Looking for help to set realistic and attainable goals

cjanaro18
cjanaro18 Posts: 6 Member
edited November 25 in Health and Weight Loss
Hello! I don't post often but I have been contemplating setting goals for a few days and figure why not reach out. I am trying to figure out a long term goal and a smart way to approach that goal. Right now I am 325lbs and inbody testing has me around 38% bf, I had guessed 40 going in and a few other tests had me around 40 so I will say 38-42.

At this point goal #1 is to get under 300 and I figured other short term goals after that would be 275 and 250. I work much better when I have a goal to work for, I have certain strength/workout goals along the way as well.

How did you all approach setting goals?

I've said 225 lbs and 12% before, but between muscle and fat loss I have no idea if this is even a realistic goal because it's still 100 pounds and probably a year or so away, for all I know I could still be holding a lot of fat or maybe even see muscle gain by then.

Diet wise I like CICO, I've tried keto, raw, and juicing years ago and none of it was sustainable for me long term and I think CICO is just a better way to go for me personally (I lurk enough to know not to start that debate). I do emphasize protein at 40% because I work out a ton, I enjoy it- not just overkill to lose weight. I power lift 3-4 times a week, run 3ish times a week and go to camp gladiator (basically outdoor HIIT style training) 3 times a week, so the added protein I see as a way to minimize muscle loss from the caloric deficit. I doubt this last paragraph was necessary considering my question, but eating/style of working out can give an idea as to what results I could expect.

If you were in my position, would you even bother setting a long term goal with weight and bf% yet or wait a while and set it after some weight loss?

Replies

  • seska422
    seska422 Posts: 3,217 Member
    I set very short term goals, such as hitting today's calorie goal. I didn't decide on a final goal weight until I was there. I put no time limit on anything. As long as I had a generally consistent calorie deficit so that my weight trend was downward, I was accomplishing what I wanted to accomplish.

    There's really no way of predicting your future body shape and fitness results from 100 pounds away.
  • senorajoselina
    senorajoselina Posts: 19 Member
    I developed a weight goal with a doctor (two actually). They both came up with the same target weight number independently and it's a realistic and healthy number for me. I'd recommend getting some professional advice!
  • RadishEater
    RadishEater Posts: 470 Member
    Cico is different from keto, raw, jucing as it is not a way to guide food choices but simple math.
    Cico= eat less calories than you burn (exercise+activity level)

    You can be vegan, vegetarian, only drink juice, only eat meat etc. and still use CICO to lose weight.

    For goals, I would set a range that you think might be attainable but reevaluate when you hit your milestones. Also important, don't feel bad if you have to set it to something more attainable. Some people get stuck on some number they generated off of what they were in early college, but our bodies change.
  • tinkerbellang83
    tinkerbellang83 Posts: 9,130 Member
    edited March 2018
    CICO isn't a diet it's a mathematical equation which is the energy balance which is responsible for weight management, it would have also applied to your Keto, Raw and other diets.

    The BMI chart is a good starting point for determining the healthy weight range for your height. You can then either set that as your goal or break it down into smaller chunks if it seems less overwhelming.

    I wouldn't be worrying about body fat % at this point just aim for a sustainable rate of loss (no more than 1% of your current bodyweight) at 325lbs your body can cope with 2lb loss per week no problem, but you may find 1lb or 1.5 per week easier to stick to long term as it will be a slightly smaller deficit.

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    To maintain as much muscle as possible just make sure you're hitting your RDA for protein, not overdoing the deficit and keep up that strength training. Weight loss itself happens in the kitchen not the gym so that's where you want to focus your efforts, get your logging on point, there are some great threads in the Most Helpful posts on this board and the Getting Started board that you should take a read through.
  • ashleyminnich1
    ashleyminnich1 Posts: 60 Member
    My goal is always to meet my calorie numbers for the day, and for the scale to go down just a little the next day. I don't always meet my goal, but over time, I do!
  • khaleesikhaleesi
    khaleesikhaleesi Posts: 213 Member
    Break it down into smaller goals, i.e. I WILL eat this many calories today or I will exercise this much this week or I will lose so many pounds in a month. Break it into chunks so it's easier.
  • DebLaBounty
    DebLaBounty Posts: 1,169 Member
    I had a long-term goal, but broke it down into smaller segments and basically celebrated each smaller milestone. I logged in my calorie intake every day, and weighed myself every day. When I reached the interim goal (like losing 10 pounds), I'd go to a thrift shop to find a pair of jeans or a top that fit me. It wasn't expensive and having clothes that flattered my new shape gave me a psychological boost.
  • Tacklewasher
    Tacklewasher Posts: 7,122 Member
    So, I started 330+ and no real idea of my BF%. I'm 6'.

