Opinions on how to pace my journey.
 

When I diet, the first 15 lbs fly away easily but I always hit a plateau after that. However for my current journey I decided to give myself monthly mini goals: 5.5 lbs every month until December.
I started last week at 185 and I’m now down to 178. I want to strictly stick to the 5.5 lbs BUT I have 23 solid days to go. I do interval workouts for one hour on the treadmill every day and I don’t want to stop doing that either. As for the food I’m trying to eat healthy but I’m allowing myself a few treats here and there.
Should I leave my body to freely shed the lbs now that it’s easier for it to do so or should I relax and maintain the current loss until the end of the month? HELP!

Maybe you should not push yourself hard? Maybe take more time and make goals simpler - yet more permanent?

Losing more in the beginning is expected, so the perceived plateau is just a continuation of your success, so treat it as such.


Good luck!

I don't find it that useful to have a time period related to my scale goals. So many things effect what shows up on the scale from when the last time I ate soy sauce to the last time I had a bowel movement.

You might have more fun with a game like "How long will it take me to lose the next 5 pounds?"

The only thing you can control is your behavior, the scale and your body will do as they please. You'd be better off having a goal of "track all food every day and stay between xxxx-XXXX calories per dat" and "workout X times per week."
But making your behavior the goal, you are in complete control over whether you meet it or not. If you make 5.5 pounds per month your goal you may have months where nothing comes off, then another where more does, you could have eaten salty food the day before and see a gain on the scale, you could be sick or injured which can cause water retention.

Yes, the scale is where you want to see the results, but focus on your behavior and make adjustments as needed depending on the scale over time.

I set my goals to lose ten pounds, get into the next lower decade. But I did not put a time on it. Setting a time is to iffy. Too many variables.

But, when I made the next lower decade, I gave myself a small reward.

Having done this over and over, I realized I needed a new approach, that leaned towards long term, healthy, and not racing to the end.

The last time, it took me 10 months to lose 30 pounds, to get to goal, but it was worth it, because the good habits I developed along the way have stuck!

For the long term if you feel you have to have that monthly goal make it an average, then your higher loss months will balance your lower loss months and none will feel like a fail.

If you're good with your exercise, food plan stay with it you may need to change it up at some point, as long as you feel what you're doing is healthy, try not to get too obsessive over the scale number, as mentioned above it can be very fickle.

Best of luck to you :sunny:

I really like that line. It helps loads for the days when the scale is just being really uncooperative :p

I do the same thing with monthly goals. For me its helpful to keep me motivated and on track. This time I plan to do the same, but if I lose more or less - I figure it all averages out in the end, right? I would guess that a lot of the first 15 tends to be water weight, so if you are comfortable with the routine you have started I would stick to it. Good luck!

Dori
205/200/150 (new start)

I agree with this 100%. Live the way you want to live as a healthy person--exercise as often as you want the healthy you to exercise, etc.--and let the weight do its thing. :)

OP should read this post repeatedly until it sinks in.

Such a Great Post! True true true true!

I love that line! I am one who needs to internalize it as I always got very upset, off track, blew the diet, threw the scales out, if I controlled my behavior and do not see a loss.

I am now doing the "two and a half pounds a month would mean a 30 pound loss in one year." I am actually charting it. I would love to be 30 pounds less next December for my next annual physical.

I don't really like to track my weight loss goals as so many pounds in X amount of time. I do have a modest goal for the year, but otherwise I find it real demotivating to set a goal to lose so many pounds in a month (or whatever), then do everything I need to do to make it and not get there. It can cause me to go totally off track.

This past week on Thursday morning I had lost .5 a pound for the week. Thursday I had a great day with eating and activity. I was up .3 of a pound on Friday morning! I am sure it is a temporary thing and will go away. But, I handle it much better when my goals are related to what I do and control directly.

I've heard you all and I understand your viewpoint. I believe in my method though (knowing myself, my personality, my problems and my reasoning). Time will tell.
Thanks for the great advice though.

I too set weekly monthly weight loss goals. If I beat it bonus. I also have an app that graphs my losses over time. As long as I see it going down, the little (or big) spikes up I can deal with.