@Magicsusan: As everyone probably figured out by now...I'm a quantifier. My husband tells me I'm always keeping score and it's true. I need goals that are specific and realistically attainable/sustainable. If they are too grand in too short of a time - I will only disappoint myself. It's better to achieve ahead of schedule than miss a deadline!
Up until this point, my goal (time after time)was 150lbs, size 10 pants. It seemed very specific at the time(s). As fast as I could (cardio,cardio,cardio). That's all that mattered. Not eating healthy, getting stronger, etc and no plan for after I hit the 'magic' 150. And every time I reached 150, I wasn't happy. I would stop the cardio (finally, whew) and start eating. Everything.
It was all just a means to my end - not a true change of lifestyle.
THIS time, I have very three very specific lifestyle changing goals and a detailed long term plan on how to get there and stay there.
#1. Free Weights. The weight program I am doing is broken into 4 phases, 4 weeks each then changes to new section with 6 phases of 6 weeks each. So that is my fitness goal: Finish each phase. It should take me about 10 months from start to finish. Maybe longer if I choose to repeat the first 4 phases - depends on where I am at when I finish at the end of April.
#2 Body fat under 20%. As for weight - I'm no longer interested in the scale. I am targeting a specific body fat % by May 1. No sense lifting all these weights and then hiding my muscles under a layer of fat!
#3 Finally: food. On all previous attempts I severely restricted calories (1100ish) and would be so hungry, dizzy and cranky that I constantly thought of food and what I was going to inhale as soon as I was done with the 'diet'. I felt so deprived and a bit resentful of all the 'good' food other people got to eat. Oh and at least a 'cheat' day every month. With that came the inevitable crushing sense of failure. I knew it wasn't sustainable - just didn't care as it meant the weight came off
fast. Sadly that cycle continued for years before I finally realized that I was doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. Silly girl - stop beating your head against the same wall- it hurts! This time - I eat 1500-1600 calories (150+gram protein, 150 carbs, rest fat grams) of healthy, low/no sodium foods. I'm not hungry and I don't feel deprived or miss crappy food. It's taking longer this time and amazingly, that doesn't bother me because I know I can sustain this - and have for 83 days without going off plan!. No more hunger, cranks or dizziness. When I start heavy lifting in May - I will need
at least 2500 calories a day - no way I'll feel hungry. I'm actually worried about how in the heck I'm going to ADD 1000 calories! Definitely slowly! My goal is to bulk muscle - not fat!!
As an added bonus: I get rewarded every time I lift weights! I can do one more rep or lift a few more pounds. It's
quantifiable in a way that cardio never was. And cardio didn't transfer over to my day-to-day life. I never ran really fast across a huge parking lot and thought, "Whew, good thing I can do lots of cardio or I never would have made it into the store!"
However last night I was in the basement 'playing' in the litter box and I picked up the big 38 pound bucket of litter with one hand and lifted it up to my chest to grab the bottom with the other hand like it was a box of tissues!
Yikes - there I go again, typing like I talk...on and on!