Hello all,

Please don't judge me, I am very ignorant on this subject (despite being so heavy) and have never set myself real goals when dieting.

I want to set myself a mini goal for my birthday 15th February (day after Valentines- insert sexy smilie here) but have no clue where to start!
How much weight is realistic? How little is too little? When you are making mini goals for yourself, how do you choose them? I have never lost weight through diet and exercise before so have no clue how quick or slowly it comes off!

The ladies in the intro forum really helped me when discussing goal weights so I hopefully I am posting in the right place for this! TIA

Hey Clemd

Well I'm not sure if I know a lot about dieting but I have lost weight by setting simple and reasonable goals. I weighed 240 back in 2005. I made a goal to get down to 200. I did. When I reached 200, I made a goal for 180 and so forth. Ask yourself what you think is realistic.
Is it 5 lbs? 10m lbs? 50 lbs? If you start with small goals -- just make new one once you reach the goal intended. If you start with a long term goal -- just know that it will take some time to get there.
It's honestly up to you. No one can decided what's a good or bad goal. My suggestion is start somewhere comfortable (you say you've never lost weight from dieting). Would 10lbs seem too much or too little? Try that first. And when you reach that -- tack on another 10. You can do this if you set your mind to it. This forum, as I have learned, as a "ridiculous" amount of resources for people like you and I seeking a healthier lifestyle.
Good luck And don't give up.

I'm not much for timelines. In fact, I'm much more likely to work toward losing as much as I can by Valentine's Day without any weight goal in mind. I would pick a rigorous workout regimen and a strict diet and stick to it no matter what until Valentine's Day just to see how far I could get. I would further post here my daily weights (or weekly) to keep myself on track. It's always fun to look back at where I started and say, "Wow, look at how far I come!" I much prefer that. Every time I decide to lose X pounds by X date, I fail. But every time I decide to stay on plan until X date, I always, always succeed.

Hi! I would say, set your birthday goal as a pound a week. That would be six pounds down by your birthday.

The reason I suggest this is that if you lose more than that, it will be a bonus! Double happy! And you won't have chosen an unrealistic number and then feel down if you fail to make it.

Now--what is your food plan for meeting your goal?

Jay

I've never been a fan of time related goals, losing weight and getting healthy is hard enough as it is, but to add an arbitrary goal to stress yourself out is just unnecessary IMO. How about just a goal of staying on plan and getting daily exercise until your birthday. That's a great goal!

Good luck and congrats on the weight you've already lost!

Well, that's 7 weeks away. I would not set a goal of more than 14 pounds for that time frame, as that's 2 per week. However, if you're just starting losing, you don't want to set a goal that's too high for your first mini-goal because not meeting it can be discouraging. You haven't gotten to see how your body trends in weight loss yet, so 14 may be too high or too low. If it were me, I would set a goal of 7 pounds and then set my next mini-goal based on how I had achieved during that time frame. If you meet it sooner, you can make a secondary mini-goal.

What everyone else said is better. I think the "staying on plan" mini-goal is a great one.

Like others, I set goals about my behavior rather than about my body's reaction. So my goals are "stay on plan" (weight watchers), "exercise," "track foods," etc. That way I'm in total control of my success!

My goals change everyday! I would say to honestly just set your goal at being healthier by your bday. Healthier and sexier, perfect bday for that!

If you do want a weight goal, maybe think about doing 1 pound a week. Like JayEll said, anything over that would be a bonus! I tried doing 2 pounds a week over the summer, never met it, freaked out, and quit altogether! It can be frustrating to have a goal sometimes, but I don't think they are bad as long as you don't stress out too much over it (wish I hadn't!). Good luck to you!

I've failed more at weight loss than succeeded (I have four decades of dieting under my belt, and only the last 6 years of any lasting success).

For me, doing away with timeline goals really has been a lifesaver. My immediate goal is always "just one more pound."

I may be able to "one-more-pound" myself all the way to a normal, healthy weight. I may not, but even if I can't lose another pound, it doesn't diminish the success I've already accomplished.

I won't let myself give up (which inevitably means weight gain), because I'm too proud and protective of the weight I've already lost.

This way, there's no reason or opportunity to back track. "Just one more pound," can take me anywhere.

It also helps me focus on the progress, not the discrepancy between where I am and where I want to be. If I'm only focusing on one pound, I can't decide that my goal is so far away, that effort towards it is pointless. Who cannot invision themselves losing "just one pound."

Also (a real perk) is almost always feeling successful. Success breeds success. In my experience, the more I feel like I'm accomplishing, the more effort I'm willing to put in to succeed more. Focusing on one pound at a time, I have a lot more opportunities for feeling successful, than not.

guys the advice is amazing, thanks to every last one of you.

martha328- I like your way of thinking for long term goals- rather than a massive 'I must be 150lbs' perhaps doing it in chunks will be more motivating for me in the long run.

JayEll - Great advice. My food plan is to stop eating food as though the world is running out of food But perhaps more seriously I have issues with binging when it comes to food and i'm the only person that can stop this, I must break the habit myself... I plan on eating 3 meals a day, fresh foods, plenty of water, under 1300 cal plus 30 mins a day of cardio.

rachael- I am a Debbie downer and will almost certainly be upset if I don't hit a goal which won't be a good start so I think I shall say 1lb a week (which I know I can do) is a good place to start.

thanks again kaplods, great advice, I love your 'just one more pound' mantra. You may want to consider copyright before I steal it!

Clemd - since you have PCOS, I would recommend the 3 meals, with snacks, to balance out your blood sugar.

I think sticking to a plan (and because of your PCOS, it's really a lifestyle change) is the right way to approach it. Whatever weight you lose by your birthday should be bonus!

I have been losing weight with PCOS, but it's been slow going. I've been focusing on being healthy and changing my life and approach to food, rather than just losing X amount of pounds.

When I started out I couldn't imagine losing 90 pounds. I set a goal of 10 pounds at a time. When I lost 10 pounds I set the goal for another 10 ,etc.