HELP!!

noelibear

I am determined!! I can do this! If people can lose 200+ lbs...Why shouldn't I be able to lose 60 lbs? I CAN AND I WILL!!

Now to set a reasonable time frame and mini goals...Any suggestions?
What has worked for you ? And what hasn't? I really want to do this right.

Thanks in advance for the help. I don't want to make unattainable goals, but I don't want to be too easy on myself either..

Rachlmale

Good luck to you in your journey

I wouldn't worry too much about the numbers at first - my first goal was to ensure that MFP was a part of my lifestyle and not a 'diet' per say.

If you have 60 pounds to lose I think 20 pounds by Christmas is a totally attainable goal? So 30% of your way there by Christmas - 15 weeks to go = just over 1lb a week.

noelibear

Thats great thanks!! I just want to staty motivated and not give up like I have sooo many times before.

danwood2

I am determined!! I can do this! If people can lose 200+ lbs...Why shouldn't I be able to lose 60 lbs? I CAN AND I WILL!!

Now to set a reasonable time frame and mini goals...Any suggestions?
What has worked for you ? And what hasn't? I really want to do this right.

Thanks in advance for the help. I don't want to make unattainable goals, but I don't want to be too easy on myself either..

What worked for me... Set the goal you want to get to and go day by day. Be dedicated with logging your food every day - even the bad days... and be honest with yourself. If you have a cookie, log it. If you do a lot of exercise and get calories back - eat them if you are hungry - don't ignore them... and you will see results. And most importantly, be patient... It isn't going to happen overnight!

Best of luck to you on your journey!! :flowerforyou:

GauchoMark

So it look like you already have a weight loss goal set up. Now you just need a timeframe. I'm not a big fan of setting a "I want to lose 60 lbs by X date" timeframe goal, but you do need a way to make sure you are on track. My advice is to use the MFP recommended weight loss rate (probably 1 lb/wk) and about once per month, take a look and see if you really lost an average of around 1 lb/wk. If not, make adjustments to hit your goal. As you progress, your weigh loss will slow anyways, so setting an overall completion date is irrelevant.

It is also a total preference, but I like to weigh daily and record it. This allows you to actually have enough data points to make a REAL determination of your progress - from a statistical standpoint, weekly isn't enough data. Some people can't handle weighing every day, though.

As far as what has worked - log everything, every day. There are no "cheat days" in my book - you are always accountable, every day.

Rachlmale

Thats great thanks!! I just want to staty motivated and not give up like I have sooo many times before.

Don't give up - having done a couple of diets myself and succeeding I think this is by far the best way to lose the weight and keep it off so you never consider those fad diets again. Fingers crossed anyway.

You can do this... like people have said, log everything, do not lie to yourself it won't get you anywhere. Anyone starting a diet has already made the admission that they need to lose weight which is often a big step already. The best thing you can do is be honest with yourself.

Good luck

mssoulrebel_77

I'm honestly not a fan of scale goals - which probably goes against the grain of everyone on here. I know where I want to be - but honestly it seems so far off if I dwell on it I'll be tempted to give up. Even setting 5 pound goals I feel like sets me up to be discouraged if I don't go down as fast as I want.

So my "GOAL" is to try to lose at least a little every week, and to be under the weekly recommendation. I want to work out several times a week - although that's turned into more since I know working out more means eating more (i love me some food). I have a pair of green capris I LOVE but have never ever been able to comfortably fit them. I WANT to wear those one day. I don't care if it happens in the dead of winter - once I reach a size I can wear them, I WILL.

Basically i try to set goals I know I can personally hold myself accountable to. Weight just seems to have too many variables. Pounds of fat gone (by doing a body fat % x total weight) I can have better control (i feel).... but giving myself a goal of doing 100 miles this month, or improving my strength to the point I dont have to do modified push ups... those are the goals I work towards... and i figure as long as I work towards those - I'll get there with the number on the scale eventually... or not. As long as I fit those green pants and feel cofident to sport a two piece next summer - I'll be happy :-)

That's just me though - and like i prefaced with - likely goes against the grain.

sharleengc

Not to get frustrated with plateaus! It is very difficult to avoid both a plateau and the frustration. The trick is to figure out how your body works and not be afraid to make changes.

