Deadlines on weight loss? yes or no? lets debate.

TheRunningGuppy

For me, I don't have a set deadline for my goal weight. I do have a goal each month, but mostly it does not have to do with my weight. This month, my goal is to do Zumba and maybe even figure out some of the moves. Last month I did the 30 Day Shred 4 days a week and walked 50 miles. February, I walked 67 miles (had a goal of 65).
Setting these goals for activity and then posting to my Facebook friends about it, this is what keeps me motivated. Since mid January I've lost 26 pounds.

avababy05

I usually don't but I am at a plateau ( the dreaded last five pounds) due to an exercise slump over the winter.

I'm not weighing this month and hope to see that five pounds gone 5/1.

The plan is that will give me the incentive to kick it up a notch this month.

JustMQ

I personally don't have deadlines. Do I want to lose that last 7 pounds? Sure, but it'll happen when it happens. For me. Its more important to live a healthy, active lifestyle and I would never want to put a "deadline" on that.

ashlinmarie

I set goals and I would LIKE to lose these 40 pounds by New Year 2014, but I still am trying to figure out what works for my body and know it will probably take longer. Deadlines for weight loss always discourage me, so I set fitness goals. Sure, I would like to lose 15-20 lbs by summer, but I would like to re-finish C25K as well. Or last month I walked/ran 50 miles so this month I'd like to walk/run 60 miles. That way I know I'm putting in the work and it is up to me, not a finicky scale to determine how successful I am.

970Mikaela1

I set mini goals but no date. All i had was time and desire. All goals have been achieved so now just working on my body and maintenance, which for me has been more of a challenge as there is less room for error in counting calories . So however you go about it keep on because there is all kinds if successful peeps in this thread:)

Railr0aderTony

I will be the first to admit I have no end goal, I have no Idea what my best weight would be, i have never been there. I want to be healthy, I want to get to a Health body fat % and I still have quite a bit of work ahead of me. I have learned so much in the last year but even more in the last few months since I started trying to learn "why does this work" insead of "how many calories is in a cheeseburger", both approaches work but I am a technical person and need to understand why.

badtastebetty

I think it is important to set measurable goals. It`s how you can show you have succeeded.

I`m not a big fan of the "I want to eat healthy, and exercise more", or "I want to eat less junk". I don't really understand what that means in terms of goal setting. "I want to lose 10 pounds by June 1st, and be able to run a 5k in 30 minutes by July 10th" is a goal that I can better understand.

However, I think we get too in over our heads when we do set a measured goal. I prefer small victories that lead up to the end goal. For example, I want to weigh 165 by the end of April (currenly bouncing between 170 and 168), and do the 30DS 4 times a week for the month of April.

dakotababy

I think everyone is different. Some individuals need the mini-goals to keep them going, some don't. What I do not agree with are people who are like "I have a wedding to go to in a week, so I want to lose 10lbs by then...duuuuh....is this healthy? duuuh".

I enjoy the 'freedom" of not having goals...i just go at my own pace. I once tried to make a "lets get to 1derland by new years" goal...needless to say, i plateaued hard and that goal was not reached. I was disappointed and discouraged. Never again.

healthygreek

Up till now I only have had mini goals-no deadlines. When I reach a goal I evaluate how I look and feel and then set a new mini goal if that's my desire. At this point I'm pretty sure I only want to lose 5 more pounds. I have felt very relaxed about the entire evolution of my lifestyle change which has taken a number of years. If I had placed a deadline on myself I don't believe I would have been as successful with sustaining the changes I have made in my life.

zyxst

I have goals and I have yet to meet them. :laugh:

My first goal is to lose 173# by Jan 2014, which I felt was reasonable when I made it in Jan 2012. My second was lose 100# by Dec 31, 2012 (missed it by 8#). I felt bad about not meeting it, but I've learned many factors aid/deter weight loss (stupid ovaries being my main one).

For me, not having goals is opening me up to stop losing weight. You have to do what works for you.

Willowana

I have every intention of losing 100 lbs. by the end of the month. :laugh:

Honestly, I don't care. I've lost 37 lbs. since sometime in January, and that's more than I exected to take off. I do a little happy dance whenever I drop into a new 10 lbs. bracket. Like today's weigh-in put me in the 220's. I can't wait to get into the 210-ish range....and then down to 199.

....but none of these figures are tied to a time frame. What's most important is changing my habits as I continue to move down in weight. I'm taking this time to adjust my life and prepare for maintenance. There's no finish line, because I really have to continue counting calories and measuring food indefinitely. So, without a finish line, I became more focused instead on how well I was doing everyday. That's when I started losing weight faster.

I can't tell my body to lose 20 lbs. by May. That's silly..... as if my body is going to LISTEN to me? :laugh:
All I can do is provide everything it needs, and let my body process the fat burning in its own sweet time.

JJordon

Heck yes, I have a deadline. By year's end, I plan to be awesome. Wait, I think I'm there... right now! However, in all seriousness, I do plan to lose every pound before December 31, 2013.

And then its time to get ripped in 2014.

And then its time to get buff and cut in 2015.

And in 2016? Time to be super.

