Goals

Darrell916

I am starting to think that I am not having success in my weight loss journey because I don't have any short term goals. I have 1 long term goal and that's when I lose 100 pounds I am going to have a wild weekend in Las Vegas. I would like to set goals for every 10 to 15 pounds that I lose. I don't want to reward myself with going out to dinner or anything like that because honestly right now I don't trust myself to continue back to the eating the next day. I am open to suggestions

hauer01

When I started with MFP, I was just the opposite of you. At that time, I had no idea what my final goal was, (not sure if I still do). My first goal was to prove to myself that I could loose 10 lbs. Well, I started out at 236 lbs, so that wasn't hard. Then I decided, let's see if I can loose another 10 lbs. Before long, it was done. Then I changed it up and said "I want to see if I can complete the 30 Day Shred". After 30 days, done, and a few inches gone and more weight. Soon, I was approaching ONEderland so that was my next goal. Got it! Then I decided to work myself until I was no longer "Morbidly Obese" on the BMI chart. I am now there. I am not sure where my ending point is yet, I am certain that I will know when I get closer to it. Now my goal is to get into the "ideal weight" on the BMI chart. We will see.

I never "rewarded" myself so to speak. I also never said that I couldn't eat anything in particular (just had to modify how much and make sure that I worked my @ss off to earn it). So, I don't feel any other reward, other than smaller clothes and the complements that I get from others in my life, is needed.

I wish you luck, Short goals is the only thing that works for me.




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PurpleEpiphany

I am ALL ABOUT the tiny goals. Right down to on the elliptical when I tell myself "Okay two minutes down, that's 10%, five minutes down is 25%, ten minutes is halfway there...okay only five minutes left..." etc. I purposely set my goal at 20 lbs to lose when I joined MFP to avoid getting too discouraged. Ideally (to fit into the high end of 'normal'" I really have about 60 to lose, which would be 70 lbs from where I started.

I love in the first response that the various goals weren't necessarily weight related. Getting something accomplished that's physically difficult can be a great motivator. One of my current ones is to be able to do that danged leg pull-up ab exercise thing at the gym. Currently I can do one set, but generally can't do more than that at once. One day I will be able to do three full sets of ten, and that's going to be awesome

Discoveri

Do you have any programs (C25K or 30DS) that you would like to do? You can reward yourself for completing those or you could reward yourself in 10 pound increments. I usually buy myself something fitness related or treat myself to a nice mani/pedi. Start an amazon wishlist and reward yourself from there if you so desire. Another thing I think about is where I was in life when I was originally at certain weights (Ex: 2 more pounds gone and I will be at the weight I was when I got married, 25 more pounds gone and I will be at the weight I was when I was 19), thinking about that gets me excited about all the hard work I have put in.

Darrell916

Thank you, I like the ideas of the goal setting especially with the elliptical cause that is the machine of choice for cardio. I am going to try all ideas so that I can get back on track.

HisShadow

Interesting. My only goal has been to get healthy. I need to lower my BP and heal my fatty liver. I think in order for me to view this as a lifestyle change and not a game, I shouldn't be giving myself prizes for reaching benchmarks.

auroranflash

When the scale's got you down and the measuring tape isn't cheering for you either, fitness goals will carry you through.

Can you do 100 pushups?
100 situps?
Can you hold a plank for over a minute?
Can you jog a mile?

Little things make the biggest difference. You know that one, single workout tonight - you know, the one you're dreading, you don't really want to do? - may not get you into your cute pair of jeans by tomorrow... but it will get you one step closer to one of the above fitness goals, and you might even break a personal record!

*pompoms*

Kgbrav

This is a great post because I started walking to try to teach myself to jog. I have always wanted to do that. Somewhere along the way as I got stronger and more motivated my dreaded "fat reminder" kicked in and all of a sudden I was walking to lose weight and guess what...I haven't walked in two weeks and have made all sorts of excuses for it.

So thanks for the reality check from everyone. I'm getting up at 4:45 tomorrow, not using the phone app to track my time, putting on my music and going for a walk to teach myself to jog...again!

I appreciate the reminder!!

ShanaGore

My overall goal is to lose 80 lbs, but I set several other small goals that are non weight related. For example, when I first started working out my goal I told myself once I got to exercising for at least 30 min each session at least 6 times a week I would get new shoes for working out (because if I am really working out that much, then I need a great pair of shoes to do it in.) So the first week I set a goal of just 3x for the week, the next week the goal was 4x a week, then the next week 5x a week and then the fourth week 6x for the week. Before I knew it, a month had went by, working out was part of may daily routine, I had lost 8 lbs and went shopping for new shoes. When I use the elliptical or the stationary bike at the gym, I set a goal to get to the "next level" or "next program" to keep me pushing foward. also set small goals like eating a certain amount of meatless meals a week, or eating a certain amount of veggies each day. All the little things are working towards the big goal. I recently started adding jogging to my workouts, so now my goal is focused on jogging a little further each night.

Mbishop7684

I do mini-5lb goals. I am all about the goals and motivation! If I hit 5lbs off I'm like WAHOO! My major goals have feel good/practical things associated with them. They are all tangible representations of my work.

For example:
(25 lbs) Shoes
(50 lbs) Purse
(75 lbs) Facial/Massage
(100 lbs) GOAL!! Personal Stylist

For the 5lbs goals in between I've started a tradition for myself; I get a cappucino- a REALLY good one, not Starbucks, but Italian espresso. Its something that I normally will not spend the calories on because I want something better for that 200+ calories. Plus its a TINY splurge...not an entire pizza!

Maybe give yourself something that you have limited because of your weightloss goals. Also make it something you can control :-)

Hope that helps!

Nikkei24

I allowed myself to buy fitness things i wanted. Like dvds or workout clothes. Some rewars I had were non fitness related like mani pedis (because i'm broke and can only treat myself to them once in a blue) so just think of things you really want.

Sassy922

When I started my journey, 100 pounds to lose seemed overwhelming. Someone suggested to me that I lose 10 pounds, 10 times. That was easier to swallow at the time.

mscrumbyy

I try to keep my short term goals non-scale related, they're much easier to attain than battling with a scale for me. For now it's things like to complete the 30DS, be able to do proper push ups without buckling or only managing a couple, lose an inch here and there.
I like rewarding myself with a new product from Lush or getting my nails done or something, to keep feeling good about myself

Discoveri

When I started my journey, 100 pounds to lose seemed overwhelming. Someone suggested to me that I lose 10 pounds, 10 times. That was easier to swallow at the time.

I like that!

Darrell916

When I started my journey, 100 pounds to lose seemed overwhelming. Someone suggested to me that I lose 10 pounds, 10 times. That was easier to swallow at the time.

I like that idea