For example, I lose weight in phases...like I lost 2-4lbs in a week then nothing for a month or so then repeat. That whole month was frustrating at first, but now I know that's just how I lose weight so that month doesn't bother me.

Also, if you do hit a plateau, don't be afraid to change what you're doing. Adjust your calories (either up or down, both can work but it depends on your body - you will hear many different and some quite forceful opinions on that), or adjust your exercise. I recommended changing it and doing something else completely for a bit then you can go back. Or stop all together for a week or two. You can still loose just sticking to your calories.

The bottom line is just to keep working at it. Sometimes it will come off fast and others slow. Everyone is different so don't compare the time it's taking you to someone else.

If you want to add me as a friend, feel free

noelibear

I think a combo of both long and short term goals is a great option for me! Short to keep me honest with myself and long to give me something to look forward to. I am very excited about this! I just need to keep motivated and not beat myself up everytime I don't do perfect. Cause lets face it, I am NEVER going to be Jillian Micheals..lol. But I can be healthy again for myself and my family

Okay, I have lost 2 lbs so far! I still have alot more to go, but it is a great start!

My WEEKLY mini goal:

Lose 2+ lbs this week

My next large goal:
Lose 30 lbs by Christmas...

My longterm goal:

Lose 65 lbs and KEEP IT OFF!!

noelibear

Thank you to EVERYONE for your wonderful advice! I love hearing what works for everyone, because I don't know what will work for me yet. It will be interesting to find out what does!

rocuf

What really worked for me is just start by "logging everything" even when I was way over was my only goal. Everything else just seemed too daunting at the start. I slowly started to hit my kcal daily goals and started to see just where I was going wrong with my choices. With the iphone/android app it really is easy to scan bar codes and eat out. I slowly started to move more, short walk here, parking a little further out at the stores. After I started to see results adding more goals like, buying a heart rate monitor to see how much exercise was burning kcals and weighing every morning to see trends. Soon success breeds more success.

The goal that I am most proud of is the "Days logged" - everything else is just a result of me sticking to this goal. Really a lifestyle change that I keep every day.

lisamarie327

Two of my initial goals were "Drink 8 glasses of water a day," and "Don't eat sugar or grain." Neither worked. Now I try to drink 6 glasses of water a day and limit intake of sugar and grain. Rewarding myself for reaching goals has worked well though. You just have to find what works for you.

Viky67

Hi!!!! I'm working to loose the same amount of weight, so far I've lost 38 pounds, people will often tell you not to worry about the numbers but at the end you'll need to see your results, mini goals are the best way to go in my experience, try to see how much you can loose in two weeks by eating healthy and exercising, exersice is the key it is very very important to keep your metabolism going, and set a similar goal for every visit to the scale, but visit the scale every three weeks. This is because as you progress with your weith loss you'll find that the progress gets slower, so you will probably need to exersice even more or hight up the intensity of your exersice to achieve your mini goals.
I do not agree on not paying attention to the numbers, numbers are one of the most important things to loose weigth and stay healthy, burn more calories than you eat, measure your cardio rate when you exercise, check your blood preasure, all of those are numbers.
GOOD LUCK! I feel the same way, there is people who looses 200 pounds, why shouldn't we be able to loose 60?! Keep it up! I know we can do it!

shariinprogress

Not that I am an expert, but I changed my entire approach. Instead of "going on a diet", I changed everything. I have decided to live a healthy, active lifestyle instead of targeting one number. A level of fitness is the goal - not a size or a weight. Those will come with the level of activity. I am definitely seeing changes, but I haven't been on the scale in a while because my main goal is the lifestyle change. I feel great, sleep great, have endurance, etc. I am just about where I no longer have to do modified push ups. I have asthma but I am able to run farther than I could before. I am biking weekly and mixing up all of my activities so that I have fun with being active instead of looking at it as a "workout". If I don't make it to the gym, I try to do a P90X cardio workout or some yoga.

Keeping track of food is helpful so that I fuel properly for the activity level, so logging calories keeps me honest both ways (not too much, not too little). One more tip is to look at your nutrition as just that - nutrition. Everything you put in your body should be good for it. Since I've made serious changes, I no longer crave things that can sabotage energy levels and health. In the end, I am the only one that really controls my health. I am noticing my children are also making healthier choices just because they are watching me become a healthier person all the way around. Also, I no longer need diabetes medication and my blood pressure has gone back to normal. By the way, don't forget water. It flushes toxins from your body and hydrates you especially when you exercise. I drink 3 liters of water a day.

