Does anyone feel like their goals are a million miles away?

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jdt242
jdt242 Posts: 106 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Does anyone else feel like their goals are a million miles away?

My first goal is to lose 14lbs by mid November. It sounds so achievable but previous failures make me feel like its year away and I am afraid of failing again.

I am only one day in and this worry is hanging over me.

Anyone else feel the same? Anyone overcome this feeling and won? My diet perspective is seriously warped after years of the same cycles.
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Replies

  • independant2406
    independant2406 Posts: 447 Member
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    If I look at my overall weight loss goal I definitely feel overwhelmed. I've learned its helpful to set small achievable goals that motivate me more.

    Examples:

    Log 10 days on MFP and not go over calories or carbs
    Lose 4lbs and break below 200 mark. (!)
    Lose 10 more lbs and weigh 189lbs.
    Don't eat out this week - make all meals at home. Weigh/measure everything.

    Each one of these is a little tiny goal I have and they're so much more achievable. I know I can do these things and they are baby steps on the way to my larger goal. :)
  • GiveMeCoffee
    GiveMeCoffee Posts: 3,556 Member
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    I set different goals for myself, weekly fitness goals, monthly goals, long term goals, etc. If I only worried about the number on the scale that might make the goal seem daunting. But setting realistic attainable goals in different ranges has helped me. Also the understanding that things will happen and I won't always reach my goal for that set time, so I try harder next week, month, etc.
  • Jazz_2014
    Jazz_2014 Posts: 142 Member
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    In the beginning, I set goals that were to far out or unreasonable. I think the hyped up ambition got me. But I learned quickly to make mini goals. If I need affirmation, I make even mini mini goals.

    Nothing wrong with long term goals, or mini milestones but when I'm not close to either . . . I remind myself I am merely heading the right direction.

    Stay focused but don't overthink it.
  • moya_bleh
    moya_bleh Posts: 1,375 Member
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    Oh God yes.

    Forward. One determined step after the other...
  • Deipneus
    Deipneus Posts: 1,862 Member
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    I did it by never looking beyond one day. I too got depressed thinking it would take me months to be successful. Once I got it in my head that I could be s success my first day and every day, I felt more in control. Any failed days were isolated incidents and I was a success the next day.
  • SonicDeathMonkey80
    SonicDeathMonkey80 Posts: 4,489 Member
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    One of my goals seems like a literal million miles away (a marathon time). You gotta look at it in smaller chunks, divide and conquer. If I only saw and shot for the end result, I wouldn't measure my progress for the success that it is.
  • dakotababy
    dakotababy Posts: 2,406 Member
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    When I started, my goal was to lose 100lbs. I did not break it down to smaller goals...I stuck with 100lbs. I knew it would take a while to lose the weight, but I figure that as long as if I keep trying...EVENTUALLY I will make it to my goal weight. If I gave up, I knew I would only get bigger.

    At one point, I was stuck on an 8 month long plateau. I really felt like "what was the point?" but then realized, once I do hit my goal that it will be like practicing for maintenance. That is how I took it, tried a few different things with my calories until the weight started coming off again.
  • RamonaFr
    RamonaFr Posts: 112
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    I definitely can't look at the overall goal very much. One day at a time is all I can do, and sometimes I'm not successful at it. Well, lots of times I'm not successful. But I keep trying, one day at a time, one foot in front of the other. I have lost 58 pounds since I started last October, so, I think one day at a time works.
  • chahayd
    chahayd Posts: 4
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    Yes I do been it now for 4 weeks and my weight goes down then up again nothing seems to be consistant it's very frustrating put on a pound so far this week without any cheats grrr!
  • kmbrooks15
    kmbrooks15 Posts: 941 Member
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    I work in 10 pound increments. For example, my current weight is 192, so my next goal is to get into the 180s. Next goal after that is the 170s, and so on. i started at 203, so my first goal was to get to ONEderland. Set small goals that will help you meet your long term goal.
  • astralweeks82
    astralweeks82 Posts: 230 Member
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    When I started, my goal seemed pretty daunting. And it did take a while. I did what others said, though. I broke it up into smaller goals, and I knew if I didn't start, by that time the following year I would probably be heavier and wishing I had started.
  • BlackStarlight
    BlackStarlight Posts: 554 Member
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    Oh, God yes.
    And believe me you aren't the only one. But you've got to break it down.
    So if you want to loose 100lbs... Thats just daunting.
    But 10 sets of 10lbs doesn't seem quite so bad.
    Then break it down again 20 sets of 5lbs which sounds even better :)
    xx
  • LuckyOneD
    LuckyOneD Posts: 2
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    YES!!! I do feel that way; plus it doesn't help that my "resolve" falters a lot. I do a lot of "boredom eating", which I know is not smart and I know how to get out of it, but I just DON'T! My short term goal, back in July, was to lose 10 pounds by October. Instead, I've gained two and am struggling to keep my resolve. Long term goal is to drop 30 pounds - I would be at a reasonable weight then.
  • 999tigger
    999tigger Posts: 5,235 Member
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    No, because im realistic about things including goals. Make them achievable and break tasks down into smaller ones with mini goals or you will overwhelm yourself.
  • nicola8989
    nicola8989 Posts: 381 Member
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    Absolutely - I find it easier to focus on the goals that will get me there rather than "I must lose 7lb by this day"

