Starting out ideas-Short term goals

I've made different goals - some are weight goals (usually at 10 pound increments) and other are fitness goals. I find both goals work well for me but sometimes the fitness goals are a little more attainable.

My fitness goals always have to do with lifting more than I did the previous time or running longer then I did before.

Congratulations on starting on here, wishing you all the success in the world!

Yes, short term goals work for me. I accepted the truth that in order to complete a long term goal, I have to break it up to small steps. Otherwise, I feel overwhelmed. (I have another 40-50 pds to loose)

#1 bought me a fitbit, 10,000 steps 5 days a week.
#2 bodypump class 2 days a week
#3 Planned to complete another 5K this winter. It is called running under the lights. The park in our area has a huge light display for the holidays and the run begins as soon as the sun goes down. I am looking forward to it )

Congratulations on getting started. I sent you a friend request.

I've set nested short, medium and long term goals with rewards. Rewards are small and large depending on the achievement. I broke up my losses into three major parts. (SW 276)
These are big rewards;
First, overall weight loss goal. Laser hair removal. I hate shaving my legs! 179bs
Second, onderland. Fly a plane. 199lbs I have to be under 200 to do this one.
Third, halfway. 100 dollar or less piece of equipment. 228 lbs

Then, my medium ones.
Get back to pre-pregnancy weight. Kettleball 231lbs
Get back to where I was before I fell of the wagon. Pearls 221 lbs
Then the small goals are every 5 lbs and I get an inexpensive item I REALLY want. Under 20 bucks.
They have ranged from equipment on sale, to jewelry or cute underwear...

I exercise for fitness, not for weight loss. I do CICO, but I still set work out goals. This includes days where my goal is to do 1 wall push up. I can do that and while I end up doing more, even if I didn't, it'd still be more than I would have done.
I started pushing goals for 30 secs at a time after a minute on my elliptical when I got it. Now I can do 40 mins. where once I could barley do 3 mins.
I do an initial 5 minutes on my bike and set little goals while I'm on it. Like get my HR up to 140 and keep it there for 30 secs. Or don't let my HR get lower than 111 bpm.
I do weights by sets and set goals to how many reps and sets I can get in. I do stuff like how many heel raises can I get in during the minute I'm at my microwave etc...

Food goals. Aside from daily allotted calories, my goals have been find nutritional AND the lowest calorie foods that are super cheap and delicious.
Other goals; Intermittent fasting for a week or low carb for a week. One week at the low end of my calorie range while the next week at nothing above maintenance...

You can mix all of these to work for you! Create your own and experiment with what works for you. Because it IS a journey and part of that journey is tweaking what will and won't work for you...

It's not enough to be motivated because you won't always be. BUT if you have determination and perseverance, forgive yourself when you fail sometimes, (we all do)and generally stick to your ideals, it'll pay off and you'll be so proud of yourself.
I've been doing this over a year and while I'm a little over halfway there, I'm already super proud of myself for what I have accomplished and it's bright horizons no matter what. (Even when I'm stalled.)
And when this part of my journey is completed, I will start the next one. Recomp etc when it's time for that. Maintenance , taking what I've learned and applying it for the rest of my life, will be my ultimate goal.
We can do it!!

edited to add- I'm currently at 219lbs with a 56 lb loss...

I think it's personal preference for setting goals. For me, it's easier to break my weight loss in 10lbs pieces.

Rewards are fun, but ultimately, the biggest regard is the feeling of losing weight/being healthier. The rewards should match in weight loss. For example, your first 10lb loss, a nice pair of yoga pants. Your first 25-50lb weight loss, a spa massage, etc, but not a new car for your first 10lb loss.

My short term goals were not set on just weight but around the lifestyle changes I needed to make as well.

I started with daily small goals from stretching everyday to the 30 day challenges such of the Plank Challenge.

I started with small eating goals like to simply cut soda out of my diet to now completely revamping my entire way of eating.

I started with weight goals focusing on how much I wanted to weigh, not how much I wanted to lose. This way when I seen the scale it was more mentally satisfying to see under 200 rather than seeing I lose 10 pounds

Hope this works! Let me know if you have any questions. And good luck!

I've started using SUPER short term goals. Like, each meal is a goal. When I buy lunch, I ask myself "can you handle making a healthy choice RIGHT now?", same with dinner. And I tackle workouts the same way. "Can I workout today? Don't worry about tomorrow or the next day, but can I workout today?". It just makes the decision less weighted.

GREAT responses already. YES to short term YES to mixing them up and YES to Non-Food rewards
I read your profile and so sorry people have lead you in some bad directions. Here's to your Lifestyle change and a NEW LIFE!