Been Here for AGES!

Another variation on setting "mini goals" is to set goals of behaviour. You can't make your body lose weight but you can make yourself follow a consistent eating and exercise plan. Make goals like "plan meals and stick to the plan" or "drink 8 glasses of water" or "do 30 minutes of exercise" or "walk 5,000 steps". If you stick to a healthy plan every day, the pounds will come off.

You’ve got this!! I read it helps to have friends on here to keep you motivated share recipes and all that. You are welcome to follow me so we can keep each other motivated! I’m new and trying to stay on track!

The mini goals are a great idea but the fact that you're also thinking long term is terrific as well. This says that you're not looking at a quick fix which is a huge stumbling block for lots of people.

Use that long-term view when making changes and only make changes that you can see yourself doing forever. Temporary changes give temporary results. If you decide to make a change and can't honestly in your heart of hearts say that you'll never go back then don't make that change. Find something else that you can change and do that. There are way to many different paths to your goal to take one that you can't live with. Find what works for you!

Secondly, target weight, not target date. Don't put added pressure on yourself by setting a time limit on this. You'll get there when you get there and having a predefined target date can be really disheartening if for one reason or another the process doesn't happen as quickly as you expect and you start falling behind "schedule". Even if you only lose half the amount of weight you want by your 52 birthday you still be 9 stone lighter and no doubt feel a whole lot healthier and happier for it. As long as you're making permanent changes like I suggest then there is no 'end date' just the rest of your life.

G'luck

As I like to say, weight loss is simple but not always easy.

Another of my favourite sayings is, Temporary solutions will give you temporary results which is why I advocate for looking for those small changes that you can make permanent.

To clarify, when I talk about only making permanent changes I'm mainly referring to the trap that I and many other people I've seen/known have fallen into of making unsustainable changes.

For example, in the past I'd say, "I'm gonna cut out pizza" and I would, for a while. But eventually I'd want pizza so I'd order pizza and because I'd denied myself pizza for however long it's been I'd SMASH those pizza(s). "I'm gonna cut out pizza" wasn't a permanent change. There was no way, if I was being honest with myself, that I could honestly say I'd never eat pizza again. It was a temporary solution so I looked for a change I COULD make.

So instead of ordering a thick doughy deep dish pizza with heavy meaty toppings and extra cheese AND a cheesy garlic bread AND garlic knots and eating almost all of it. I ordered a thin crust pizza, with fewer toppings and no extra cheese, herb bread and skipping the garlic knots. I'd then pre-log the food before I ate it so that I was mindful of how many caloires I was eating, this made it easier to have 3 slices of pizza instead of the whole thing, and a couple of pieces of herb bread instead of the whole loaf. On top of that if I knew I wanted to have pizza for dinner I'd be conscious of the calories I was consuming through the day so that I'd have plenty of calories left. This is a change that I can 100% see myself doing until the end of my days.

his change resulted in going from:

pizza (6 slices) - 1200
whole cheese HB - 576
Garlic Knots - 320
Total - 2096

to

pizza (3 slices) - 415
HB - 215
Total - 630 calories

So temporary change "I'm gonna cut out pizza". Unsustainable and when I eventually gave in I over ate like I always had.
Permanent change: "I'm gonna find a way to enjoy pizza that fit in my calorie target". Sustainable, permanent change that means that I never have to deny myself something I enjoy. Never need to rely on 'willpower' or 'motivation' to keep myself going and I'm achieving my goals.

A few others
Instead of "I'm gonna cut out sweet"
I now "Have some fun size chocolates and make room in my calorie target to enjoy a few every night"

Instead of "I'm gonna join a gym and work out 4 days a week"
I now "found an activity I really enjoy (cycling) so that I enjoy getting out and exercising"

Instead of "I'm gonna stick to my calorie target 100% of the time"
I now "stick to my calorie target ALMOST all the time, but don't feel guilty about indulging on special occasions"

I hope this helps and G'luck