So am I the only one who has a HUGE list of minigoals that I work toward? I tried to have enough that I'd make 2-3 goals every month, so I always have something not very far off that I'm working toward. And this doesn't even include "getting to a new decade" goals, which are great in their own right.

I keep a notepad document on my desktop that I can go in and mark them as completed as I reach them. Here is what I have right now:

Started journey 3/18/18: 267.4
No longer Class 3 obese: 255.0 **Met 5/8/18
Goal 1: 247.4 by 5/31/18 * 20 pounds lost **Met 5/29/18
Minigoal 10%: 240.6 **Met 6/29/18
Goal 2: 240 by 6/30/18 **Met 6/29/18
237.4 - 30 pounds lost **Met 7/13/18
233.6 - halfway to Onederland **Met 7/23/18
Goal 3: 233 by 7/31/18 **Met 7/29/18
227.4 - 40 pounds lost **Met 8/17/18
Goal 4: 226 by 8/31/18 **Met 8/20/18
No longer Class 2 obese: 223.4 **Met 8/31/18
220.2 - under 100 kg **Met 9/20/18
Goal 5: 219 by 9/30/18 **Met 10/13/18 - big plateau
217.4 - 50 pounds lost **Met 10/24/18
BMI 34: 217.0 **Met 10/25/18
Minigoal 20%: 213.8 **Met 11/13/18
BMI 33: 210.6 **Met 11/23/18
210.0 - Joined Fitday and 3FC - Weight when I first thought I was fat **Met 11/29/18
207.4 - 60 pounds lost - halfway to final goal **Met 12/13/18
BMI 32: 204.2 **Met 1/1/19
10 BMI lost: 203.6 **Met 1/7/19
25% lost 200.6 **Met 1/21/19
Onederland: 199.8!! **Met 1/21/19
Under 90kg: 198.4 **Met 1/28/19
BMI 31: 197.8 **Met 2/6/19
197.4 - 70 pounds lost **Met 2/11/19
No longer obese: 191.4 **Met 4/3/19
Lowest weight since pre-2005: 190.2 **Met 4/6/19
187.4 - 80 pounds lost **Met 5/5/19
Minigoal 30%: 187.0 **Met 5/7/19
BMI 29: 185 **Met 5/24/19
College weight: 170s **Met 7/20/19
BMI 28: 178.8 **Met 8/29/19
177.4 - 90 pounds lost **Met 8/30/19
Under 80kg: 176.2 **Met 9/9/19
BMI 27: 172.4 **Met 10/12/19
15 BMI lost: 171.6 **Met 10/13/19
High School Weight - 160s **Met 10/20/19
167.4 - 100 pounds lost
BMI 26: 166.0
Minigoal 40%: 160.4
No longer overweight 159.6
157.4 - 110 pounds lost
Under 70kg: 154.2
BMI 24: 153.2
147.4 - 120 pounds lost
Minigoal 45%: 147.0
BMI 23: 146.8
Final goal: 140-150?? Size 6/8??

Anyone else have a HUGE list of minigoals to keep them motivated?

This is great! What an awesome idea always to have something new in front of you to shoot for. I've been worried about this for myself as I start to see my goal weight on the horizon for the second time. My immediate goal is to get into the BMI green zone, and of course there are clothing sizes and my goal weight, but nothing is too detailed beyond that. I'd better get cracking on my own list...

WOAH!!!!! You blew my mind with your records and lists for your mini-goal. Keep on , you are on the right track for achieving it.

I lost 20 pounds from 210 down to 190 pounds last year by combining strong motivation and some weight lost product (I avoid to name the product to avoid any advertisement). I think that it worked very well for me when I combined both of those. Also, you need to be surrounded by people who also care about you losing weight . That's really help a lot.

Thanks to both of you. I really think always having a goal in close reach has helped me a lot to keep motivated.

I have quite a few for this year, still working on some more to fill in some gaps for next year. As I get smaller, I think it will be even more important to have more minigoals, as the weight loss slows down. So if anyone has any ideas for things I could add in to the "under 200" group, I'm open to suggestions.

I was thinking about big milestones for kg, like "under 90 kg", "under 80 kg". I thought about adding stones, but I really don't like that method of weight, so decided not to. Beyond that, I didn't really have a lot of ideas.

(And I just realized all my goals for next year say 2018 instead of 2019...off to fix that)

great list Lacerta - you're doing so well!
Well I guess the big missing one is measurements (I know you've got some clothing sizes, but it'll be hard to really say the date you achieve those), also I wouldn't have a clue how to estimate time v size, so not easy, but anyway...
Or you could add in some BMI targets (actual numbers within the zones)
Or you could add in some exercise goals - eg around your running
Or you could calculate your weight losses in terms of tangible items, maybe in your house? Like when you've lost the weight equivalent to a table, or the washing machine etc!!!
Or on the same theme calculate that you've lost a washing machine and a lawnmower but only have a bag of fertilizer to go til goal etc...…..

I've met 2 more goals, so I updated. I also added in BMI milestones for 28-23 (29 is the same as my goal #11) Good suggestion Ange. The others are good too, just not sure how I could place them. Like I want to get my waist down under 35", but I have no idea what weight that will happen at. Last time I lost weight, it happened at 190, but I'm carrying more around my belly this time around.

