I have a million goals.

I really do. They never stop.

I wanted to not bust out of my 3X clothes. That's what started this. Had to fit into my 3Xs. Then I started wearing my 2Xs and it was Game On with goals.

I didn't choose it. I didn't say, "I should set some goals," I just started wanting things.

To wear 2X
To get to 220
To get to 210
To get...dare I dream it?...to 199.
To wear 1X

And it just never stops.

I don't trust the "decades" as I cross into them because I bounce around so much. I don't even really celebrate in my heart until I hit seven pounds under one. Passing 190 is fine, but I really celebrate 183 because that means I won't see 190 again. So, I celebrate every weight ending with three and can't wait to get there.

Crossing a decade is a huge improvement from the last, though, so I want weights that end in zeros.

Getting to the halfway mark is nice, too, so I celebrate weights that end in fives.

Every size I go down is a huge deal for me. Getting to XL was one of the happiest days I've had. I wanted no number in front of my X. Then I wanted to buy clothes with no X on them. Now, I want to be rid of the L in my sizes.

I also have to get rid of the biggest things in my closet. Since clothing manufacturers refuse to standardize sizing, I always wear three different sizes, so I have the goal of buying a M while having the goal of ridding my closet of the last XL.

I wanted to not have fat ankles and wrists. Now I want to not have fat arms and lower legs.

I wanted to wear shorts with zippers. Now I want to be able to tuck things in and wear belts.

Right now, I'm working on:
-getting to 170
-Getting to 169 (out of the 170s)
-Getting to 165 (halfway through 160s)
-Getting to 163 (proves I'm out of 170s for good)
-Getting to 162 (A NORMAL BMI)
-Getting into M shorts
-Wearing a size 12 in my Lands' End shorts that I love. I've worn them all through my weight loss, so they're real gauges of progress.
-Getting rid of all the XL shorts in my closet

But when I hit 170, I'll be thinking, "Doesn't count until it's 163" and when I hit 169, I'll be thinking "I have to get to 159" and waiting for 165.

Even as I work on getting to M shorts, I wonder if it is possible that one day I could wear a small.

IT NEVER ENDS.

I'm like, "Okay, got here, now I have to..."

I know this was long, but that's kind of the point of a million goals.

I'm kind of hoping someone else says, "Yes, I have a million goals, too." But it's okay if I'm alone in this.

Just be careful for them. Goals are great, but they can be difficult as you get near goal. Reality is, you don't really know where your body will settle nicely and where that will be where you can maintain.

I realize I'm a bit jaded with my own experience, but I wanted SO MUCH to get to 25% body fat or less. I even paid for a professional body fat analyzer. I know I would probably never fit in the normal BMI chart due to my frame size, but I wanted SOMETHING, ANYTHING to tell me - "Melissa, you made it. You have made goal. You cannot be considered or unfit by anyone because you have hit the somewhat arbitrary line that says you are fit and thin enough."

That mentality started to unravel. I had to work so hard to get to 169, then we went on month long vacation and the scale lurched up, I started to whittle down, then I got injured at the gym... and then another injury and then I was having a hard time controlling diet. If I would have JUST been happy at 175 or 180, instead of feeling like I failed because I didn't get to 25% body fat (I had gotten to 26%), then maybe I wouldn't have lost complete control and gained up to almost 265 in two years time.

Stripes you're not alone, me too!! With me, I've never been this "small" weighing in at 222.4 as an adult, so I don't have the same particular goals but here are some of my old ones -
*Updated 12/15/2013 - I recently came back to MFP after a hiatus, MFP works if you work it, I should know I've already lost about 7 pounds since I've been back!
Start weight (as of December 7, 2013) - 316 lbs.
Current weight (as of 12/15/13) - 308 lbs.
First mini goal (5% loss in body weight) - 299 (16 pounds) *done* as of 2/14/2014
Second mini goal (10% loss in body weight) - 283 (32 pounds) *in progress* (hoping to reach this goal by April 15, 2014) Reached June 12, 2014!
Third mini goal (to weigh less than I have in my adult life) - 259 lbs. (my lowest was around 260 lbs.) *in progress* (July 31, 2014?)
Fourth mini goal - 210 lbs. (I hope to be here by January 1, 2015)
Fifth mini goal - Onederland (199 and lower)
Final goal - to reach 150 lbs. and maintain my fit healthy body for life.

I made those going on 2 years ago lol. However I didn't truly commit to change until February/2014 and the rest is history, I am now .8 away from being 80 lbs. down! *woohoo* lol
Goals are awesome, never let anyone knock you off course, keep going, you're doing awesome!

