I was just thinking about how far I've come on my journey and today looked back at pictures from January, where I was at an all time high. In January I set a goal to lose 50 pounds by June 1. At the time I new this was ambitious but I made a little chart and put it in the bathroom. It had dates stamps of where I should be each week in order to meet my goal. I did good at first...meeting those goals each week. But then I hit a plateau and no matter what the weight loss stalled. I was still losing but just not at the same rate. This really has messed with my head. I really urge you to not make a date goal timeline. I should be thrilled with my weight loss but instead I feel myself feeling like I've failed because there is no way I'll be at my goal by June 1st. I just thought I'd share my experience. In hind sight I should have just stuck with the goal weight and not added the date goal.

I think that a goal date with the caveat that it is an ideal to shoot for and not set in stone can't be hurt. I've been moving my "goal date" back for over a year now!

I think that resetting the goal dates as we come to them is a better motivator than just a simple "when I get there".

I have them, but I don't get hung up on them, and as long as I don't REGAIN, I can be pleased, in addition to being frustrated.

I think we should not get so hung up on the numbers, but concentrate more on being healthy. The first time I lost 50 pounds it took me 10 months. Then I got hurt, (bucked of my horse and damn near broke my a**) and gained back some. It bites to have your butt that sore. It was a week before I could stand up straight again.

Now, I don't want to concentrate on the scale or time, just one jean size smaller, the number that does worry me is my cholesterol, as long as I can keep that one down, I'm good! Because that will mean the rest of the numbers will fall in place.

oh i know i think im gonna stick to my goal weight and not a goal date if that makes any sense lol

Goal dates suck for me. They are nothing more than an encouragement to procrastinate.

If I a goal date for six months from now, it's very easy for me to think "six months minus one day is still basically six months, so I can delay this until tomorrow." Days, weeks of procrastination go by and suddenly I have no time left. (This is not just true for weight loss, by the way, but for every aspect of my life.)

I'm working hard not to do that anymore, which means for me focusing on making the right choice NOW. I'll hit the goals when I hit them. I'm not setting any dates.

Well if you look at my ticker you will notice that I have 1 lb left to goal. Because I do have a goal date, my 40th birthday. And next week if I lose that lb, it will show 1 more lb to goal. My goal is to stay super focused from now until my birthday and also to celebrate any progress. So I change the "goal" to 1 lb lighter than I am every time I update my weight. Until a week before my birthday, then I will stop.