Hello!! My name is Jessica and I am 23 years old, 5'11 and 230lbs, and just beginning my weight loss adventure. What is a realistic first mini goal for me? I exercise four times a week by doing an hour of cardio, either run/walk or go on the elliptical and do not consume more 1600 calories a day.
By April 20th, 2012, about eight weeks from now, I would like to hover around the 210 mark, but I am not sure if that's overreaching. Can anyone with similar experiences (weight, timeline, exercise levels) give me insight into what's worked for them? Thank you!!
I've been told a realistic weekly goal is about 1% of your body fat per week. At 230lbs, that's 2.3lbs per week.
I shoot for 1lb per week because every week that I weigh in with a higher loss (which is many of them), it's a nice surprise and I feel like I'm getting to my goal quicker. If I'd set a higher goal for myself, say 1.5-2lbs per week, there would be many more weeks I wouldn't be able to make that goal, and I'd risk getting discouraged and giving up.
My advice? Underestimate, rather than overestimating, the amount of weight you plan to lose each week. It decreases the opportunities for you to get frustrated and give up, and will GREATLY increase the happiness you see each time you step on the scale to a greater loss than you'd anticipated. Your excitement at constantly overreaching your intended goal can be a great motivator and help keep you on track until you meet your goal.
Personally, I'd make your mini goals weight based rather than time based. I don't pay attention to how much I lose a week, I focus on getting to that next mini goal. And I feel that saves me a lot of grief if I didn't lose as much as I wanted to in any given week.
I prefer a mini goal every 10ish pounds. Big enough to be a difference, small enough to be attainable and not overwhelm. Mine are either a percentage of my body weight or switching to a new range for BMI. Some people pick clothing sizes for mini goals, too.
Whatever you wind up picking, make sure it works for you. Mini goals exist to keep you motivated, to help you feel accomplished and rev you up for the next one when you achieve one. So if every 5 pounds works for you, do that. If every 10lbs works, do that. If every size does it, do that. If they all work, do all of them! Your mini goals can be as big or small as you want, they just need to work for you.
I agree with Daki - some weeks are rough but some weeks the weight just melts away so having goals like 10 pounds or percentages of your starting weight, it is less disappointing when you have a bad week and more exciting when you reach your mini goal faster than you thought you would!
What I did was did like what my body weight should be at 10% of my body weight, 15%, 20%....you get the picture. I definitely wouldn't set at time, especially at the beginning of your journey. Time limits can stress you out to the max. I know it would stress me out to go "I need to lose 10 pounds in 8 weeks." Although realistic, it might be a too stressful. Good luck!
Mini-Goals