I've hit a plateau this month, so I went from about 2 weeks ahead to about 2 weeks behind my "schedule", but still could make Onederland this year potentially. We'll see.

Reached the 50 pound marker today, so updated again. Yay!

Yay, I get to mark off my 20% minigoal today, which is a significant one.

wow Lacerta! You've made a fantastic change this year! Great to see another target ticked off
Well done you!

Thanks ange. It wasn't as significant as yours, but it has been a great first step, mentally, as well as physically.

I'm thinking after the first of the year, I might remove all my "x weight by y date" goals. Just too unpredictable when you factor in plateaus, vacations, etc.

Right now, I'm not too far off from my first big goal (Onederland by New Years), where my sights have been set all year, but I'm not going to quite make it. Probably it will happen in January, which is FINE. I likely WILL make it to my halfway point by New Years, which is also a worthwhile checkpoint. I'm not letting the timetable stress me out too much,as I know now that I WILL eventually make the next goal, and having one always close does help keep me motivated, but I think having those goals on my list with a deadline is just counterproductive. If it takes 3 years to reach my goal, that's ok, too, as long as every year is better than the last.

Actually, I think I'm going to remove the date goals for 2019 right now. I may still set an overall goal for the year, and I may still set goals each month as we go, but I"m not going to let it stress me out if I don't make those goals at that time. One bad week, one vacation, or a plateau is not going to stop me, and definitely won't reverse what I've done. Today is always a new day.

yep, the important thing is that your head's still in it - date's don't matter.

I've not got on scales after my holiday yet - I've gone up a few kg, but tbh i'm not too bothered what the scale says - what I am bothered about is getting back to good habits so that I can get back to the weight I was before. I'm expecting this to take around 3 weeks, but as long as I'm happy with my eating behaviour from now, the timeframe doesn't matter. I'm sure a lot of people would say I don't need to lose the bit I've just put on, but it's the principle and being able to control this thing that i'm interested in - not the actual numbers.

I went through and changed some of the big important goals to BOLD so they stood out better. Today I met one of those bold goals. I reached the halfway point. The second half will likely take twice as long as the first half, but the first half has more immediate health benefits, so I'm ok with that. It's been just under 9 months to date and I'm down 60 pounds.

massive congratulations on the MAXI-goal of half way Lacenta. Hurray for you. Really happy for you! I don't buy that you're going to slow down for the second half necessarily - I didn't, although good that you're mentally prepared to do so.

So.……reflection time..... tell us what's changed so far. What can you do that you couldn't? How do you feel that's different? Can you even remember 60lb ago properly?!! What's making you motivated to continue (as you obviously are)?
And what's your next milestone that's not on the scales?

Thanks ange. It has already started slowing down. I've gone from 8 pounds a month average to about 5-6 now. I've decided my goal for 2019 is going to be to do some strength training and build a little bit of muscle, or at the very least hang on to what I've got, and thus lose less weight, maybe getting to 167, which is 100 pounds down, and only 40 from where I am now. If I do better, that is fabulous, but I'd rather focus more on inches next year than on the scale. Not going to ignore the scale, but I might only shoot for 3 or 4 pounds a month, or even just maintaining some months.

Honestly, I don't know what I can do that I couldn't before. Even at my heaviest, I was already pretty mobile and flexible. I could get up and down off the floor, I could sit with crossed legs (indian style, if it is still PC to call it that), that sort of thing. I can now do the quad stretch where you bring your foot up to your bum and grab it with your hand now without any weird acrobatics, which I couldn't do before. I still can't quite tie my shoes by kneeling down, but that is more because my boobs get in the way than anything fat related. I can walk longer than I could before my feet start to hurt.

I also felt relatively healthy before too, so when people keep asking me whether I feel loads better, I didn't really feel bad before, so I don't feel a lot different yet, but my mindset is a lot different, for sure. I find it a lot easier to pass up snacks and sweets, or really have just one instead of the whole bag. My joints do feel better though. Less aches and pains in general.

I'm also not finding that it takes a lot of motivation. I'm not sure why, as before it has always been all about willpower, but this time is just very different. I've changed my way of eating, and I don't really even want to go back to what I was doing before. Looking back, I'm not even sure how I was eating that much before. I think my stomach has shrunk substantially because I get full on a lot less food now. Never had that happen before when losing weight. But so far, no real motivation has been necessary. I've just changed my mindset completely, and I hope, permanently.

My next NSV goal is to be able to wear my wedding ring again. I'm close now, I can get it on, but it is still really hard to get off and is still too tight to be comfortable. After that, I'm not sure. I'd like to be able to fit into my high school Gitano shorts from the 90s by next spring when it gets warm enough to wear them. They are size 16, but with vanity sizing, they are closest to my current 10s. I'm a 14 right now, and can fit into the 12s, but the muffin top is too big to actually wear the 12s yet. I'm also going to have to sort through the tshirts in my closet and see which of the XLs fit me yet. Mostly, I'm still wearing the XXLs that I started in, but a few of the larger XLs are starting to fit again. And once I get into Onederland, my next step that actually WILL require willpower and motivation is to make sure I'm regularly doing some strength training. Once I'm under 200, then clothing size and waist circumference and waist to hip ratio will be more important to me than the scale number (but hitting the new scale goals will still be nice). I recently got my waist to under 40", so 35" is my next goal (which apparently will theoretically cut my risk of heart attack in half).