Short-Term Goal Deadline

A friend of mine who is also on her own weight loss journey set her goal weight deadline as her birthday. Losingmythighs goal is 130 (lbs) by 30 (age). I didn't realize it until just recently, but I am doing practically the same thing with my first mini goal. I set my deadline for reaching 200 lbs as my 26th birthday, approximately two months and one week after starting my weight loss adventure.

When I weighed myself the first day the scale tipped at just over 228 lbs. I had previously reached 230 lbs on a different occasion, but for all practical purposes, on the day of my epiphany, that is what I weighed. Now today, nine days shy of my 26th birthday, my scale is 21 lbs lighter at 207.8 lbs. That in and of itself is an enormous accomplishment for me. When you're able to watch the numbers decrease slowly and steadily, not to mention, watch your clothes grow on you as your body shrinks, it's a mini miracle that helps catapult you forward. Or at least, that's what it's been like for me.

In order to reach my goal, 200 lbs by 26, I have to lose 7.8 more pounds in nine days. That's actually a lot of pounds for a short period of time, since four pounds in two weeks is the healthy norm, but we'll see how this next week and a half goes. Whether I reach the actual goal or not, I still feel great about myself. If I could step on the scale on Oct. 22 and see 199 lbs, I think I may have to take a day off work just to celebrate my accomplishment! (Just Kidding).

What I've learned through this entire process is that my attempts at using diets or fads or starvation or just exercise, etc. were all the absolute wrong methods of going about trying to lose weight. Some of those methods work for other people, but I really did need to find something that not only worked for the actual weight loss, but that also fit into my lifestyle seamlessly.

I stopped and asked myself, "what if I do reach that first mini goal by Oct. 21? Then what?" and to be honest I have no idea. The best thing I can do is set another mini goal for myself and try to reach that too. Maybe I'll say 180 by Christmas or 175 by New Year's. I don't know. What I really want is to be able to keep watching the scale slide further and further away from that 228 mark. I want to be forced to go to the store and buy a pair of size 16 then 14 then 12 then 10 jeans and I want that shirt that I used to wear because it was flattering on a bigger body to look huge and unflattering instead. It's all of these little accomplishments that truly make this experience worth going through. I know that someday I will reach 150 lbs, and that that day will be incredible, but for now, the new jeans and the baggy shirts, the dropping scale and the nice compliments are all the gratifying nods I need to keep me moving in the right direction.

The photo added to the blog is of me today. I know, I know, the bootie craze is a bit weird, but I thought I'd test it out. Enjoy!