Is changing your goal 'cheating'?

BigAnnieG wrote: »

I fell off the wagon for a couple of weeks after a great start to the year, because a calorie goal of 1450 was so hard to stick to (I'm a 6'2 lady, work out c. 3 times a week for an hour, office job, current 17st 6lb). So today I changed my goal from losing 2lbs a week to losing 1lb a week...but now I feel guilty. Is that cheating, or do you think it's more realistic for a long term weight loss? I know I CAN stick to the 2lb a week limit - because I managed it for two months almost - but it makes me cranky.

Have you ever changed your goal to a lower loss per week to make it manageable, or did you just push through? I feel lazy for doing it, but also sort of know that if I'm to keep off weight loss I need to make it 'easy' i.e., realistic lifestyle changes rather than massive unsustainable calorie restrictions.

What's your take on this?

It's not cheating at all!!! 1 pound a week is much more doable and realistic. 2 pounds a week requires much more management (as in bumping up the exercise to help increase the deficit = and then you get grumpy or "cranky", as you say).

Dump the guilt and move on. You made a good choice.

Is changing your goal 'cheating'?

No ... why on earth would it be cheating?

When I reached my first weight goal ... I decided to change my goal and go for something lower. I've changed my weight goal several times that way.

And when I reached my first weight goal, I had been losing at a rate of 1 km/week. After reaching that first goal, I decided to slow the loss to 0.5 kg/week and reach my second goal at a more leisurely pace.

One of the reasons I did that was because I wanted to eat a little bit more,
Another reason was because I wanted my skin to catch up. I'd gone all marshmallow-y ... and figured a slower loss would give my skin a chance to tighten up before I lost to much more weight.
Another reason was because so many people at work were having panic attacks over me and I was getting tired of hearing it. I figured a slower loss would give everyone a chance to get used to my return to being slender.
Another reason was because I was increasing my exercise and it is a bit of a balancing act to get the fuel right.

I might go back to the 1 kg/week after Easter for a month or two just to shake off the last few kg. I'll see. But I've got the option to lose as much or as little as I want.

not at all!!! In fact I'm surprised you can survive on so few calories. I'm over a foot shorter than you, which means I can only have a very small deficit, so I am aiming at something as small as 1-1.5lbs PER MONTH weight loss. It means I can have days where I can eat more, and days where I don't feel like eating so much, and as long as I stick to an average and my weight slowly moves down then that's just fine.

and yes, far better to be a nice person to be around than be grumpy, half-starved, and skinny.

You're not cheating at all, slow loss is more sustainable and you're a tall lady so you need more calories!

Sticking on an unrealistic goal, and quitting is selling yourself short.
Changing your goal should be read as updating/fine-tuning your goal. At least you realize that if you don't adjust you won't stick with it. Well done

I agree it's more realistic; not cheating at all. Setting yourself up for more success.

To adapt a plan after having gleaned more information about a situation isn't cheating, it's intelligent decision making.

no not at all....just do you....if a less aggressive goal works, but is more sustainable then it is a better option long term wise.