More recent goals since I've been on this journey -
288 lbs. - Ashley Donahoo's (look her up, she's great) start weight, a beautiful woman who lost over 130 lbs. and helped inspire/motivate me during my journey.

282.5 lbs. - Fashionistalatinamua on Youtube (she's gorgeous, her videos showing her weight loss are SOOO inspirational, she's what many of us dream of looking like at the end of this journey lol) this was her start weight.

I can't recall others, except one I have not hit yet 214 lbs. and that is Mrs. Jean Nidetch's start weight (the Founder of Weight Watchers!!) I bought her vintage semi-autobiographical/explanation of the original Weight Watchers program book (one of my favorite books ever!) called The Story of Weight Watchers written in the early 1970's (out of print, but you can buy some vintage copies from Amazon or Ebay). Only 8.4 lbs. away from that goal!

It might sound weird that other people's start weights become my goals but it is because prior to this journey I hadn't maintained lower than 300 lbs. since the beginning of 2006 (during my rapid regain of the 60 lbs. I'd lost the year before). The best I would do is rarely I would step on the scale and it would say 299.? and I'd regain it within a day or 2 maybe 3? So seeing other people who were smaller than me but not too much smaller than me and had successfully lost their excess weight (not including Jean Nidetch of course) gave me a goal to work towards.

My current goals are -
221.6 officially 80 lbs. down from my February 2014 start weight!
220 lbs. no particular reason
214 lbs. (again because it's Jean Nidetch's start weight)
210 lbs. no particular reason
201.6 lbs. 100 lbs. down from my start weight!
199.8 lbs. ONEDERLAND!! lol
The list does go on, but these are my nearest goals. Great topic by the way, I love your confidence you're doing great!

I hear you on the goals, I'm the same, but I have to remind myself every once in a while they are just numbers. After losing and gaining a lot of weight several times, I have reached my "goals" multiple times, only to end up back where I started and then some.

I too look back and think, I was perfectly fine at 175 or even 199,why couldn't I be content with that. Now I'm up to 255 and it sucks. But I'm trying to look forward with a different mindset to avoid the pitfalls I had before. I do have weight goals but I also aim to accomplish non number things. Like jogging a mile nonstop, feeling confident in my clothes, having a healthy relationship with food.

Sounds like you've accomplished a lot of goals already. Take some time each week to be thankful and take stock of how far you've come.

You'll miss those goals when they are gone. Trust me. So enjoy them, one by one.

berryblondeboys is right though. Some you will never meet...

Which is why I have pair of 28 inch waist, slim fit pants sitting in my wardrobe right now. But never gonna happen.

Great job on meeting the goals you have set for yourself! I am the same way...I am constantly changing my goals as I get down in weight because I trust my body to do more and to be stronger. I never thought I'd see one-derland when I first started, and once I hit that, decades were my goals (as well as sizes). for me it was easier to set smaller goals and reach them and then Re-set. I had similar goals as you, including get down to just obese instead of morbidly obese, and then get to overweight BMI instead of Obese BMI. A MILLION GOALS!! LOL. Good luck on your journey !

Yes, I've had a lot of goals, too. I had the goal to get below 200 and then I wanted to lose a size and then get below 190. And, then I wanted to get to the overweight category of BMI. Then, I wanted to get to 160s. Then I wanted to get back to 161, my low point in recent years. Then once I got there, I wanted to get below 155 (my low point since my son was born -- he is 21 now). Once I got there, I wanted to get below 150. Now that I'm below 150 I want to get to 148 which will make me a free member at WW (I am a lifetime member who regained). Once I get there, I want to be at 146 which is a normal BMI.

And, all through there I had size related goals. I am now starting to think about getting to size 10.

I do much better focusing on short terms goals, than long term goals. I do think it is important to think at some point about the final goal. I blogged about this recently and had to think about when I would think my weight loss is done. I decided not to set a specific weight. It certainly isn't my lowest weight (which was once 117 and was unsustainable to me). Instead, I've set a goal based upon desired body composition.

Its GREAT to have a variety of goals and not just weight loss goals.

The difference is PROCESS goals versus RESULTS goals, and it can make a huge impact on your success.

Instead of saying I want to lose X pounds, how about the habits that will get you there?

"My goals are to log my food every day, limit alcohol to once per week, walk 4 times per week, lift weights 3 times per week, say my daily affirmations"... etc.

Those are the type of goals I do as well. I usually have goals that relate to how many average steps a day, minutes of exercise per week, how many fruits/veggies a day, hours of sleep per night, etc.

It can help to make you feel a bit more in control of things, rather than hopping on the scale and hoping for the best. Realizing that YOU are in control is a MAJOR breakthrough for most people.