Will setting a small goal make more sense?

Seeyoubabyweight · December 2014

I've been yo-yo ing with my weight loss for years. Majority is my own fault working mom of three with a hubby who works straight nights. I'd love the gym or even time for my videos, but it just doesn't exist.

What I have been trying is managing what I take in. This is great for maintaining, but I'm having no luck losing.

Now hubby and I are taking a belated honeymoon in July. I'd love to drop at least a bit.

I've always set large goals...30lbs in xxx months...and get nowhere. Hell as I said I seem to be staying the same. I just lose motivation and the little I lose, goes up again.

So I'm thinking of switching to something simple. Even if I drop 3lbs/month that's nearly 20lbs by my trip which would be nice.

I'm just wondering, if I have a hard time motivating with the larger scale, what are tips to keep myself motivated with lower? I'm worried I'll step on the scale and thing "oh its okay I didn't lose this week, I have two more weeks to lose".

jemhh · December 2014

I would not set a monthly goal. Weight loss is not linear. And, being a woman, your body weight will fluctuate due to hormonal shifts throughout the month. Just pick mini goals and work toward them. For me, looking at each 5 pounds as a mini goal worked.

CodeMonkey78 · December 2014

+1 on mini goals.

Here are some pretty easy mini goals to try:
- Meeting or going under your calorie goal each day
- 5lb loss increments
- *Not* gaining weight / maintaining current weight
- Gauging progress not only on the scale, but how your clothes fit.

seltzermint555 · December 2014

Everyone's brain works a bit differently on this stuff but what truly worked for me, was thinking of a relatively close goal weight (for example when I was at 262 I wanted to get to 220, after reaching 220 I decided to try and hit 199 then 180...) and NOT putting a timeframe on it at all. One thing I see a lot of people struggling with, is the timeline of reasonable sustainable weight loss. 1 or even 2 lb a week isn't much, but it does add up in a major way when you do it for a year or more, even if you have lots to lose. You must be patient.

wkwebby · December 2014

Another +1 on mini goals. Your 30lbs/month is way higher than is recommended so no wonder you're not going to make them. Even if you did make that goal, you wouldn't sustain because you're probably STARVING to get there and then binging when you aren't even aware of it.

Go with 1-2 lbs per week (giving you 4-8 lbs/month) which would be 24-48 lbs by the time your vacation rolls around. Small healthier steps are the way to go. Try "cleaning up your diet" first, and start weighing food. These two steps alone will help to drop those first few pounds. So no more soda or sweetened drinks (1-2 lbs gone), way more veggies in diet (keeping you fuller for longer, 1 lb or more gone), more fruits instead of sweet treats or swapping out every other sweet treat for fruit (no deprivation, and you'll lose some), then weigh your food so you get an accurate count of what goes into your mouth.

Good luck!

tulips_and_tea · December 2014

Agree with the above: smaller, more attainable goals and not necessarily time restrictions.

Also, do not rely solely on the scale. Get a measuring tape and mark down your measurements starting today. Track those as often as you weigh. Seeing those numbers change is very helpful.

lsiberian · December 2014

For me counting calories is the only thing that works. Every day I see green I know I lost weight.

williams969 · December 2014

OP, you already said you know setting the "X pounds in Y months" doesn't work for you. So don't do that with any amount or time length. I'm the same way, deadlines don't work for me.

Instead, like others have suggested, just focus on smaller, none deadline goals, e.g. 5 pounds, then the next 5 pounds, etc. And other non scale goals like, stay on calorie target for the week, make good food choices for the day, get your X number of workouts completed for the week, etc. If any of those fall short, just put it behind you and work it tomorrow.

sherbear702 · December 2014

I think it's key to set an over all goal, like losing 30lbs, but set mini goals along the way. For instance, 5lbs a month until you reach your goal. 5lbs a month is a totally obtainable, realistic goal. Plus, it's an extra bonus when you hit your monthly goal. It's like having a bunch of little wins on the way to the big win.

chele402 · December 2014

I tend to do best when I break it down to 10 lb increments. As in, I started in the 170's, then wanted to get to the 160's. Now I'm in the low 150's and my next goal is to hit the 140's. Makes each goal manageable and I get to feel success every time I hit one.

seltzermint555 · December 2014

Another idea on this is to set goals that you know you will meet...and then get excited about blowing them out of the water. For example, this time last year I weighed 202 and my goal for 2014 was to get under 199 and stay there. Not only did I do that, but I lost an extra 30 lb.

For me big difficult goals are depressing and freak me out. I used to weigh over 300 and the very IDEA of "needing to achieve" a weight of 150-160 would have kept me from really even getting started. I started out w/ losing 30 lb and have now lost over 130. Baby steps work better for me.

