My birthday is in late september and I am trying to come up with a weightloss goal for that date.
If I lost 1lb a week that would be 11lbs but I want to push to 15- 20lbs. Is that realistic? I would LOVE to turn 28 and be under 200lbs!

It's possible, but I recommend going for something more likely if you're absolutely set on having a xx lbs by xx date goal.

I still don't like those types of goals, because even if they're reasonable sometimes the scale doesn't cooperate and can bring a person down when they should feel proud and successful due to the changes their making and the weight they've lost.

Still, some people enjoy those goals. Different strokes, right?

I'd say stick to a goal of 10 lbs. And then if you achieve that goal ahead of time, adjust it for a couple more pounds.

A 1-2 lb loss a week is safe and do-able, but losing 2 lb/week can be hard to do, depending on your body. So, you could set a goal to lose at least 1 lb a week, or at least 4-5 lbs a month. Whichever you think would help better, setting daily, weekly or monthly goals. Or, you could set a minimum goal (10 lb loss by b-day) and an ultimate goal (20 lb loss by b-day). I agree that setting high goals and then not reaching them is a downer, so you'll have to break them down into manageable bits. Good luck! I'd look in the different support forums and pick a couple of challenge/goal threads to join.

Another thing that helps in achieving weight goals is turning your "plan of attack" (how you'll achieve your goal) into goals themselves, such as tracking exercise, diet and water consumption. If you set a goal to work out 3x/week, then next week, even if the scale isn't friendly, you'll still feel accomplished having met your exercise (clean eating, etc) goals.

Thanks for the advice. I think I will do the 2 in 1 goal system. A minimum goal then an ultimate goal as well to help push me on days I want to be lazy.

ferretgirl said it best! Personally, I started off at 225lbs (March 2011) and this morning I weighed in at 195lbs.

I aimed for 10lbs a month and ended up successfully losing and maintaining about 5lbs - give or take a good/bad month. Do I wish the pounds peeled off faster? Yes! And, I'm sure if I worked HARDER (i.e. worked out every day, ate healthier, etc) it would..

Either way, minimum goal & ultimate goal are the way to go

It depends on the type of person you are imo. Some people set goals and then will work 110% to get them done, I'm like that. If I have a set goal in mind it helps me focus and stay on track. 2lbs a week is totally doable though if you kick your own butt, but you have to be okay with the possibility that no matter how hard you work it might not just happen. Failing to reach a goal isn't the end of the world