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
I love the idea of mini goals. I want to lose more than 100 pounds, but for right now i'm looking at that 100 pound number. It seems HUGE! It IS HUGE! What I've decided to do was just lose 10 pounds-10 times!
That's what I've been doing, and it makes it so much more manageable in my mind! Every time I lose 10 lb, I focus on a new goal. I don't care how long it takes me to lose that 10 lb, but it gives me something attainable to strive for.
I made a little chart. I stuck it to the refrigerator. It's simply 10 circles with the #10 in each (representing 10 lbs). As I lose 10 pounds, I'm sticking one of those magnetic push pins in each circle until all circles have one!! This does two things for me. First, seeing it on the fridge keeps me from opening the door if I REALLY don't need to. Second, seeing the pins start to appear and add up reminds me how much closer I am to placing all 10 pins and keeps me from opening the door unless I REALLY need to.
Well for me it all has to come off and so as long as I am going down and not up and not stagnant then that is the whole idea, 10lbs at a time is like saying 1lb at a time - it's all the same as long as I stay on track it has to come off and I can't trick myself mentally. The only goal I have is to be healthy again.
I understand what you're saying ubsk. I know the reality of 100 pounds. I know I want to be healthy. I'm not exactly "tricking" my mind. I'm setting mini-goals that I can be proud of. Here's the problem: When I look at the total number of 100 it seems a bit overwhelming, and as I lose the weight I'm not happy because it's not that "heavenly" number 100! It's a stupid fault of mine and I'm sure many others. Instead of being happy with the amount I've lost so far, I feel disappointed because it's not 100. Setting these mini goals of 10 pounds makes me proud of meeting each and every 10 pound goal. Makes me feel like I am doing this and I am accomplishing my main goal. I'm feeling better and more encouraged along the way. So you see, I'm not tricking myself.....I'm being proud of my accomplishments.
I understand what you're saying ubsk. I know the reality of 100 pounds. I know I want to be healthy. I'm not exactly "tricking" my mind. I'm setting mini-goals that I can be proud of. Here's the problem: When I look at the total number of 100 it seems a bit overwhelming, and as I lose the weight I'm not happy because it's not that "heavenly" number 100! It's a stupid fault of mine and I'm sure many others. Instead of being happy with the amount I've lost so far, I feel disappointed because it's not 100. Setting these mini goals of 10 pounds makes me proud of meeting each and every 10 pound goal. Makes me feel like I am doing this and I am accomplishing my main goal. I'm feeling better and more encouraged along the way. So you see, I'm not tricking myself.....I'm being proud of my accomplishments.
I don't think it's a way to trick your mind either, I look at it as a way to feel as if I've accomplished something while still moving forward to the larger goal.
I'm sure everyone has their own way of dealing with a large number when losing weight, but this really will work for me, it helps me to not feel discouragement over how much I have to lose.
I'm also the type of person who has trouble being balanced about losing weight, I've done crazy things to lose a lot of weight really quickly, like going on a 3 month fast to just dump the weight or work out 3 times a day which gave me an overuse injury in my knee. I ended up gaining back all the weight I lost plus 50 pounds because of it. So I'm committed to going slow and steady this time, having small goals that I can view as "done" will really help with the impatience factor.
I made a little chart. I stuck it to the refrigerator. It's simply 10 circles with the #10 in each (representing 10 lbs). As I lose 10 pounds, I'm sticking one of those magnetic push pins in each circle until all circles have one!! This does two things for me. First, seeing it on the fridge keeps me from opening the door if I REALLY don't need to. Second, seeing the pins start to appear and add up reminds me how much closer I am to placing all 10 pins and keeps me from opening the door unless I REALLY need to.
This is a great idea too!
I am a very visual person, so if I can see the progress on paper, it would help. Right now, I'm just marking it on the calender, but having a chart would be fun and helpful!
Last edited by tribalgirl; 04-07-2012 at 05:21 PM.
Reason: spelling error
Oh I totally understand the whole mini goal approach - I do have some like mini goals myself, more like half ways. I guess you could do a 1lb a hundred times and that would work too. I have a lot to lose as well but if I focus on making a specific number and not make it there by a certain time I feel stressed out so for me it's just stick with the healthy way of eating and not really think of it as a "diet" because then what happens when I lose all the weight? go back to eating crap food again cause I ran out of lbs to lose....? So more of a lifestyle not a diet and hoping my body responds to this new lifestyle by a reduction in weight and increase in muscle mass. If I trick my mind into believing that this is just a "diet" then at the end I won't maintain. I'm a bit cycnical with myself considering I've lost before thinking that way and here I am, a fatty again.