Mr_Knight · December 2014

There's no simple answer to your question. Some people do better with big goals that require a long period of slow changes. Others do best making biggers changes in a short period of time, with periods of no change (like a stair step). Some do better falling short of impossible goals, others need to outperform easy to achieve goals.

The best approach really comes down to understanding how you're wired inside.

Good luck! :drinker:

mrs_j_smith · December 2014

What if you focused less on the weight and more on the behavior as a "mini goal"? Like I will exercise 3 x a week for 45 min or I will stay within calories. That might help you establish/maintain healthy habits that may lead to weight loss. I get crazy when I focus too much on the weight loss itself. Hope that makes sense.

leggup · December 2014

Seeyoubabyweight wrote: »

I've been yo-yo ing with my weight loss for years. Majority is my own fault working mom of three with a hubby who works straight nights. I'd love the gym or even time for my videos, but it just doesn't exist.

You don't need the gym/time for videos in order to lose weight. In fact, you do not need to exercise at all to lose weight. You can lose weight just though eating fewer calories.

As for your goals, set weekly goals related to the causes of weight loss, not the results. Instead of even, "I will lose .5 lbs this week," your goal should be, "I will eat X,XXX calories every day this week." If you get your intake to be less than your maintenance calories, you will lose weight. Exercise is great, but not necessary for weight loss.

leanne0627 · December 2014

I find some exercise even if its just 10 mins a day really helps me and motivates me to eat better. If i had to sweat for an hour to burn 300 calories I'm much less likely to eat that 400 calorie muffin. I am also a mother and a fulltime college student so not much free time but what I've been doing is just adding small periods of exercise in whenever I can. I got a fitbit to track it and have doubled my daily steps by going on walks with the kids, playing physically with them more, soccer etc. (Also great to see my daughter get more fit) doing jumping jacks or sit ups while watching TV at night. I even do squats while folding the laundry. I burn an extra 500 calories or so a day doing this. Just a suggestion if u want to include some exercise, although like others have said its not needed for weight loss.

yourradimradletshug · December 2014

Personally I set smaller goals because when I hit those goals I feel more motivated to continue going to reach the next one.

esjones12 · December 2014

My daily goal is to not eat over my calories. Make healthy food choices and move my body. That in the long run = all the large goals I set regarding health/fitness.

dubird · December 2014

For me getting the habit of logging was key. My 10lb goals don't mean squat if I don't log it, so first I had to get into the habit of logging. That let me see just where my issues were and where I can cut back and substitute stuff, and after a month I focused on meeting my calorie goals to hit each 10lbs I needed to lose. Breaking your big goal down into manageable chunks can help keep you from getting disappointed or depressed with how far you have to go because you'll be hitting small milestones along the way.

lemurcat12 · December 2014

jordanjean23 wrote: »

What if you focused less on the weight and more on the behavior as a "mini goal"? Like I will exercise 3 x a week for 45 min or I will stay within calories. That might help you establish/maintain healthy habits that may lead to weight loss. I get crazy when I focus too much on the weight loss itself. Hope that makes sense.

This is something that really works for me. I set longterm weight goals too, because for me it is motivating, not discouraging, but what's really important is having non-scale goals that I have more control over--like hit my calories or log consistently and accurately or bring lunch or all sorts of exercise-related ones.

Another thing I did to take the focus off the scale was buy three pairs of jeans in the same brand and style one to three sizes down (I had lots to lose) and aim at fitting in them. Once I was in the smallest size I bought a couple of more, and am now in the smallest of those (6) and am thinking about buying some more.

Seeyoubabyweight · January 2015

wkwebby wrote: »

Another +1 on mini goals. Your 30lbs/month is way higher than is recommended so no wonder you're not going to make them. Even if you did make that goal, you wouldn't sustain because you're probably STARVING to get there and then binging when you aren't even aware of it.

Go with 1-2 lbs per week (giving you 4-8 lbs/month) which would be 24-48 lbs by the time your vacation rolls around. Small healthier steps are the way to go. Try "cleaning up your diet" first, and start weighing food. These two steps alone will help to drop those first few pounds. So no more soda or sweetened drinks (1-2 lbs gone), way more veggies in diet (keeping you fuller for longer, 1 lb or more gone), more fruits instead of sweet treats or swapping out every other sweet treat for fruit (no deprivation, and you'll lose some), then weigh your food so you get an accurate count of what goes into your mouth.

Good luck!

kbmnurse · January 2015

Check out the definition of a S.M.A.R.T goal. Love it. I love making small goals.

