Mini-Goals to a Healthier Me

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evw123
evw123 Posts: 29
in Motivation and Support
Hi everyone! I'm near the beginning of my weight loss journey and am looking for support, so anyone feel free to add me as a friend!

I've seen countless friends and family members get extremely motivated to lose weight, only to lose that motivation after a few weeks. I don't want to do that, so I've been very cautious about how to approach this. It's taken me a couple weeks to develop a plan and to decide to join MyFitnessPal to find some support!

I've never made an effort to lose weight before - I'm only 18 and the heaviest I've ever been. However, I would probably be fit to this day is I hadn't gotten injured. My shoulder blade was dislocated and many tendons stretched and torn across my back when I was 15 from a bad foul while playing in a women's league soccer game. I could barely get out of bed properly for two years, let alone exercise, so the weight piled on. Around the same time I started feeling the effects of depression, and I was diagnosed with Seasonal Affective Disorder about a year ago (my Light Therapy treatment has been extremely successful ever since). Now, although I have healed a great deal both physically and emotionally, I'm stuck in a rut of horrible eating habits, almost no exercise of any kind and gaining about 2 pounds every 2 months.

I know that if I suddenly try exercising everyday and eating perfectly that I'll put my body in to shock, and that the cravings will eventually take over. I've tried to come up with the easiest and most effective lifestyle-changing way to get to a healthier me, with all of my obstacles in consideration. This is what I've decided to do.

I call it my Mini-Goals. I will set one small, easily achievable goal at a time. I won't set a new one until the previous one is completed. Each goal will be a small change to my lifestyle that I will commit to repeating until it is a true part of my daily routine, as simple as brushing my teeth. I've already completed two (1. Drink 5-7 cups of water a day, 2. have a healthy breakfast every day) and am working on another one (improve my snacking options)!

Dunno if anyone else is doing anything similar, but so far I've lost 6 pounds! I know this method means very slow weight loss, but in my opinion it will last a lifetime, and hey, losing 6 pounds is better than gaining 2! I'm officially a little bit healthier than I was 3 weeks ago :)

Again, feel free to add me as a friend! I'm probably going to come to a point of needing a support base, and I'll support you too!

Replies

  • thefunnyfatone
    thefunnyfatone Posts: 2 Member
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    My name is Ron and I am trying to lose only 25 pounds. I have tried before and have little dicipline. However, I have gone 3 weeks and lost about 3 pounds. For me that is great.

    I have a few suggestions.
    1. Vit. D will help with seasonal depression. Take some..they are cheap and do work. In the winter take two a day.
    2. Get a friend who you can work with. I have a friend named Bill who needs to lose about 50 pounds. He loses faster than me so we should come out of the woods about the same time.
    3. If your insurance will help with this, get some physical therapy for yourself. A good doctor will recommend a place and they can do an evaluation. I have used them three times in my life and I no longer have to get back shots for two herneated disks because my muscles are stronger. Keep doing the exercised when done with therapy.

    That is about it for now.

    By the way..I am an old guy...68
  • evw123
    evw123 Posts: 29
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    Hi Ron! Thanks for the tips. I'm actually doing all three of those things at the moment - I get physiotherapy and massage therapy, take 1000 units of Vitamin D a day, and me and my best friend are both losing weight (we have about the same amount to lose).
  • evw123
    evw123 Posts: 29
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    I'm just going to comment again so this goes to the top of the forums haha. Anybody else have any thought's or suggestions?!
  • summergirl212
    summergirl212 Posts: 91 Member
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    hello! I think that what you are doing it a really great way to focus on getting healthy. I am one of those people you talked about who gets motivated for a few weeks and loses it so i'm hoping that this time around I will stay motivated! My main motivation is to feel better about myself and enjoy how I look this summer in all those skimpy summer clothes!

    I think that your mini-goals idea is pretty cool and if it is working for you that is great! I know I wouldn't be able to handle something that was so loose but since you are coming from an injury it is smart to take it slow. Eating a good breakfast is super important for weight loss so that was a great goal to choose! Good luck with choosing healthy snacking options. I know that when I wasn't counting calories I was constantly snacking and that was a big reason I gain weight. Targeting that is a great idea! What are some more of your upcoming goals that you have planned?
  • nikkidevin
    nikkidevin Posts: 4 Member
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    I also think you're mini-goals idea is great! In fact I think I might steal that plan for myself ;) I also just joined and am new to weight loss. I'm only 27 and just started piling on the pounds about 2 years ago before that I never had to worry about what I ate and now I'm paying the price for my bad habits. I'd be more than happy to friend you and give whatever support I can although if you're looking for technical fitness and weight loss advice then thats not me. As I said Im still new to this too.
  • Star_Basil
    Star_Basil Posts: 21
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    I think that you are going about this in a healthy long lasting way. It's clear that you've really considered the new path you're on and it looks like you have the right idea.

