[eLemon]

Hi all!! I have viewed this forum on occasion but only signed up just now since I hope to participate more. It seems like a nice and supportive community for my weight loss journey!

Here's a little of my story:

My weight gain started many years ago when I was pretty young (around 12). My mother was very will to the point she was bedridden. For years, It was just me at home alone with her and I made bad diet choices... it might be an excuse but I think I was just young, inexperienced, and it felt good to eat the bad things! Anyway, since then my mother is much healthier however my weight gain continued from bad habits.

I couldn't bear to weigh myself for a long time but when I did, I was shocked! It's the heaviest I've ever been. I got inspired to get real and so here I am!

I have a question though! How do you set mini goals? My overall goal is to lose 116 pounds, but I want some realistic markers along the way. I don't want to achieve them too fast, or never have a chance to complete them. This past week I've lost about 6 pounds through diet and exercise. Is 5 per week too much? Any advice is appreciated See you around!

[bargoo]

I nset my goal at 10 pounds. When I lost 10 pounds I set a goal to lose another 10. If I had started out thinking I needed to lose 90 pounds that would haave just seemed too daunting. Maybe that would work for you plan on losing x number of pounds and increase that as you go along. Good luck!

[Lovely]

Welcome to 3FC =)

Mini-goals: They can be set any number of ways! Percentage of body weight (5% or 10%), they can be set by number of pounds at a time (5 or 10 pounds), they can be an arbitrary number that you're aiming to reach first. Thinking in terms of mini-goals is a great idea. It takes the pressure of the whole amount, and we can be proud of our success along the way!

"Is 5 per week too much?" Yes. It is.

Let me explain. The first week or two most people who begin eating healthier and moving more lose a lot of weight. Your first week sounds very typical for a starting week. (I lost 7 pounds my first week, as an example) Having a strong start is great! It's perfectly normal, and it's a good boost.

However, we cannot sustain losing that amount for long or it would lead to unhealthy habits and our bodies would be losing MUSCLE (VERY BAD) and not fat.

The maximum average a person should be losing is about 1% of their body weight a week. What that means: For most people the absolute most they should be losing (after the first couple of weeks where it's normal to drop a big number) is about 1-2 lbs per week.

First, though, I should explain that just because the maximum average a person should be losing is 1-2lbs .. that does not mean that is the ACTUAL average people on diets lose. What the maximum average shows us, is that if we're losing 5 pounds a week for a while... something's wrong, and we might actually be losing muscle. Losing muscle like that is INCREDIBLY BAD.

So. We know the maximum average is 1-2lbs, and now we also recognize that while that's the MAXIMUM, it may not be OUR average, nor should we always aim to achieve that. As we could do everything right in the world and the scale will say what it wants.

Also, keep in mind... it's about averages. A person who loses a pound a week could lose 2 pounds one week....nothing the next week...gain a pound the following week...lose 3 the week after that. And losing like that is NORMAL!

Don't aim for xx pounds per week. Focus on the changes, the weight will eventually follow.

You can do this