Impossible goals/realistic goals/easy goals

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SuperScrabbleGirl
SuperScrabbleGirl Posts: 310 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
So because I have so much weight to lose, I've been trying to set myself attainable goals, my first one was to have lost 2 stone (28 pounds) by the end of Octboer when my brother gets married. Well, I'm well past that now, so I decided to set another one of 40 pounds by the wedding which it looks like I'm going to meet.

Anyway, my question is this, do you set yourself hard goals you know you won't make so it pushes you more?I think that could make people discouraged (including me). Or do you set easy goals that you know you can smash so you feel good about yourself? I'm trying to find a balance.

Replies

  • goodwille
    goodwille Posts: 28
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    I set a goal which would be difficult but very much so attainable. I think in my case the amount of weight I wanted to lose wasn't the hard part of the goal, it was the process of achieving it. No more fast food, no more soda, no more candy and chips, I ate that stuff like veggies weren't real.

    I also like setting multiple related goals, but still starting off small and slow so that I can gain momentum and ease into my new healthier lifestyle.
  • Umeboshi
    Umeboshi Posts: 1,637 Member
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    I don't set a time limit for goals because I know I'd get discouraged badly if I didn't meet them. I just have goals of X amount of weight lost and celebrate them when I hit them. :)
  • redlava85
    redlava85 Posts: 3
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    I think is important to set yourself a goal, so it motivates you to reach certain goal within a specified timeframe.
    If you dont plan to succeed, how can you succeed?? lol... is stupid if you dont have targets.
    But also important to have a realistic goal, for example 'i want to lose 10kgs in 3 weeks' <<<< is stupid, 'i want to lose 10 kgs in 10 weeks' is a much better achievable goal.

    So i think you're doing great ;-))
  • redlava85
    redlava85 Posts: 3
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    I also need to lose much more weight, but i am happy with my progress ;-))

    I hope i can be as motivated and STICK with this lifestyle for a very very long time.
    no more yo-yo diets
  • splackk
    splackk Posts: 163
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    I am the same as goodwille, my goals are numbers that I know I can reach for sure but will mean I can't allow myself to slide backward for even one week without risking not making it. It keeps me accountable because every time I eat more than my goal I have to face myself and remember I'm only making it harder to reach my goals.

    My goals have gotten longer and longer as I've lost more and more too, now that I'm pretty close to my goal I'm giving myself several months to hit the final mark, whereas at the beginning I would have pushed myself to lose this amount quicker.
  • kendrafallon
    kendrafallon Posts: 1,030 Member
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    On one hand, setting small achieveable goals works for me, on the other hand, it makes me feel like I'm being controlled or restricted somehow which then had the effect of making me want to rebe - even thought I'm the one setting the goals!! Having said that my goals aren't get to a set weight, or manage a set weight loss by a set date.

    While the actual physical weight is important to me, I'm using my dress size as my visible goal - current goal is to be a dress size (UK) 16 for my trip to Australia; I fly out 7th December and am on target :drinker: as a size 16 is fit but very tight!
  • jojonesnz
    jojonesnz Posts: 107 Member
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    what works for me is setting a long term goal and then breaking that into smaller milestones that i can celebrate and feel proud od:)

    i generally create new habits as my goal, that way i know i am easing into a healthier lifestyle and in turn will lose weight, i have 12kgs to lose and i am slowly increasing my excercise, i would rather do it slower if it means its going to be easier to maintain if you know what i mean:)
    so far i have stopped drinking soft drinks, cut down caffeine, cut down sweet treats.
    ive incorporated healthy treat options into my diet and i now eat alot more fruit:)
    i started with 30mins excercise 6 days per week as my goal and when i do over that i feel awesome:)
  • lacroyx
    lacroyx Posts: 5,754 Member
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    So because I have so much weight to lose, I've been trying to set myself attainable goals, my first one was to have lost 2 stone (28 pounds) by the end of Octboer when my brother gets married. Well, I'm well past that now, so I decided to set another one of 40 pounds by the wedding which it looks like I'm going to meet.

