HELP!!

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.

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.

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.

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!

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!