    Last April I suffered a spine/hip injury which left me in a lot of pain which has negatively affected my self-esteem and general happiness. Ended up losing my job and thus my insurance to cover my physiotherapy etc. It has been a tough year but I have some positive goals in my future (getting married!) so things are looking up.

    Anyways, if you would like to add me as a friend please feel free.
  • MidtownMasala
    MidtownMasala Posts: 14
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    I'm taking a similar approach. First goal for me was to get my calories in check. I've been doing that for the last 6 weeks or so. My next goal (that I'm working on now) is to improve the quality of the calories I'm eating (e.g. more fruits and veggies, less salty foods etc.). After that, I plan on focusing on adding more cardio exercise (likely the elliptical) to my routine. Finally, after that, I plan on adding some strength training. Once I feel more comfortable with my workout routine, I plan on working on adding some running to my routine.

    By breaking it up into baby steps, I feel like it's easier to accomplish. I realize it may take me months to get though all my goals, but that's fine by me. I'm happy if I'm improving.
  • evw123
    evw123 Posts: 29
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    hello! I think that what you are doing it a really great way to focus on getting healthy. I am one of those people you talked about who gets motivated for a few weeks and loses it so i'm hoping that this time around I will stay motivated! My main motivation is to feel better about myself and enjoy how I look this summer in all those skimpy summer clothes!

    I think that your mini-goals idea is pretty cool and if it is working for you that is great! I know I wouldn't be able to handle something that was so loose but since you are coming from an injury it is smart to take it slow. Eating a good breakfast is super important for weight loss so that was a great goal to choose! Good luck with choosing healthy snacking options. I know that when I wasn't counting calories I was constantly snacking and that was a big reason I gain weight. Targeting that is a great idea! What are some more of your upcoming goals that you have planned?

    Thanks for the support! After snacks (which I'm expecting will take me anywhere from 3-5ish weeks) I'm going to work on lunches on the go (I'm a full time student and will be for at least the next 5 years). The hardest thing to fix will be suppers, so I'm saving it for last, because at my house we have a big sit down meal, so for that I'd have to get the rest of my family on board as well.
  • evw123
    evw123 Posts: 29
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    I also think you're mini-goals idea is great! In fact I think I might steal that plan for myself ;) I also just joined and am new to weight loss. I'm only 27 and just started piling on the pounds about 2 years ago before that I never had to worry about what I ate and now I'm paying the price for my bad habits. I'd be more than happy to friend you and give whatever support I can although if you're looking for technical fitness and weight loss advice then thats not me. As I said Im still new to this too.

    I'm definitely not looking for technical advice. I'd rather have support from people in the same situation as me, who have either lost weight already or who are at the same stage as me! I just friend requested you :)
  • evw123
    evw123 Posts: 29
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    I think that you are going about this in a healthy long lasting way. It's clear that you've really considered the new path you're on and it looks like you have the right idea.

    Last April I suffered a spine/hip injury which left me in a lot of pain which has negatively affected my self-esteem and general happiness. Ended up losing my job and thus my insurance to cover my physiotherapy etc. It has been a tough year but I have some positive goals in my future (getting married!) so things are looking up.

    Anyways, if you would like to add me as a friend please feel free.

    Congrats on your engagement! I just requested you :)
  • evw123
    evw123 Posts: 29
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    I'm taking a similar approach. First goal for me was to get my calories in check. I've been doing that for the last 6 weeks or so. My next goal (that I'm working on now) is to improve the quality of the calories I'm eating (e.g. more fruits and veggies, less salty foods etc.). After that, I plan on focusing on adding more cardio exercise (likely the elliptical) to my routine. Finally, after that, I plan on adding some strength training. Once I feel more comfortable with my workout routine, I plan on working on adding some running to my routine.

    By breaking it up into baby steps, I feel like it's easier to accomplish. I realize it may take me months to get though all my goals, but that's fine by me. I'm happy if I'm improving.

    Sounds just like me haha! My overall goal in this is to have my eating completely under control by June/July 2013, but I'm not going to start working out until the eating is fixed so I can have the proper energy supply. I know it's going to take me a few years at least to reach my goal weight as well, but hey, if it lasts the rest of my life than I'd much rather that!

    And I agree, it seems much more accomplish-able with small reasonable changes. When I first tackled breakfast I thought, "Just changing this one meal won't be very difficult, for now I still have everything else the same." I came up with 2 options I could have each morning, and now they're both just part of my daily routine (I could prepare them with my eyes closed). So now, a perfect breakfast just seems like everyday life, and the next step doesn't seem like a very big change either, but once they're all done it will be a massive change!

    Thanks for the support! I friend requested you :)

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