week. Now that you know what you need to lose each week, you can build your caloric intake accordingly.

3,500 calories equals one pound of body fat. And because you need to lose a little over 2 pounds a week, you'll need to strive to reduce your caloric intake by 3,500 and burn off 3,500 (if you plan to exercise, which I highly advise), OR you need to reduce your weekly caloric intake by 7,000 calories.

When you look at the numbers I think you'll agree it's much easier to reduce by 3,500 and exercise off 3,500 as a reduction of 7,000 would probably make you feel like you were starving to death.

Strive to do 3-5 days of 35-60 minutes of high intensity, low-impact cardio (swimming, walking, cycling) and 3-5 days of total body strengthening exercises. Take one full day to rest.

This is the basic science of all fat & weight loss programs. If you want or need more help, befriend me on MFP and I'll coach you through the process.

fattymcgoo

I love setting small goals for myself! They just give you something extra to work towards

I've found what's best for me is setting rewards that directly relate to losing weight, and that increase in value as I get closer to my ultimate goal, sort of like a rewards ladder.

Mine go like this:

(starting weight)

5 pounds lost: allowed myself to buy protein powder and a set of dumbells
10 pounds lost: got myself a spiffy haircut =P
13 pounds lost: new running shoes
15 pounds lost: new running shorts (cause by this point I'll actually look good in shorts, haha!)
17 pounds lost: new jeans (that's a big one, not fitting into jeans is my worst nightmare)
20 pounds lost: iPod nano (so I don't have to run with my full size one bouncing up and down my arm anymore)

I like that my goals are directly tied to losing weight...if I don't lose enough weight, I won't want to wear shorts. And most of my rewards are things that will inspire me to keep the weight off.