I have been doing alot of reading on these forums.. and I have noticed that nearly everyone has goals set for themselves. I don't. I am not sure what is attainable and what isn't....

Opinions please...

PS: Medifaster here... This coming Tuesday will be my 3 week mark.

Right now my goal is the journey, not the destination. Except for a somewhat long-term goal posted on my signature, I have ensured my only goal right now is to just stay on-plan. I'm worried that setting an arbitrary goal will drive me to create an unhealthy 'any means necessary' kind of mentality to reach it. I can't control everything about the weight-loss process- my body may or may not decide how quickly to lose the weight.

Instead of focusing on what I can't control (how fast I want to lose the weight), I'm making my goal I CAN control: that is, eating right and exercising. If I keep on-plan, eating the number of calories I'm supposed to and exercising as I should, I will lose the weight at a steady and healthy pace. Whether that's a week from now or six months from now, I don't know.

That said, for others, setting a weight or size goal, or mini-goals, is a critical way to stay accountable and allow him/her to give themselves a pat on the back and stay motivated.

For me, some sort of goal, scale or non-scale related, is important, for you it's a personal choice you'll have to make for yourself. Good luck!

A Jillian Michaels' quote comes to mind, "Be in the present. Focus on today, that is all you have."

You can set behavior related goals like sticking to your plan, exercising a certain number of minutes or miles, eating a certain number of vegetables or fruits, etc.

I find that goals like "5 pounds lost by March 30!" don't do well for me since the scale doesn't tell the full story. But "12 yoga classes, 20 miles of walking and 21 days on plan by March 30!" is totally doable and will be getting me towards my goal of 5 or whatever pounds.

I am only vaguely aware of who Jillian Michaels is, but I agree with her on this point.

To the OP, I don't have a "goal weight". My only goal, really, is to make the best choice I can make, every time I am faced with a choice. That means a lot of things to me:

* Choosing to plan my meals and spend time cooking on the weekends so I have healthy dinners ready for me during the week
* Choosing to say, "eh, not today" when cookies or candy or other tempting treats turn up at the workplace
* Choosing not to overeat even on healthy food
* Choosing to drag myself to the gym and work out, even when I'd rather not

For you, the list might be a little different - but these are definitely "live in the moment" sorts of goals. It has worked for me (see my stats) to think in terms of "what I'm doing right now" instead of "what I have to do for the rest of my life."

And since those are my goals, I get the reward of making goal several times a day. Or, if I fall short sometimes (and of course I do from time to time), I get another opportunity to make it right almost immediately - I can start succeeding again from my very next choice.

All of this sounds corny to me when I put it into words, and yet this "in the moment" frame of mind has really worked for me - I think it's the reason why this time I've stayed on my plan longer, and lost more weight, than ever before. It's the reason why this time finally does feel like the last time.

Having goals is important. It keeps you motivated. If you don't know where you wanna go then it's easy to get distracted and fall of plan. Try and figure out what you'd like to acheive. If you need to change them later on you can but it's better to have some kind of plan rather then no plan.

If you aren't sure what weight you'd like to be you can calculate a healthy BMI for your height and go off of that. That's what most people do.

Good luck!

Having mini goals is what keeps me motivated...

I have been setting them 10-15 lbs at a time...I find that in the long run it's easier for me to view it 10 lbs at a time rather than 90 lbs.

Good luck!!

You know I have been giving this alot of thought lately and quite frankly I haven't even bought the scales yet. I guess I'm not really worried about how fast I lose the weight or how much I weigh from week to week. I'm just trying to live a healthier life and pray the weight loss follows. With that being said, I have set a goal for a final weight though. It's what is "healthy" for my body type. But if I look good 5 or 10 pounds heavier OR lighter I am okay with that. Both sides are right though. Goals help people stay motivated. It's like a little payoff so they still get the almost instant gratification they need to push forward. For other's setting goal creates too much pressure. I say commiting to a goal of weighing yourself once every couple of weeks isn't bad. Just don't set a time limit. Deadlines are the enemy for me. LOL Yep, that's what I'm going to do. Weigh myself every so often and see where I am. I'm rambling... sorry.

I have mini goals to keep me in line. If i constantly work on losing 100 pounds, it will seem unobtainable. However, setting a series of mini goals keep me focused. Once I get to one goal, i start a new one.