    e.g I'll set myself a goal not to eat chocolate today, or a goal to go to the gym 4x this week.

    My initial goal was similar to yours - to lose 10lbs by the beginning of November - now I've cut that down to 5lb so it's more achievable.
  • Capt_Apollo
    Capt_Apollo Posts: 9,026 Member
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    the thing i've found out about goals is that they have to be just a little out of reach. too easy and it's not a challenge. too hard and you can become discouraged.

    long term plans are great. my long term plan is to do an Iron Man. but something like that is a really big goal that not prepared for the right way can have me going in a lot of different directions and leave me exhausted before i even race.

    so i started with small sprint triathlons. scaling up to different endurance races, building little by little the experience and conditioning that i would need.

    my goal for an Iron Man is Fall 2019. yeah, 5 years away, but i think that is what i need to develop the conditioning and race experience to do it right.
  • leggup
    leggup Posts: 2,942 Member
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    Originally, I set goals like "X weight by X date." It didn't really work for me because real life happens. Some weeks were reallllly active and some involved loads of wine. Also, I was trying to lose too close to 2 lbs/week.

    I really recommend setting monthly goals. Right now, I'm trying to make sure that I lose 5 lbs each month. By the new year it will be 4 lbs each month. I'm not beating myself up over it if I lose less, so long as I'm losing. Ideally, I'd lose 1.5 lbs/week, so I'm aiming for a little less than that.
  • Maryam2014mfp
    Maryam2014mfp Posts: 174
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    Try out this calculator. I found I had very unrealistic goals at first. It said I would have to eat a negative 88 calories a day to achieve the goal I wanted. Lol. So, I realized I was being unreasonable and unhealthy in my expectations and hopes. One of the members here made the calculator. Depending how far you are from your goal weight, the amount of weight you lose per week is less. I would suggest that if you are 29 lbs overweight, that for the 9 lbs over the 20 that you goal 1 week for each lb. and for the remaining 20 lbs, goal 0.5 lb loss each week. Losing your weight healthily will increase the likelihood of you keeping it off. Also, you may find that you drop more at first and your weight may fluctuate a bit up and down; but if you stick with the calories suggested, overall you will end up with weight loss. Take care.

    http://www.weightloss-calculator.net
  • tjohnoconnor
    tjohnoconnor Posts: 58 Member
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    In the beginning I felt the same way. It was overwhelming and a million miles away. You have to set short range goals and pass through them onto the next. I still have goals and at times they feel a million miles away but you have to keep moving forward to attain them. Dreaming of what you can be is not an effective strategy
  • gelahope
    gelahope Posts: 63 Member
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    I definitely agree with what most people have been saying. Yes, it's awesome to have an "ultimate" goal, i.e. your eventual goal weight. But that's like saying that "I want to be an astronaut". Sure, it's achievable, but it's not going to happen overnight. You have to work for it. Reach much smaller goals. Eventually it will all add up and turn into the ultimate goal, but for now just focus on this week. Your goal can be "I want to be a pound lighter by Saturday" or something. Or you can go even smaller and just focus on today. "I want to get through this workout without quitting". And CELEBRATE! Even your small accomplishments and victories. If you say no to a cookie, mentally pat yourself on the back! =) Every tiny victory is one step closer to your ultimate goal.

    And remember: Even a 1,000 mile journey starts with a single step.

    Best of luck to you!!

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