Mini-GoalsEven if you're not at goal yet, this is the place to share your successes and achievements along the way! Success can be measured in many ways besides the scales. Tell us about your triumphs, including Non Scale Victories
Does anybody here actually *avoid* setting mini-goals?
I have this fear that I will set a goal - say, 10lbs in a month (but it could be any goal, really, like a dress size or a percentage, or whatever) - and then if I don't hit it, I will focus on the failure to meet the goal rather than celebrating what weight I *do lose. In other words, instead of being happy that I lost 8lbs, I will get discouraged that I didn't lose 10lbs.
OTOH, I could set very easy goals, like 1lb a week, but then I wouldn't really "get" anything out of making them, since I knew how low I had set the bar.
I know myself and I am pretty sure this is what will happen. It's almost like setting myself up for failure. So, I have decided to NOT set mini-goals. Anybody else think this way? If yes, what do you do instead, for motivation?
(I probably don't need to say this but just in case.... I am *not* criticising anybody that sets goals. I *wish* it worked for me, and I'm glad it works for others.)
I did set mini-goals, but I didn't put a deadline on them. I guess they were more like "checkpoints" if you want to think of it that way. For me it was much easier to think about getting to a goal that was 10 or 20 lbs away than one that was over 100 lbs away.
That said, there's no mini-goal law do what works for you!
Things like that -- things that encourage your body to heal itself from obesity. Things that YOU control directly and can measure and check off.
But making the goal be "-10 lbs by the end of the month" -- not only is it faster than healthy rate of loss (1-2 lbs per week) -- it's like telling a cut on your arm to heal by Thursday. It is NOT something you directly control. You can hope it is healed by Thursday but it isn't something you control directly.
You can certainly concentrate on 10 lb blocks, but don't put a time limit on it. It takes however long it takes for your body biochemistry to do its thing.
Then set goals you can actually execute directly in support of that hoped for result.
That way you aren't setting up the scale to be your mood meter.
Good advice already given. My goal is to stay on plan, as that is the part I can control. I can't control how many pounds I lose in a given period of time.
I haven't made one of my weight loss challenges, but I have stayed on plan, so next time I join a challenge, it will be to add something healthy, or to stay particularly focused.
I agree with what everyone else said. Why set yourself up for failure, when instead you can contribute to your success.
Love the idea of juliana's checkpoints and also astrophe's goals.
I made the mistake of setting out to lose X amount of pounds by a certain date. I would always lose that amount of pounds.... but was always a week to two weeks late which can be very annoying. Another problem was that my reward was clothes if I made it to that weight, and even tho I ended up taking a bit longer to get there, I would still need the clothes since mine were starting to get to big. This would cause a fight between my husband and I since he is extremely goal oriented kind of person, and since I didn't "Make my goal by the set date, I could not reward myself with the clothes since whats the point of even setting a goal/reward if I am not going to follow it"...Sorry but I am not walking around in pants that I have to keep hiking up lol!
I have now learned to set goals, but not the kind that I can not control (such as losing 5 pounds by April 1st).. but now my goals are "5 pounds" "Gym 5 days a week" "Will calorie track every single item for a week straight" .
I set some "mini-goals" but mine aren't quite so intense. I would never set a weekly goal for weight loss for example. Instead, one of my goals might be, "I'll walk 3 miles today" which isn't hard given that the loop around my school is 3 miles so all I gotta do is go around campus. Or I'll say, "I want to weigh no more than 150 for graduation", something like that. 150 means 10 more pound off, that's 1 pound a week, so it's more like a "keep on track" goal rather than a "kick my own butt" goal.
I do set mini-goals as well but I DO NOT give myself a deadline. I have months where I'm like, "I'd really like to lose 8 pounds this month" but I don't get upset if I don't.
I've set hundreds of goals for myself, but I've found that when I give myself deadlines, I can go a little batty over them. I've done a few with deadlines, mainly around my vacations, but I have so many other daily/weekly/monthly goals that they build my confidence, so if I view those vacation-goals as "guidelines" rather than "I must do this or I am a failure" type things.
I didn't really 'set' mini-goals, I had my eye on the prize at the end . However, I did discover some mini-goals as I went along, & those were exciting! My plan morphed into a kind-of one-day-at-a-time sort of thing, so I could forget I was on such a life-long journey while I was just getting my feet wet. It was effective for me.
For example: The first time I hit 10 lbs, I was so excited & that was a mini-goal. I didn't have a time frame on it, I was just happy to get there . The first time I slid into smaller jeans, celebrate! The first time I actually needed to shop b/c all my jeans were big, celebrate! Thing was, I didn't really think of these things ahead of time, but when they arrived~super exciting!
Anyway, these milestones weren't set, but they were surely celebrated when the arrived! I hope you do celebrate (not the cake & ice cream kind!) along your journey, it makes it much more enjoyable. You just have this one life~you can enjoy it & make good decisions at the same time!
I did set mini-goals, but I didn't put a deadline on them.
Same for me! This way, once you reach your mini-goal, whatever it may be, you can celebrate it rather than getting to a certain date and feeling bad. I know that for me, being about 8 lbs away from a mini-goal right now and like 38 lbs from my ultimate goal, it feels much better to look at that 8 then that 38. It feels more attainable for me right now, while that 38 lbs will take quite a bit longer. You'll find something that works for you, I'm sure!
So much of this journey is the mental part. My "goal" was to lose 50 pounds in 2011. At the beginning of December I was only at 48 and was afraid that I wasn't going to make it to 50 ( I did but just barely). Had to keep reminding myself over and over that 48 pounds was something to be proud of.
Exactly. Deadlines SUCK. Setting a goal like "I will lose Xlbs by the end of the month", to me, is a set up for dwelling on it and being disappointed. I do set mini goals, but without a timeline (see signature block LOL). I figure as long as I reach it at some point, I'm good.
I also avoid timeline goals. And I also view weight loss as a result not a goal.
I do set behavior-based goals (setting a "reward" for say exercising 4 times this week).
For every 5 lbs I lose, I also add a "donut bead" (like the Pandora jewelry only far cheaper) to a bracelet (now bracelts) to mark my progress. I have 20 beads (100 lbs) on one bracelet and 1 bead on the second bracelet. I may very well end up needing a third bracelet before I'm finished.
I set goals on my excel spreadsheet but I put a "met date" next to it instead of a "goal date".
Mine look like this
Stay 100% on plan for 1 week straight (no nibbles of any kind) - I put a happy face for each week I do this & I put a sad face for each week I stray (none yet) and also write down what food item I nibbled on (could be as simple as one bite of banana (off plan for me).
For every 5lbs I get a cute Buddha lining my excel spreadsheet - Almost on my 3rd Buddha.
My first mini goal is 20lbs down and I have a "Met" date next to it. I'm 7 pounds away from meeting this first goal.
Next Goal is 30lbs down, then 40, then 50, etc. You get the drift.
I think it's nice to have goals but I don't have a hard date because that's not what is important to me. Staying on plan is most important and my body will lose what it wants to lose and I'm not going to get depressed or freaked out or quit the plan if I don't reach a certain weight by a certain date.
I also don't like those "challenges" because if I'm doing everything right with diet and exercise there is nothing more I can do and will lose whatever I lose so a challenge doesn't do anything for me other than having one more thing to do at night or whatever by posting.
Does anybody here actually *avoid* setting mini-goals?
do what works for you!