I wish you the best as you move to a new level of health for yourself and your family. Don't beat yourself up if you miss a workout or have a less than healthy day. A permanent commitment to your health is really all you need to be successful!

msudaisy28

HI! I've lost 64 pounds since December and my ultimate goal is around 75 pounds. I have pretty steadily been losing weight at about 1.5 lbs/week. To do this I started slowly and took baby steps to change my habits. At first I was just logging into MFP every day to record my weight (yes, I weigh in and log it daily regardless of up or down. Not everyone can handle the ups, but for me I find that it helps keep me sane and remembering that as long as the trend is going in the right direction it doesn't matter if my chart looks like an EKG!). At that time I wasn't logging all of my food, but I was trying to make more sensible choices and cut back on sweets.

After a couple of months I started logging my food seriously. I have logged almost every day since mid-February, even if it’s a bad day. Sometimes I have to make a lot of guesses if I’ve eaten at a BBQ or a restaurant without published nutrition info, but this keeps me accountable for my choices.

In April I got serious about adding exercise into the mix. I mostly do walking, but also had signed up for 12 weeks of yoga and did the 30 Day Shred at different points. To get the most out of my walking I religiously wear a cheap pedometer and track every step that I take throughout the day. I typically eat back my exercise calories.

Somewhere in there (June maybe?) I decided to try lowering my calorie goal since I hadn’t changed it but had lost at least 30 pounds. I lowered it by 100 cals (from 1500 to 1400), but my weight loss stalled out for a month. I increased it back to 1500 and the weight started coming off again. Now MFP says that at 1500 cals/day I should be losing at 0.6 lbs/week, however I’ve still been losing more than that. So while MFP and other online calculators can give you a good starting point, do what works for your body, not what some magic machine tells you to do.

I split my loss goals up into milestone goals (which were losses of 10% of my body weight) and mini-goals of 10 pounds. I have had rewards set up for some of them, but really I'm more motivated at this point by the way that I feel now. I don't want to get that heavy again because it feels better to be at a healthy weight. I'm in the best cardiovascular shape of my adult life right now. I know that things could change and its far to easy to backslide, but I'm optimistic that I will keep these good habits and healthy lifestyle from here on out.

Good luck – you can totally do this!

D3vAnge1

Now to set a reasonable time frame and mini goals...Any suggestions?
What has worked for you ? And what hasn't? I really want to do this right.

I don't want to make unattainable goals, but I don't want to be too easy on myself either..

First of all U can & U will succeed...U have the attitude and will to do it.

In response to your questions, I had trouble setting a reasonable time frame as well, but once I took "time frame" out of the equation, setting mini goals became much easier. Success never came to anyone over night (though it would be nice)...but making subtle changes to reach those mini goals set, does make greeting the finish line more doable. I ran cross-country track for years and never "ranked" but I always made it to that finish line and was proud of myself because each time I did much better and reached the goals I had set for myself. My initial goal was to run a mile, but I had to conquer a quarter mile successfully first. Then it was to run the entire course, let alone not get lost. Followed by increase my speed, bumping up the time it took me to complete it. Took a while, but I did what I set out to do and was successful in doing it & it made my indoor/outdoor track accomplishments all the more incredible.

I'm taking this same approach this time with my weight loss and attempts to improve my overall fitness (as I wasn't smart enough to apply it in the first 100 attempts). First, I began by making subtle changes and developing good habits to replace the old ones (minimizing sugars, breads & pastas, quit smoking), followed by keeping a journal (the journal was perhaps the most difficult habit to form until I came across MFP). Then I set up a goals & rewards system: if I workout for at least X amt of days for X amt of wks I will treat myself with X (non-food of course). Followed up with if I lose X amt of wgt I will treat myself with X (this was broken down into increments of 20 lbs)...all the way to when I maintain my goal wgt/BF% for X amt of time I will greet my accomplishment with X (the most desired treat that I would/have always wanted but never bothered to make the necessary sacrifices to obtain). But the thing is that each of the smaller victory treats for your losses should lead up to that grand finale in the end (though it's not really the END). For example, a monetary treat which will pay for that shopping spree you'll need once you reach your desired weight