    I set my initial goal as 220, pretty much the top of overweight BMI for my height. I then set shorter term goals of 10 lbs lost per such and such date. I hit the short term goals until I got to around 250, and then started losing slower then my plan, but still losing. Celebrated a bit at the milestones you mention (300, 275 and 250) then took last summer off and went from 230 to about 235 over July and August.

    I hit 220 Mid-October last year and still had too big a waist. I'm now at 200 and trying to stay there while I train for a 1/2 marathon. But I'm nowhere near 12% at 200lbs. More like 24%. I now have a BF scale and over the past year (assuming it's close enough on the BF%) I've gone from ~36% (at 260 lbs) to 24%. I think you are overestimating how much fat vs. LBM you will lose with the weight. You will probably do better than I did as I didn't start lifting soon enough.

    But set 225 as a goal and just be prepared to re-evaluate it once you get there and see what your body composition is.

    Also, being a bit pedantic, but you are counting calories. CICO happens regardless of what method you choose.
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
    edited March 2018
    I have been in your position, sort of (I have been overweight, at one time slightly obese), and I know how easy it is to be overwhelmed, overambitious, and get hit by "analysis paralysis", and either not get started at all, or go too hard out and hit the wall - so I think the smartest thing you can do, is to focus on weight, not BF%, and have short, sustainable (daily) behavior goals, and long term (forever) attainable health and weight goals.

    Setting a healthy weight goal according to BMI is the first step.

    Then setting a healthy calorie target. Go (back) to setup and pick a weekly weightloss rate of less than 1% of your current bodyweight. (Do this for every 10 pounds you lose.)

    Then getting used to logging and sticking to the calorie deficit. Buy and use a food scale. Eat food you like, but log it. Hit your calorie target every day.

    At this point, you will start to notice what works and doesn't work when it comes to satiety, energy, satisfaction. Then you can play around with macros, if you feel something is amiss. MFP's default macro split is a good starting point.

    CICO is calories in-calories out - the process by which you lose, gain or maintain weight. MFP is based around calorie counting, and you can calorie count without any specific diet, or diets or woe's like keto, raw or juicing.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    I never had a long term scale weight goal because I had zero clue what I'd look like at a given weight or what my bf% would be. My long term goal was to be around 12-15% BF...I didn't know what that would look like on a scale, so I never bothered with some number.

    As the scale went, I just had short term goals. I lost a total of 40 Lbs, so they were typically in 10 Lb increments. I also focused a lot on fitness goals which helped in keeping me moving and exercising with a purpose rather than just exercising for the sake of exercising.
  • brznhabits
    brznhabits Posts: 126 Member
    My comments from another post...

    I'm a big fan of "start where you are" vs. large changes. When I started, I focused on logging only without any changes for 2 weeks. It was surprising. Everyone is different but, for example, I found that I was massively under calories for a day or several and then binging. You'll also notice what food/drinks are the worst and best.

    After two weeks, I recommend doing 1-2 weeks at maintenance. Then start cutting bad stuff/adding better stuff.

    More examples -All done within the constraints of a calorie deficit;
    I spent a month focused on just water intake.
    I spent another two months eliminating white flour products.
    I spent three months learning how to meal plan and cook my lunches.
    I spent 30 days learning how to add protein (still room to grow in this area, for me).

    The idea is to build the habits on-top of habits. Keep the good habit(s) you already built and then add another good one. The same can be applied to exercise goals and you can be more aggressive but I still caution against too many changes at once.

    I'm focused on changing my habits (that built up over 30 years).
  • cjanaro18
    cjanaro18 Posts: 6 Member
    Thanks everyone, it sounds like multiple short term goals and evaluation later on is the way to go from what most of you said. Day to day my goal is to stay under calories and get my eating right which I have been on track a little over a month with a few "oops" days here and there, but overall this seems to be the best way to become consistent- I guess I should start looking at this being a day by day goal rather than being stuck on what my scale says. Overall i am down 15ish pounds but again looking forward I have a long way to go, so i appreciate everyone's input!

    Just to clarify I know CICO is in vs out and can be applied with any diet. What I was trying to say is I have tried different types of diets in the past (and failed) I am abandoning that mindset and just eating normal/healthy with a focus on calorie in-take and protein.
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