It's all in the way you look at things . . . setting goals .

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ptdr
ptdr Posts: 25 Member
in Success Stories
I watched a documentary this weekend on Valerie Bertinelli's weight loss.

She stated that when she start Jenny Criag, she was at 170 and decided to lost at least 30 lbs . . . she met her goal.

At 140 lbs, she decided to reach another goal of 10 lbs. . . she met her goal and was at 130.

At 130 lbs, she wanted to reach a new goal (to fit in a bikini). . . she worked with a trainer and after several months (not sure how long she said); she got down to 120 and was wearing a bikini . . . she met her goal.

Why am I sharing this? Because my problem with my weight loss (it's bee 20 years struggle now); is that I don't make small goals. I see that I need to be between 130-150 lbs (which is 90 - 110 lbs to lose) but after being good for several months - I always give up. I guess it's from seeing the huge number that I have to lose.

So this time, my mindset is small goals. Even though I need to lose between 90-110 lbs I will focus on smaller numbers. Therefore, my beginning goal is to lose 40 lbs by the end of the year. That's a lb a week.

Hopefully I am successful. Wish me luck! :happy:

Replies

  • KadieA
    KadieA Posts: 167
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    Good luck! :)
  • wvmom30
    wvmom30 Posts: 47 Member
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    GOOD LUCK!!!!!
  • Tammysboys
    Tammysboys Posts: 23
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    Good luck, I know that I have that much to loose and I have set my first goal at 50 pounds by my birthday and that is november so a little over 4.5 pounds per month and the first week I lost 6 lbs. So you can do it!
  • jmmtaylor
    jmmtaylor Posts: 225
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    That is how I have it set up. I also reward myself when I reach it. Every 10 pounds I lose I get a reward ( I never use food a one of my rewards).

    Good luck. You can do it! It is so much easier to hit 10 pounds instead of looking at 50 pounds to lose...
  • superwmn
    superwmn Posts: 936
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    Luck!

    I originally set out to lose 80lbs but celebrated every 8lb loss. That broke it down into 10% chunks that felt attainable and kept me motivated. A 2lb loss might have dissapointed me if I was focusing on the entire 80lbs. But 2lbs means I only have 6 more lbs to lose until I am 10% closer to my goal.

    I met my goal of 80lbs and have since adjusted my goals. I'm still ALL ABOUT the mini-goal.

    YOU CAN DO IT!!!

    Charmagne
  • jessimacar
    jessimacar Posts: 291
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    Good luck! I always set mini goals for myself. My first was to weigh less than 200lbs, weighing the same as I did halfway through college, about 190. Then my weight in high school, 175.. etc. That way I have something to reach to that's not doesn't seem so daunting. And I know I've weighed that much before, so I can reach that weight again!
  • AggieCass09
    AggieCass09 Posts: 1,867 Member
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    This is just what I've done. If i would have aimed to lose 50 lbs when I started it would have NEVER happened. I set 10 lb goal blocks into 5 week periods because my half marathon training schedule is 4 hard weeks and 1 rest week. This way everything is in the same reference frame and I can easily track my progress. I have an excel sheet where I check off if i was at/under my 1200 NET calorie goal and if i worked out to keep track of daily progress and also to motivate me. Best of luck to you!
  • Kanderson47
    Kanderson47 Posts: 110 Member
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    Well I know YOU can do it!!!!!!!!!!!!!! <3
  • katschi
    katschi Posts: 689 Member
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    Well, they say the way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time.

    I do this too. I also have between 90 and 100 lbs to lose.

    My goal this time is to take this day by day and do the best I can.

    Good Luck!
  • Shanny_Marie
    Shanny_Marie Posts: 4 Member
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    Good Luck!
  • MammaEllis
    MammaEllis Posts: 59
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    Well, one thing to think about... your "big" number of pounds you would like to lose is only half of my number. Your amount is really not impossible to reach!!! You can do it!!

    830631.png
    Created by MyFitnessPal.com - Free Calorie Counter
  • dlaplume2
    dlaplume2 Posts: 1,658 Member
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    Good luck. I am the same way. I need to lose a total of 70lbs. I want to lose 50 this year (1lb a week with weeks to spare.) then I will work on the final 20. I am making my smaller goals be the ones that will help me get there. I want to make the 1st 30 days be to get into my exercise routing. I am also working on the c25k.

    Best wishes for a successful year to you.
  • Ben2118
    Ben2118 Posts: 571 Member
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    Take it 1 week at a time, I have over 100 to lose and when you sit and think about how long it will take it can sometimes make you think twice but I have forgotten about that now, all I see is every Tuesday I weigh in, if I have lost...I am happy. Then I get on with the next week, focused on how I am going to do for that week, not the month.

    Mini goals are cool too, not just weight/scale related goals, as they can get boring! Stuff like being able to wear something you couldn't fit into at the start, to walk so many miles in 1 week, to drink nothing but water for a week, things other than just aiming for that scale. The scale is only 1 form of measurement, use as many as you can think of and only weigh in once a week.

    It is possible and you can get there, there's no overnight cure, it didn't get there over night so it won't go that quick but it WILL go.

    You don't need luck, you will do it!! :smile:

    Ben.
  • courtrptr13
    courtrptr13 Posts: 272
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    Good luck, you can do this! I would break your goals down even smaller so that you're rewarding yourself along the way. Maybe every 10 or 20 pounds you could should celebrate in some non-food related way.
  • Shanny_Marie
    Shanny_Marie Posts: 4 Member
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    You Can Do It
  • Sparksfly
    Sparksfly Posts: 470 Member
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    I am not going to wish you good luck, but I am going to hope that you continue to make good choices.

    Just know that this is not about luck. It's about the choices we make everyday that contribute to our success.

    Keep making those good choices and you will definately reach your goal!!
  • LisaZaugg1976
    LisaZaugg1976 Posts: 1,144 Member
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    I think that is the best way to do it.
  • ptdr
    ptdr Posts: 25 Member
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    Thank you everyone for the encouraging words and tips. After reading these posts, I can see the value of setting smaller goals. So my gals will be set to 10 lbs. After each 10 lbs I lose, I would like to do something really special. Not sure what. I know it won't be food related or purchasing clothes. It's got to be something that I don't do but would love to do.

    Thanks for the tips on how to reach the goals (e.g. drink water for one week). Very creative ways to think about reaching goals.

    And yes, I agree, this isn't about luck. This is about life changes and breaking old habits. But more importantly, for me, it's about not walking away when I fall off that bike. It's about getting back on it, even when I have a lousy day.

    Thank you everyone! And good luck to each of you as well! :flowerforyou:

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