I made a little chart. I stuck it to the refrigerator. It's simply 10 circles with the #10 in each (representing 10 lbs). As I lose 10 pounds, I'm sticking one of those magnetic push pins in each circle until all circles have one!! This does two things for me. First, seeing it on the fridge keeps me from opening the door if I REALLY don't need to. Second, seeing the pins start to appear and add up reminds me how much closer I am to placing all 10 pins and keeps me from opening the door unless I REALLY need to.
This is a fabulous idea!!! I'm going to do the same thing. I'm making my new motto "10 Pounds, 10 Times." Thanks!
Oh I totally understand the whole mini goal approach - I do have some like mini goals myself, more like half ways. I guess you could do a 1lb a hundred times and that would work too. I have a lot to lose as well but if I focus on making a specific number and not make it there by a certain time I feel stressed out so for me it's just stick with the healthy way of eating and not really think of it as a "diet" because then what happens when I lose all the weight? go back to eating crap food again cause I ran out of lbs to lose....? So more of a lifestyle not a diet and hoping my body responds to this new lifestyle by a reduction in weight and increase in muscle mass. If I trick my mind into believing that this is just a "diet" then at the end I won't maintain. I'm a bit cycnical with myself considering I've lost before thinking that way and here I am, a fatty again.
True, I think a person must figure out that it's a lifestyle change rather than a "diet" if they want the changes to stick. I don't look at what I'm doing as a diet either, that has never worked for me.
I have had to come to terms with the fact that I can never go back to certian habits or I'll end up right back where I started and I seriously ~NEVER~ want to go there again. Even it it were not unhealthy physically, my mindset was really messed up.
For me, mini-goals represent the progress of just losing pounds. Not getting to the end of creating good habits, just removing what my bad habits created (the extra pounds), if that makes any sense.
Makes TOTAL sense tribalgirl. I feel the same way. My ultimate goals are to be healthy, feel good, look good etc... For me being healthy means controlling pcos and having children.
Right now, mini goals are the process I have to take in order to make it to my ultimate goals. I'm not in any way looking at this all as a diet. I'm looking to change my life and maintain a healthy lifestyle. I just have to get there in the first place in order to maintain that lifestyle. I'm fully aware of what I need to do. I'm not tricking myself at all.
Last edited by donkeykick; 04-07-2012 at 10:07 PM.
Makes TOTAL sense tribalgirl. I feel the same way. My ultimate goals are to be healthy, feel good, look good etc... For me being healthy means controlling pcos and having children.
Right now, mini goals are the process I have to take in order to make it to my ultimate goals. I'm not in any way looking at this all as a diet. I'm looking to change my life and maintain a healthy lifestyle. I just have to get there in the first place in order to maintain that lifestyle. I'm fully aware of what I need to do. I'm not tricking myself at all.
Exactly!
It is a process, isn't it?
I am learning a lot about myself through this, learning to deal with my life in a much healthier way, I'm sure that's what we're all doing in our own ways, it's such a personal journey.
Having made it to 5 of these mini-goals now, I'll say this. I've never once set a date to meet one of them. I'm not about trying to lose X amount by Y date. That's a recipe for disaster. For me, it's just about celebrating milestones along the way, and it's been great!
Having made it to 5 of these mini-goals now, I'll say this. I've never once set a date to meet one of them. I'm not about trying to lose X amount by Y date. That's a recipe for disaster. For me, it's just about celebrating milestones along the way, and it's been great!
That's interesting that you just said that. I was just on a walk and that was running through my mind. This 10/10 thing is the first I've looked at weight loss in this way. In the past I've just set certain dates that I wanted to be a certain weight. That just didn't work at all. I'd find myself getting closer to a date and wasn't where I needed to be and I'd feel discouraged and get the give up attitude. On the other hand, if I was ahead of the game and I was getting close to a "deadline" and was already close to or above the weight I needed to be I'd find myself giving myself a little "break" and eating something stupid.
I love this new mind thought now. I'm working hard to reach each 10 pound goal. I don't even care how long it takes me to reach each one. I just know that I want to see each 10 pounds go away.
I'm the happiest I've ever been losing weight. EVER! I got a fit bit. It's awesome. It keeps me accountable for how much activity I do a day.
Last edited by donkeykick; 04-08-2012 at 08:18 PM.
10 pounds-10 times