Seeyoubabyweight · January 2015

Thank you for the tips. I like the small not scale related goal idea alot. I've done my best this week with two simple goals. #1 log my food (ALL of it) each day and #2 focus on keeping the healthy choices and staying on or slightly under my count. Since I'm set at 1lb per week the scale should drop simply because I'm sticking to it. So far I am six days in and since I'm only focusing on one day at a time its working.

Liftng4Lis · January 2015

Seeyoubabyweight wrote: »

Thank you for the tips. I like the small not scale related goal idea alot. I've done my best this week with two simple goals. #1 log my food (ALL of it) each day and #2 focus on keeping the healthy choices and staying on or slightly under my count. Since I'm set at 1lb per week the scale should drop simply because I'm sticking to it. So far I am six days in and since I'm only focusing on one day at a time its working.

Great job, go get it!

frksfrau · January 2015

I wholeheartedly agree with the mini goals. Easier to achieve and at some point you will look up and realized how much you've lost. When I reached 195, I did a little dance and then set my sights on 190. I'll eventually get down to my goal, but I will do it in 5 lb increments.

Mr_Knight · January 2015

It really depends on your personality. Some people do better with bigger, long term goals, others do better with a succession of smaller, quicker goals. Neither is wrong - just go with what works for you!

Good luck!

:drinker:

gothchiq · January 2015

Try having goals that, instead of being "X pounds lost in X time" say "my goal is to eat at or below my calorie goal and work out X times per week." Make them be behavioral goals. To do your workouts, to try new forms of exercise, and such. That will bring the weight loss with it.

lemurcat12 · January 2015

Seeyoubabyweight wrote: »

Thank you for the tips. I like the small not scale related goal idea alot. I've done my best this week with two simple goals. #1 log my food (ALL of it) each day and #2 focus on keeping the healthy choices and staying on or slightly under my count. Since I'm set at 1lb per week the scale should drop simply because I'm sticking to it. So far I am six days in and since I'm only focusing on one day at a time its working.

Great job. I really find that this approach works for me. I might have various result goals on paper or in the back of my head, but what I always write down and focus on are these smaller and behavior-related goals.

SergeantSausage · January 2015

Setting too aggressive of a timeline is the second biggest mistake I see folks make (inaccurate logging / counting being the biggest)

Why add that pressure and discomfort?

There are NO mini-goals that will compensate for ridiculously out of line longer-term goals.

Baby steps are fine, as long as The Big Picture is fine, too.

romachel1978 · January 2015

Why not try setting non scale related goals for a while? That's what worked for me. I found if I tried to do it all at once, it was simply to overwhelming. Each week, I would set a new goal (while sticking with the previous goals I set) by the time I got through 5 or 6 goals, I had dropped 10 pounds and hadn't even been focusing on the scale.

Lourdesong · January 2015

I have kind of a roadmap for my ultimate goal, divided up into phases (1, 2, 3, etc) and then mini-goals within each phase. There is not really a timeline, per se, but it is linear, and the mini-goals pertain to the phase I'm in. For instance, one mini-goal I had was for my Driver's License weight to actually be true. I had to be in phase 2 of my plan for that mini-goal to be reached, I've reached it and then some, now my Driver's license weight is untrue again because I'm 20 lbs less than what it says instead of 35 lbs more.

I need to know where I'm going, but I also need to enjoy all the scenery (accomplishments) that have come up and will continue to on the way. Weight loss is too painfully slow, and involves too much discipline and focus, to not celebrate every victory no matter how measly of a victory it may be.

lemurcat12 · January 2015

Lourdesong wrote: »

I have kind of a roadmap for my ultimate goal, divided up into phases (1, 2, 3, etc) and then mini-goals within each phase. There is not really a timeline, per se, but it is linear, and the mini-goals pertain to the phase I'm in. For instance, one mini-goal I had was for my Driver's License weight to actually be true. I had to be in phase 2 of my plan for that mini-goal to be reached, I've reached it and then some, now my Driver's license weight is untrue again because I'm 20 lbs less than what it says instead of 35 lbs more.

I need to know where I'm going, but I also need to enjoy all the scenery (accomplishments) that have come up and will continue to on the way. Weight loss is too painfully slow, and involves too much discipline and focus, to not celebrate every victory no matter how measly of a victory it may be.

I love this. I do something similar, but mostly I can totally relate to the driver's license thing. I was so pleased when it became true again, and now it's 35 lbs too high. I just realized (when flying, oh joy) that it expired on my last birthday, so I have to get it replaced ASAP and am wondering if I should just give my goal weight (less than 10 lbs off).

Will setting a small goal make more sense?

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