    Anyway, my question is this, do you set yourself hard goals you know you won't make so it pushes you more?I think that could make people discouraged (including me). Or do you set easy goals that you know you can smash so you feel good about yourself? I'm trying to find a balance.

    When I initally lost about 40 lbs. I got bored with walking so began jogging. Not much , I'd say 10 second intervals then back to walking for 5 mins. When I told my doctor about this he was against it. My doctor, which I shall refer to as Dr. No from this point on, said at my current weight of 440 lbs. jogging was a no. Dr. No said I am too heavy to run. I will hurt myself, it is unhealthy, other stuff I can't remember it all q= I ignored Dr. No. I set goals to improve my 1 mile pace.

    Months later I told Dr. No I was going to run a 5K. Again Dr. No expressing his concerns. He felt I needed to be at minimum 250 lbs or less before I did a distance like that. I completed a 5K @ 335 lbs. I have a goal of reaching 300 or less before the end of this year. I think I will achieve it. I like setting hard goals on myself b/c it pushes me. It especially pushes me when people tell me no. I can't. I am crazy. I find it's a strong motivator proving people wrong. I've given thought to stop seeing Dr. No and switch to another doctor, but I think I'd miss the motivation he gives me. :tongue:
  • Liopleurodon
    Liopleurodon Posts: 63
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    I would rather set goals for behaviour - such as, I dunno, X miles walked by [date] or X hours on the Wii Fit by [date] or however many days sticking with my MFP plan rather than goals for weightloss by a particular date. I have direct control over the former, but not the latter, but hopefully the latter should follow.
  • SuperScrabbleGirl
    SuperScrabbleGirl Posts: 310 Member
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    I would rather set goals for behaviour - such as, I dunno, X miles walked by [date] or X hours on the Wii Fit by [date] or however many days sticking with my MFP plan rather than goals for weightloss by a particular date. I have direct control over the former, but not the latter, but hopefully the latter should follow.

    Yeah, that's an interesting point isn't it? Because you only have a certain amount of control over how much you weigh, but you can always control your behaviour. Good point. I think I'll adopt that when I'm closer to my GW and the loss is slowing down.

    I'm finding this really interesting by the way! Thanks for everyones input, keep it coming.
  • sugarbone
    sugarbone Posts: 454 Member
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    I set easy goals to keep myself motivated, and meeting these helps me feel like one day I'll meet my end goal - I am getting one step closer every mini goal aren't I? It was to lose 10 lbs at a time, 5 lbs, but now that pounds start getting fuzzy near my goal it's weight lifting based and running based. I want to be strong and lean, and if I meet those goals then the body will follow!
  • Cdcaldwe
    Cdcaldwe Posts: 189 Member
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    I at first thought it would take forever to loose fifty pounds, so that was what i initially planned to loose. Then I switched my goal to 75 pounds. At 100 pounds i felt i could take it to the next level and get to a weight I had not seen in well over 20 years. My weight loss has slowed but I am going to get there. For me I didn't put time on it other than knowing if i ate right and excercised it would come off. I am at a bit of a plateau but I am at the weight i was when i graduated from high school. Taking off the last bit I need to take off is not going to be as easy as the first one hundred. Once you make the lifestyle change to being more healthy that is the main goal.
  • funkycamper
    funkycamper Posts: 998 Member
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    I would rather set goals for behaviour - such as, I dunno, X miles walked by [date] or X hours on the Wii Fit by [date] or however many days sticking with my MFP plan rather than goals for weightloss by a particular date. I have direct control over the former, but not the latter, but hopefully the latter should follow.

    I do something similar. When I started my goal was to do 20 minutes of cardio a day at least 5 days/week. As that became easier, I upped my time and intensity, then added weight training, then added in a variety of different exercises classes that I rotate through (I get bored easy) like zumba, kickboxing, spinning, aqua-fit, etc. My new goal is to add in some HITT training.

