First of all, my apologies if this is in the wrong forum...I'm not 100% sure what this thread falls under.

I'm 5'5.5" (I round to 5'6"). All my life I've learned that a healthy weight for someone my height is 132-135. So with that information, I've dove right in to diet after failed diet, thinking I could never lose that much weight.

Well, after researching webmd.com this morning, I did a little BMI charting, etc., and found out that there are specific weight ranges for specific body types. I have a larger body type (I'm assuming more muscle from all the athletics I *used* to be involved in), which basically means I'm not supposed to weigh 135, but closer to 150.

Now, I know some of you might be thinking, "So what? It's only 15 pounds."
YEAH. 15 POUNDS THAT AREN'T HOLDING ME DOWN. (lol)

Now I can just lose 13 pounds 10 times. That sounds amazing to me. I'm hoping I can have that gone within 2 years, however I will not be putting a timestamp on my health goals...I believe THAT has been my biggest hurdle. Not giving up foods, eating healthier, exercising more...just the thought that "Ugh. This is going to take FOREVER."

So 3fc, how many of you have not reached your goal on diet plan after diet plan, because you had some misinformation on your proverbial plate?

I think the biggest misinformation I had in my life was that only reaching my goal weight "counted." So, when I thought "there's no way I can lose 250 lbs," the next thought was "I might as well not even try."

I've finally grasped (most of the time - sometimes that old, stupidity returns) that every single pound most definitely does count. Even if I don't lose another pound, maintaining the loss has real value.

Whenever I am able to do something I couldn't do at my highest weight, I try to remember to write it down. Writing it down reminds me that if I regain, I'm going to lose that again.

kaplods, I like that idea.
Actually, that's given me another idea. I was setting my mini-goals as weight loss numbers, but I think I'll look at it a different way. For example:

Lose one pants size by Valentine's Day.
Be small enough to ride the rollercoasters at King's Island by June.
Lose enough weight to NOT have to buy a plus-size costume for Halloween.

See what I'm saying? I like this better. :smile:

This thread has some awesome potential wisdom ahead. Good post!

Kplods, what a fabulous idea, and for me already I should write down that I can clip my toenails! And after only a 17 lb loss!

I don't know what my problem has been because I certainly have been educated enough on the subject. But what just didn't seem to get in my head was that it's all about calories in vs. calories out and that that's different for everyone and that it changes as you get older! I latched to on PCOS and thought that only carb counting would work for me and when carb counting, amount didn't matter.

Also, and this is huge for me, I've learned that I am not a patient person. I expect weight loss to happen with a snap of the fingers. When it doesn't, I give up. So now, instead of wanting to lose 100 lbs, I most want to still be working on it in one year with an anniversary date of 11/9/10. Once I get a ticker, I plan to get an anniversary ticker to chart that progress. And hey...at least that ticker will show steady progress!

When I read the title of the thread I said "about 99.99%". Like many others I think what held me down was "all or nothing" thinking. I thought I had to change all my eating habits at once or it didn't "count"--and that usually lasted about 3 weeks. Once I figured out I could change one habit at a time and maintain that, I could handle it.

I urge you to focus on the BEHAVIORS. Focus on those behaviors. Find, seek out, discover, devise, continually tweak, learn - a healthy eating/exercise regimen - and then the weight WILL come off. FOCUS on those good, healthy eating habits. Ditch the old, poor eating habits. Work on PERMANENTLY making sustainable changes - and all your goals, in whatever time frame will be realized.

Losing weight and any amount IS a doable thing for everyone and anyone. Yourself included. Although I certainly didn't *realize* that for years and years. You work on those behaviors, get them ingrained in you, make them your new normal and by doing so, you chip away and chip away at the numbers. One excess pound at a time. Then another and then another and before you know it, you're headed towards the goal line.

The wonderful thing that I want you to keep in mind is - is that you don't have to get all the way down to your optimal weight, your goal weight to start reaping the benefits. Nope. Luckily your life will change drastically for the better waaay before reaching goal. It's exciting! And thrilling beyond belief.

Ah, Robin, you and I are on the same page. The older I get, the more of a Behaviorist I become.

Me too, but I started on this journey when my doctor told me that taking off 10 or 20 pounds would really help the pain in my knee. Taking off 10 pounds seem doable. So I took off 10 pounds and thought that I could do it again. Then once I lost 20 pounds, I thought that I could take off another 10 pounds. Then I just repeated.

Now since my weight loss has slowed down, I look at the next 5 pounds. I really don't have a goal. I chose one for my ticker but I really don't think about it. I think 5 pounds at a time but maintaining this current loss is even more important. I feel so much better that I don't want to go back. However, the 5 I am working on right now is very important to me!

BTW, my doctor was right and wrong. Ten pounds did not make much of a difference but 20 really did.

How cool.... forget stressing over the 80 plus pounds I need to get rid of. I will just concentrate on losing ten pounds. I know I can lose ten pounds.

My biggest problem is not being able to remember that I'm supposed to be losing weight... Once I forget that, it's back to the junk food I go. But last night I made a vow that I hope I'll be able to keep:

NO MORE JUNK FOOD!!!

I'm sick of being tired. I'm tired of my jacket being too tight. I'm tired of not being able to buy pants because they're all in the medium to large section of my local WalMart. I'm tired of having a gut that looks like a sack of potatoes. But most of all...

I'm tired of not being able to go to the park with my son when the weather is nice.

If I could remember that I can eat fresh fruits and vegetables instead of junk food and garbage... I think I'd be able to start down that road to the weight I want to be. But first... I need to buy a scale! LOL I don't have one.

I think just taking it one day at a time and not focusing so much on the numbers is a big help. If I am always thinking about the number on the scale then I tend to feel very discouraged.

I can honestly say for myself, that my "thinking" gets in the way sometimes. Just thing way too much and not putting my thoughts into ACTION is what I sometimes have to work harder at. Great, great advice you guys are giving!!! Thanks!

This may just be me, but I still see these as numbers related goals, as you're putting a date on a specific weight loss. Personally I think it's better that if you're going to put a date to a goal that is one about behavior rather than results, such as:

I will have eaten no fast food between now and Valentine's day.
I will be exercising 6 hours a week by June.

OR set goals that are results oriented (either a weight or a size), but don't put a date on it.

I found once I stopped putting a timetable on my weight loss, I was able to stick with it even when results weren't happening as fast as I would have hoped.

I was feeling down this morning because I was hoping to get below 140 this past week and I didn't (weighed in at exactly 140). I needed to hear these things today; it gave me insight and inspiration.. Its not all about what the scale says; I have to remind myself of that frequently. I can feel great and beautiful and then I step on the scale and feel gross and discouraged. But its what I feel that counts.. For instance today I am wearing a pair of pants that I have never worn before! I had bought them awhile ago and they were to small so they have just been sitting in my closet... and I am wearing them comfortably today!! Thats an accomplishment, and I should be proud of that.

I rambled a little bit there but this thread has woken me up today...Thank you!!

Yes, I felt this way too. Which is why I posted that one should FOCUS on the BEHAVIORS. It's all about the BEHAVIORS. IMO, anyway.

Though, I do believe that mini-goals do have SOME place in ones journey. It CAN help you to keep your eye on the prize. To keep a fire under you. To keep you on the right path TOWARDS that goal. You have that goal in sight and you make a plan to get there. Not just some open ended thing. "I want to lose weight". Yeah. "But when? When do you want to lose weight. Now or sometime down the road?" If it's now, then you MUST take action, MUST devise a way to get the job done.