Hello.

Triggered by the fact that it is a new year and I am thinking about my goals; I am feeling so worried about weight loss. I have lost 11 pounds but I have so far to go until my goal and then I wonder if my goal is enough. Maybe I should aim for 120 pounds to look extra slim (plus there is more leeway then if I do regain any weight). It seems like such a daunting task and I don't know if I will stick to my exercise and diet changes and even if I do; why can't all the weight just come off NOW?

I really had to rant, I know I have less to lose/am lighter than some people here so I don't mean to annoy you guys. I am having a bad day I guess. Will I really lose weight if I stick to my changes? It seems to be so slow lately.

I know the feeling. I need to lose 50lbs. And I have my doubts too. Looking at the whole big picture is rather daunting. Maybe you should make little goals for yourself and look at that till you reach them?
What I'm doing is making little goals for myself so it doesn't seem so bad. My first goal is to be "Overweight" on the BMI calculator. Right now I'm considered obese. To do that I must weigh 174 to hit that mark. My second goal is to lose 10% of my body weight which would put me at 172 lbs. These are my only goals right now. After I get there I will make more smaller goals as I go along. Also when I hit goal I may change my goal weight as I put it at the higher number range for myself. I'll make that decision when I get there.

If you stick to what's been working, you should lose weight.

That said, I know how you feel! It's a daunting task to lose any amount if weight. It's also frustrating to not immediately see the fruits of your labor, but trust me the time spent now ingraining these habits will only serve to help you in the long run...after all you must continue to stick to some sort of plan in maintenance. You're never "done" so don't be so eager to have the weight off NOW because nothing really changes at that point.

120lbs at your height will be very slim but if thats what you want go for it. I can't say anything negative about that cause your frame and body shape plays a role too. I'm small framed and I may end up going for 125 cause of that and maybe you are small framed as well. But yea we are taller ladies so we might not be able to sustain that weight and height combo. Just take it one step at a time that way the weight loss will have a better chance of being for good.

I know it can seem impossible. I've got 30lbs to lose and they've been with me a loooooooooooong while. I put in a little effort, get annoyed and give up. I could easily have lost the weight in 2012, but I didn't and now its 2013. And 2014 is going to come whether I buckle down and work at weight loss or not.

I totally get being frustrated/daunted by the amount of time it will take to lose the weight. But that time will pass whether you're thin and fit or fat and flabby. If you weight less now than you did before, you've won. Keep on working, keep on winning.

Great post! Nothing really changes after you lose the weight so make sure your diet is something you can stick to for the rest of your life. This has been a hard lesson for me over the years.

Valentine and sontaikle: Thank you for saying about how changes need to be for life. I think I have been scaring myself by thinking 'I have to lose two pounds a week' which will require eating 1500 calories AND doing an hour of exercise every day. But I couldn't do this forever. So maybe I should stick to one pound a week. It would take til July but I would rather do that than fall off the wagon by setting my goal too high.

tinneranne2: You are right about time passing inevitably regardless of whether I lose or gain weight. Even if I lose half a pound a week, that will all mount up. And it will mount up if I gain weight too so I really should stay focused.

CherryQuinn: Maybe I should see what weight I should be once I have met my initial target of 133. I guess there is no way of knowing how I will look with my medium frame at 133 until I get there. Sustainability is very important and you are right that it may be better to keep a slightly higher weight and maintain it than keep a low weight and fail at maintaining.

You are all very helpful, thank you so much. I think I am having a panic about being 26 this year (my mother says a woman's life is over at 27) so I am feeling like I can only be hot for another year or two and after that I will not be desirable and young.

I'm 28 and as far as I know, life didn't end for me last year! Haha!

We have around the same starting weight. I calorie counted my weight down to my current weight and I'd like to lose a couple more. I record my food each day on MFP and try to hit the gym several times a week. It has worked for me and many others... You just have to hang in there. What helps me when the scale is frustrating is to focus on how good I FEEL when I eat we'll and exercise.

Yeah I didn't mean to offend you. When I look at other women who are in their late 20s, 30s and even 40s, I don't think their lives are over. I'm just being told that mine will be over if I am not attractive to men which according to my mum will be at 27.

It's a good point you make about feeling better when eating and exercising right; it isn't just about the scale!

EDIT: I don't think over 40s lives are over either

I got engaged at 28! It's never too late.

I want to share with you what it took me a long time to learn.

At this point, it doesn't matter what your overall goal is. At least not exactly.
I have tried to lose weight so many times, with just a simple overall goal number based on my BMI or based on whatever I thought at the time.

What I learned was that I was never going to be successful unless I was able to set realistic, short term goals. That's what keeps me motivated, is meeting those realistic goals. It's a constant reminder, rather than setting a goal that could possibly be a year away.

Your tracker says 163. I would say pick a date soemtime this month, and everyone's weightloss is different, but say for the month of January, your goal is to into the 150's. That means, only if you lose 1 pound a week, it can be done. You've come this far and rewarding yourself is a good idea too. IF you get into the 150's, reward yourself with something you've been wanting.

Works for me!

You're dead-on to the age and the weight I was a year ago! (You've got an inch on me, though!) Consider me the shrunken, future ghost of you.

I went slow and steady for 2012 (average of 2~lbs a month, almost solely through diet and not exercise), and though the pace felt frustrating, I kept at it. I've never been as light as I am now - not even when I was 12 years old.

Don't worry so much now about the final end point - I still have no idea where mine will be. Just keep trucking on with your changes. Slow and steady WILL pay off for you, ultimately! And bear in mind that the smaller you get, the more even small losses will be apparent - so don't be discouraged if you don't see a lot of difference with 11 lbs lost so far. If you're not already, I suggest getting a tape measure and taking your measurements once a month so you have a progress indicator besides the scale to go by. Good luck! Hope you're here like me, in a year's time, looking back happily.

Edit - I want to add that actually believing I could really lose the weight was a big deal for me. It's part of the reason I've had trouble setting a goal weight. Like I said, I was heavier than this at 12 years old. So learning to trust myself and believe that I can be this smaller person is a huge learning process. And my only advice is that there's no magic solution except plunging forward and living the behaviors that lead to a lower weight. Focus on the habits and behaviors - remake yourself and your outlook - and slowly, the question of whether or not you can do it just melts away.

To use the old cliche; 'slow and steady wins the race' seems to be the order of the day! Yeah I guess 159 would be a good goal for the end of January and it is about changing my behavior, not quick results (unfortunately!)

Congrats on the 11 pounds lost!!! I have a womping total of 202 more pounds to go before I reach goal! When I look at that number I just about want to cry. But what keeps me going is that I KNOW I can do it. The way I am doing it is 10 pounds at a time. When I look at it that way I just have to lose 10 pounds 20 times which in my head seems alot more do-able then 200 pounds. Good luck and you can do it! Just hang in there and take it day by day!

Haha! Keep swimming swimming...