DOES setting goals really help???

XxKirstxX

Gold Member
Just wondering people's thoughts....

Personally I find goals can be good and bad... One moment I strive to meet my first goal, get a huge buzz off meeting it, and then next find myself reseting myself an even higher second goal as I know I can achieve more, but then half way through I don't even manage to get my original goal... a bit muddled but I hope you can get what I mean lol

One day my head can be so screwed on that I know I can do it, but then the next I turn around and don't even realise that the time has actually been and gone and I am nowhere near my next goal...

just me?

what is a realistic goal?

are we setting ourselves for failure?

we can't tell what is going to happen in the future, is it really worth setting yourself goals when you don't know what is going to happen next in life?

Hope someone can endevour with me :)
 
I personally find setting goals really helpful. They separate the process into achievable bite-sized chunks. For this to work though, they need to be realistic. In my signature you can see the goals I've set myself - usually only a few pounds apart. They've really spurred me on.
 
Personally I found setting myself mini goals was really helpful - the main goal seemed so far away that I found it really hard to keep up motivation without smaller ones to push for. I tried to keep them varied, so some were weight goals (next round number etc) and others were exercise goals so even during really difficult periods when my weight wasn't going down that fast I'd still feel some motivation to keep going.
 
I set goals to keep me motivated. I have 5 stone to lost and have split to down. My first mini goal was for 12 weeks and every 3 weeks I treated myself to something non food related eg pedicure, manuicure, massage etc. I'm struggling with it at the moment though and don't actually have a goal or any treats in place so maybe I need to look at that so I can refocus! Dieting is tough and we have good and bad days, and it's improtant to identify both so you can stay focused. You're doing really well, so keep up the good work xx
 
I sent myself small goals of a stone at a time. If I look at it as 3&1/2 stn I'll never get there as it seems so far away. I find 1stn is realistc for me.
 
I have lost 5 and half stone with around 4 and half st to go, I never thought of it as 10st to lose - although I KNEW it was 10st - I just did mini goals get below Xst/lose xlbs before my hols/birthday/wedding we'd been invited to and I have found that I have lost my weigh without too much stressing and seeing it as an impossible mountain to climb. I would rather set smaller realistic goals and smash them than set bigger/harder goals and not reach them.

No one runs a marathon straight off it all starts with a little jog round the park :D
 
Setting goals has REALLY helped me as I tend to self-sabotage if I focus too much on the bigger picture. I have been buying jeans a size too small throughout my journey and slimming into them. Once they are too roomy I buy another pair. Nothing too expensive but it gives me a non-scale goal to focus on. I spent so long doing this that before I knew where I was, I had lost 3 stone :)
 
Are you starting one goal before reaching the last? Coz I'd just get confused lol try setting yourself a few mini goals like I will stay within my points/cals/whatever this week or I will do three gym classes by next fri. I don't like defined weight goals as I never know what's realistic for me. Life gets in the way too often!

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Goals are useful for me, because I have about 5 stones to lose (less now, yay!) so it's nice to have little celebrations along the way. My current goal is to have lost a stone by my graduation ball on the 25th June, and then another stone by actual graduation on the 15th July. I don't know whether it's feasible yet, but I've lost 6.5lb in my first week of dieting, so hopefully I'll get there :)
 
Don't set them myself, only goal I set was I wanted to be below 400 pound this year, what I am well on track to doing, but on the other hand can see why they might be useful to someone else.
 
I think any massive journey like this is so personal, that while mini-goals might be perfect for one person, another just wouldn't react well to them.

I also set myself mini goals, in my head though. I don't have any of them written down particularly. I think it's really important to set achievable goals. I have a tendency to try and up the ante too, so this time around have been really good, only weighing on the weighing in day and not doing anything too stupid!
 
It certainly helps me, as it breaks it down for me and makes it all feel possible
 
I find setting goals helpful. I have at least 4 stone to lose which is depressing. I have just met my first target and now have set another stone to lose as my next. Each time I will give myself a bit longer to lose it as expect my weight loss to slow down over time.
 
Goals are good for morale. If you set a single achievement to lose 5 stone for example it may seem tedious and distant. But if you where to section goals for the achievement you feel like your achieving on a more regular basis. For example:-

- Lose 1 stone
- Lose 2 stone Etc...
 
I think I am going to set myself a goal, but nit give a time limit as I think it will just put too much pressure on myself to do it. Whereas if I set myself a target of 1 stone the goal is there for me when I reach it x
 
Hi Kirsty. I break it down into half stone losses. I want to lose about 5 stone all together, but it seems such a massive task, to basically I want to lose 10 lots of 7lbs and I only think about each 7lb at a time.

I've only been on the diet 2 weeks and lost a stone already, so that's 2 out of 10.

It seems so much easier to just be striving to lose 7lbs at any given time than think about the big 5stone loss.

You're doing great, so just do what works for you. Everybody's different.

Val x
 
I've tried to lose weight for around 7 years now and never set goals and only focused on the big picture- I got heavier and heavier. This time I set myself small goals (5% loss, 10% loss, 140 lbs etc. some are in my sig.) and I'm the lowest weight I remember weighing at this height. :) I think they work, I probably wouldn't have come so far if I hadn't set mini goals for along the way.
 
In my opinion goals can sometimes be helpful, HOWEVER....I do SW and every week the consultant asks everyone for a 'mini goal for next week?' (pen poised on the little computer things she puts all the information into!!)...

Last week I said 'I just want to lose SOMETHING' and she replied with the equivelant of 'computer says no'. It was infuriating!

I ended up saying I wanted to lose another 3lbs and am now not sure I have done this, and feel a little demoralised - I would be disappointed if I hadn't done it and why should I be disapppointed with 1 or 2 lbs??. I prefer longer term goals, like 10% etc etc...just an opinion!
 
Goals can be really helpful for some people, but they have to be done right. First off, never set yourself a goal that that you can fail to achieve, and classically these are the ones that involve time limits - y'know, "lose 3 stone by Christmas". Then, when Christmas comes around and you've "only" lost 2.5 stone, you may perceive yourself as having "failed to lose 3 stone" rather than see the truth, which is that you've achieved the fantastic loss of 2.5 stone. And people who feel like failures have a tendency to think "sod this" and then by the time Christmas has gone, those 2.5 stone are back again and this time you really have failed.

Secondly, as others have mentioned, I think it's really important to reward yourself for achieving a goal when you finally do achieve it. It doesn't have to be big, or expensive, but it is should be something that you want and that you won't allow yourself to have until you've achieved your next goal.

I still haven't decided what my rewards are going to be, but I really do want to have things to reward myself with the mark my achievements, otherwise I can see myself getting disheartened as the weeks go on.... (Hah! Look at me pretending like I don't already know that I'm going to be buying myself a new handbag each time. Delusion or what?)
 
Lol Paragee - handbag fetish methinks!!

My minigoal philosophy is working for me. 3 weeks in to the diet and I have completed 2 out of 10 of my half stone mini goals. Striving to lose 7lbs each time is so much easier than looking towards that big 5stone weightloss to get to goal. So now I have lost 1 stone 4lbs in 3 weeks and looking forward to getting the next 3lbs off which will mean I have completed 3 out of 10. Makes it manageable for me, though I havent 'rewarded' myself yet. Missed a trick there I think lol. Though it's a big enough reward for me to jump on the scales and see the weight dropping off.

Val x
 
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