    I also set goals for intake. Some of these are goals to get my water in, to eat more veggies, to eat enough protein, etc.

    I also have some long-term goals. I want to do a 2-day, 200-mile bike event this summer so I need to train for that. I have other, similar long-term goals with my ultimate one to be fit enough to summit Mt. Rainier.

    I figure if I meet my intake and exercise goals, I'll eventually look the way I want to look and be more fit in the process.
  • raw_sugar
    raw_sugar Posts: 87
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    This time around I'm setting an easier goal for myself (165 lbs as opposed to the 150 I was aiming for in WW) and once I reach that I will decide if I want to keep going.

    I've also found clothing to be a big motivator. Around the time I had started ww, I had bought, on a whim, this pink prom dress thing at a yard sale. No idea why, I just liked it. I was about a size 20 at the time, and it was a 12. I bought it never thinking I'd actually wear it. But my proudest day was when I was actually able to get this dress on, do it up AND STILL BREATHE!

    This time around I have a pair of plaid size 11 pants, which are awesome and are my goal.
  • leelu
    leelu Posts: 136 Member
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    well going back to all those awful business management classes i took one thing stuck with me about goal setting and not just for business but this is maybe a little corny but i find it good to think about when setting goals

    SMART goals are specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timeable

    personally i have my eye on a bigger picture (just getting into the healthy weight for my bmi ) but to get me there i have several smaller goals currently i want to loose 7 kilos by my birthday (december) - approx 9 weeks, this will put me under 80kilos for the first time in my adult life. i think that meets the above criteria :)

    hope something in there helps, small acheivable goals work for me i think because then you get the boost for meeting them, rather than getting disheartened by the enormity of the task
  • ShelleyD81
    ShelleyD81 Posts: 237 Member
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    For me the goals have to be attainable or else I get de-motivated and discouraged. I don't want to work towards something that is impossible so I have set myself some mini goals like get to 14 lbs off in the next 2 weeks, get into the new smaller size jeans I just bought etc...
    :smile:
  • shakybabe
    shakybabe Posts: 1,578 Member
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    Its difficult I didn't think I' d lose the first stone but when I started losing more especially when went gluten free and lost 7lbs I thought I'd set goal to reach 11st for xmas but now I seem to have stalled again and am stuck at 160lbs with same 2 lb going up and down depending how many days it is before I go to loo! .. I can't seem to get any lower at minute.. just hoping if its a plateau it won't last long so I can still make it to 11!
  • cheddar2000
    cheddar2000 Posts: 43 Member
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    My goals don't deal with weight loss as I stress to much over it and I have over 100 pounds to go. Instead I set food goals. I started by limiting meat to 3x a week, then 2x etc. Down now to no meat. then cut down on sugar, cut down on processed foods, add in more beans and grains and so on. My latest goal is to cut down on dairy. This weekend I replaced milk with soy milk in my smoothies. So goals can be whatever works for you. I am down 42 lbs doing it this way so it works for me.
  • rybo
    rybo Posts: 5,424 Member
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    I think far too many people set unrealistic goals. That seems very apparent with so many struggling to reach those goals.
    There is a fine line between a person setting lofty goals and trying to reach them, and a person who sets goals without a prayer at reaching them. For those who who repeatedly fail, they need to re-evaluate things. Maybe it's not the goal, but the road to it that needs work, but either way, somethings got to be tweaked.
  • niebla
    niebla Posts: 71
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    I used to have time-framed goals, not anymore, as when they started not to happen I felt bad. And really, does it matter if it takes me 3 months longer to reach my final target weight? not really. This is not a race. What I do now is to write a list of rewards. A (non-edible) treat for every kilo I lose. That is positive reinforcement.

    I do set goals in terms of minimum calorie burn working out and other behavioural habits that will help me to lose weight.

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