Capt_Apollo

I set goals and I would LIKE to lose these 40 pounds by New Year 2014, but I still am trying to figure out what works for my body and know it will probably take longer. Deadlines for weight loss always discourage me, so I set fitness goals. Sure, I would like to lose 15-20 lbs by summer, but I would like to re-finish C25K as well. Or last month I walked/ran 50 miles so this month I'd like to walk/run 60 miles. That way I know I'm putting in the work and it is up to me, not a finicky scale to determine how successful I am.

to use this as an example....

someone with this similar idea in mind, would do well in finding a local 5k that is about 4 months away and signing up for it. it'll make you put your money where your mouth is, and really push hard in training.

i mean, i hear about so many people that are stuck on one particular week of C25k and they can't get past it. well, knowing that in a few weeks or months you'll have a 5k to do, and don't want to finish poorly, so in gives them the extra motivation to get moving.

Railr0aderTony

My deadline is before I develop full blow diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease. I have one shot at not getting diabetes and that deadline is 3 months from now, so I have to make that choice. I am counting calories and exercising everyday now. I am not putting it on myself to lose a certain amount of weight, just enough to get my numbers back down to a healthy range even if they are at the top of the scale of healthy, just so long as they are in that range I'm good with it. It might not be recommended, but I am going to try for a 30lb loss in that 3 mos. I am being careful about it and I am under a doctor's supervision. Buy careful I mean I am not out jogging, I am walking just a little bit faster and I am not eating under 1800 calories a day, so I am pretty sure I can fit my nutritional needs in that. I won't be disappointed if I don't hit my weight loss goal. I will be if I still haven't gotten my blood glucose level down to a healthy amount.

Best of luck to you, sounds like you have a good plan.

nomorepizza2

My favourite quote on this subject by English humorist and science fiction author Douglas Adams:

"I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by."

Unknown

This content has been removed.

underwater77

I learned long ago not to set deadlines. I have mini-goals that are more likely fitness related rather than scale related. But for the first time in awhile, I do want to have some pretty nice progress by mid-July because I have a ton of friends coming in town that I haven't seen since college. But, I don't plan to do anything differently, necessarily, just to make sure I keep doing what I am doing. It has been a sluggish progress, but it's okay. I do better with little changes rather than drastic ones.

Boogage

I set goals for myself but they are to be met in quite long periods of time and very realistic in my opinion.

At Christmas I said I wanted to lose 20 lbs by my Birthday in June which allowed for some weeks where I've lost nothing and some weeks where I've lost 2+ lbs. I have 4 lbs to go now so I shouldn't be disappointed.

I think goals can be good motivation but also need to be achievable.

I don't think I'm going to set another weight loss goal when I reach that target but I will be telling myself I can eat better and firm up which are goals too and I do have occasions I'd like to look good for in mind )

Capt_Apollo

here is a fun article on how to NOT suck at goal setting

http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2011/01/03/how-to-not-suck-at-goal-setting/

dakotababy

I have every intention of losing 100 lbs. by the end of the month. :laugh:

....I just had this intense moment when I read this line. Why not tell myself this? Make it a "goal" (not realistic or healthy) to lose 100lbs by the end of the month....that means i would have to REALLY WATCH my calories, and work out HARD...i don't know maybe telling myself this would keep my motivation very high....even though i know in the back of my mind, that it would not be accomplished, but I sure would have worked by *kitten* off.

RhonndaJ

I don't set myself deadlines. I know myself all too well, if I tie myself to a deadline and don't make it, and I won't because I tend to have unrealistic expectations when I do this sort of thing, I've given up.

Not this time. It's going to take as long as it takes for me to get this right.

Instead, I work towards specific weight goals. This works for me.

tenajh

I didn't really have a deadline for wt loss, but to get to 24% body fat by this June, and to be at 20% by next June, I have MS and it is a disease that is very unpredictable, but stress exacerbates this disease. My body fat was 30% in Jan and will get it checked the end of this month, but can wear my size 4 jeans, that is 10 sizes down from last year and 50# long gone. I want to look fit in a bikini for my 50 birthday for next June. So the deadline was for motivation and so far -- so good : )

freelancejouster

I mean. I don't REALLY set deadlines on myself for weight loss. I do, however, set things for myself on running (as is evident on my profile) but just monthly decreases of 30 seconds lately. I guess that's more easily controlled, at least in my experience.

Railr0aderTony

here is a fun article on how to NOT suck at goal setting

http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2011/01/03/how-to-not-suck-at-goal-setting/

Nice, great article ::: “If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will get you there.”

charismanoodles

I like realistic deadlines, like lose 2 kilos a month/4 pound or finish a 5k etc.

shadow2soul

I have one, but I think it's probably more realistic than most peoples. I'd like to get to 135lbs by 7/1/14. That is equal to losing 1.1lbs a week. This is the point where I want to reassess my goals. Decide whether to build muscle, maintain here, or lose a few more lbs.

Crochetluvr

I originally set a time frame of one year to get to my goal...that's not going to happen. But since I have adopted this as a life change and not a diet, it doesn't matter. When I get there, I get there. As long as I know I WILL get there, that's all that matters.

ozonenrhia1

I want to loose 10-15 pounds by June 5th, my birthday and according to this I may go over that:) don't know but I am excited lol

Railr0aderTony

I want to loose 10-15 pounds by June 5th, my birthday and according to this I may go over that:) don't know but I am excited lol

good for you. best of luck

Railr0aderTony

I originally set a time frame of one year to get to my goal...that's not going to happen. But since I have adopted this as a life change and not a diet, it doesn't matter. When I get there, I get there. As long as I know I WILL get there, that's all that matters.

Amen, it is 4-EVA