Okay, I'm about 8.5 pounds in...but yeah, 130 pounds. It just seems so daunting and far away. How do you guys manage to make the goal seem not quite so big?

The time is going to pass....if I lose weight or not ...might as well be losing weight with the time instead of nothing or worse gaining more weight.

I lost 80lbs over a year. It's been sooo slow, but I've learned alot and continue to do so. Other people just started losing and kept on it. I've never gained weight this past year but I had a alot of periods of no weight loss.

I understand where you are coming from. It may help if you try breaking the weight you need to lose into smaller goals... like taking it 10lbs at a time. It's much easier thinking of it that way (atleast it is for me anyway).

I'm amazing, that's how.

Really, I look at it quite a few different ways.

First, there is the choice listed above, of breaking it down into smaller goals.
Next, there is the other choice listed above. This time next year if I am no longer on my diet, I'll be regretting it. I always do, so I might as well do it.
Third, and this is fairly morose, but it is what it is:

WOULD YOU RATHER WORK HARD FOR A SEEMINGLY LONG TIME AND BE HEALTHY, OR NOT WORK AT ALL AND BE DEAD?

I feel like being alive, kthnx. :P

I just realized this time around that a year from now I could look and feel very different. So instead of trying to lose 100+ lbs, I'm dieting for a year. The year is going to go by linearly and each week when I look at the calendar, another week will have gone by, unlike the scale which is not always a pound down. Heck, I've already "lost a month". Only 11 more to go. And just like with weight loss, once I reach goal (one year), I'll probably see that I can do more or at the very least maintain.

That's what I have chosen to do.

It is very daunting. The other thing I have switched to is a digital scale (Wii fit actually). I like seeing that I've lost .2 ounces this week, for instance, which is better than the old way of staring at the dial in the same place for several weeks.

someone else here said they break it down like if you have to lose 100 pounds....say to yourself that you are losing 10 pounds 10 times or 20 pounds 5 times. Each pound is an achievement. I try not to look at the 100 pounds I have to lose...I break it down.. It helps, believe it or not You can do this. We are all here to support you!

I try to think about how every pound I lose makes me healthier. Every week I can be healthier by losing a small amount of weight. Then I don't focus on the big goal because it will happen by itself if I take it one week at a time. Also I am inspired by the ladies here who have lost so much weight and gotten in shape. They are inspirational.

Exactly! First I 'accepted' that I'm going to do this for a year, I'm gonna deal with that year first before worrying about anything else weight loss.

I also bought a digital scale, that decimal matters. Analog scale is way too shifty and hard to see for sure.

Welcome StarryEyes86! You don't have to lose 130 pounds, you only have to lose one - the next one! Don't worry about the big picture, just concentrate on the here and the now. What are you going to do today to get closer to being the slim, trim person you were meant to be?

We are always here for support and encouragement.

I think about it as a "time passing" matter too. No matter what happens, that time is going to pass and I'd rather have it pass with me losing weight than gaining weight. I decided that I would take one year and fully commit to that year by eating right and losing weight. So far so good! I don't worry about having to lose 100 lbs, I just think about my commitment and keeping it.

One thing that I did not know, is that you do not need to get all the way to goal to start seeing HUGE benefits.

After ten pounds, I felt much better. After twenty, I had already gone down a size.

The difference between where I was (Morbidly obese, size 24, completely out of shape, BMI of 45) and where I am now (Class I obesity, size 16-18/XL, BMI of 34) is absolutely ENORMOUS. I LOOK better, I FEEL better, I am about 1000x fitter.

I could stop now, not lose another pound and be one hundred per cent better off than I was then. There is NO comparison.

So, just start. Put one foot in front of another.

You will reap enormous awards long before you lose all 130 pounds.

Everyone is so inspirational! I'm just starting (again) and am also focusing on today, this week and not trying to think about the year or longer it will take to get to goal. Time WILL pass either way, so I may as well do something positive each day to improve my health, fitness and appearance.

Like ubergirl, I try to focus on the tremendous health benefits instead of the actual numbers. Sure, I am as numbers-obsessed as anyone else around here, but my weight loss has been painfully slow (25-35 lbs. a year over the past 3.5 years) so if I don't want to throw in the towel and end up right back where I started, I have to look at the other benefits to changing my lifestyle.

I'm in better physical condition than ever before in my life. I'm stronger and have more muscle tone, I have been endurance and I actually enjoy exercise, which I never, ever thought would happen. I feel better about myself and I am proud of the fact that I've stuck with it in spite of the fact that my body fights me every step of the way. I have gone through so many plateaus, but I never gave up and it's paid off. So the journey has proven to me more about what kind of person I am than just how much weight I can lose quickly.

You can look at it that way, if it helps. Or you can look at it as 'ten pounds 13 times'. Or you can look at it as 'I'll do this for a year', or 'I'll just eat healthier so I feel better and see where that takes me'. The trick is to find the motivation that works for you, then commit to reaching that goal, however long it takes.

It feels daunting in the beginning, sure, but every day you stick to your plan will make it a little less daunting, until finally it's just a habit. Good luck! You're in the right place for support, that's for certain.

I started off having about 132 LBS to lose. I have had some setbacks but plan on doing better this year. I just need to plan better and get my priorties straight. I decided to look at 5 LBS at a time. So I have to lose 5 LBS about 21 more times. There is alot of support on this forum. Good Luck!

This is the truth! And those small accomplishments help keep you going to even bigger losses.

And like the others, I also believe in only looking as far as your next milestone. I have a list of milestones a mile long: every 5 pounds, every new "decade" (220's 210's etc.), 10% milestones, BMI categories, percentages of my goal milestones, weights I remember being at thinner times in my life, etc. All sorts of small chunks and I'm never more than 5 pounds away from the next one. I can lose 5 pounds. 5 pounds is a snap. You can do it too! Just don't pay too much attention to the overall number.