I'm a total goalie-head. Realistic, unrealistic, time based or not - I have done them all.

For me, they helped to put the focus on smaller issues rather than the incredible amount of weight I had to lose. I could think of ten pounds by a certain date - but start talking losing 130+ and I felt as though I was drowning!

I am not setting goals this time. I feel like every time I set a goal it was overwhelming and I always felt like a failure. This time I'm just doing it. I'm not marking on a calendar every time I worked out, I'm not keeping track of every morsel that meets my lips. I'm just getting up in the morning and working out, I'm making better food decisions, I'm participating in a few light challenges here on the board- but that is it! Every time I saw my little calendar hanging by the exercise bike- I felt resentment and anger and it was like a mental block for me.
So now I try not to think things like- I want to be 120 lbs by the time I turn 30 or I want to wear a size 14 this time next year. Or even - I want to work out every single day this week.

When I am working out on the bike I will set distance and resistance goals for myself as I'm doing it- it helps me keep me moving and trying to improve. But that's small enough not to feel overwhelmed or disappointed if I don't make it.

I no longer set "weight loss" goals per se -- I set action-oriented goals ("I will not cheat for ten days in a row", for example, or "I will walk on Monday, Wednesday and Friday evening"). If setting weight-related goals works for others, hey, that's wonderful -- but for me I see bigger and better results if I set action-oriented goals.