So I have been wanting to set more milestones for myself. My main one is "52 in 52" - 52 lbs. lost in 52 weeks starting from August 2006. I figure 1 lb. a week is a good goal - not too conservative, but not too aggressive. Depending on who you talk to though, some people think I'm crazy to try to lose that much weight that fast. I don't know, it doesn't sound crazy to me, and Weight Watchers is fine with people even losing 2 lbs. per week, so I figure I'll go with my gut.
So, based on the "52 in 52" time line, you will see my interim and long-term goals here. (Sorry its so small, I couldn't get Blogger to make it any bigger!) As you can see, my long-term goal of 141 lbs. is a good distance beyond "52 in 52". But, this chart has helped me stay on track and visualize where I want to be and where I should be. For instance, I am ahead of my goal of being down 25 lbs. by my 34th birthday (February 13th). I actually reached that goal on January 9th. I wanted to make a stretch goal of "34 lbs. by age 34" but I think that is too aggressive. That's trying to lose another 7 lbs. in 4 weeks. Doable, but I don't know if its sustainable, which is what I am all about.
Once I hit my 34th birthday I am going to stop and look at where I am at and then reassess and possibly move some of these goal weights up since I am already ahead.
I'm trying to add exercise into my routine, but the motivation part is difficult. It was great when I was visiting my parents and had my mom to go work out with. But I think that's because I have a great relationship with my mom and I'm comfortable discussing my weight issues around her. I'm not comfortable discussing them with my friends. My friends don't even know I'm doing Weight Watchers. Any tips for motivating to do solo exercise?
10 comments:
I'm still working on the motivation to start exercising myself. Sorry I don't have any pointers.
But I think you did a great job on your goal chart. 52 lbs in 52 weeks is perfect. 34 by 34 is great too :)
Routine, habit, schedule - figure out a realistic time that you actually will do it and then build it into your life in that time slot. If you are not an early morning person - don't even try for early morning. If exercising at night makes it impossible to sleep - don't even go there. Find a routine that you can do - get the supplies that you need together - so that you have no excuse and DO IT. If you get home and have forgotten - go back. It is just like learning to eat at meal/set times, like washing your face and brushing your teeth morning/night - personally - I cannot do twice or three times a week and have it happen. I can do M-F and have it happen. It doesn't have to be the same length - it doesn't have to be the same thing - but I am ALL about habits - so I capitalize on that and make it a good one.
I think it's great that you made a goal chart and your goals seem really realistic and do-able! As for exercise, how about just adding a little extra activity in your day? Maybe a 10 minute walk during a lunch/dinner/study break, take the stairs when you can. That sort of thing. Or if you have the time in your day, set aside 20-30 minutes to do exercise at home, maybe videos, or if you have TiVo and get FiTV, you could try recording a few different shows to find one you like to exercise with. Good luck, you are doing great and I can't wait to join you in 1## land!
I love your goal chart! It's awesome.
When I first started exercising regularly, I would pay myself $1 for every mile I ran or bikes. And $1 for every half mile I swam. It helped, and then I had cash to reward myself with pedicures and things like that.
I don't think 52 lbs. in 52 weeks is unreasonable. That's awesome. I'm almost there, did 48 lbs in 8 mo and feel good.
As for the exercise, mmm, maybe just get out and walk at least 30 min 5 days a week and then when you feel great after the walk you will be hooked. That's the theory anyway. I just go to the gym and once I get my foot in the door I will have a good workout. Some days, you gotta dig deep but it's worth it you just start feeling better physically and mentally it helps too.
The question is where are you at now with exercise? I remember you saying that you swim. Do you do anything else? Do you like classes? Do you like having a gym buddy? (I don't but it's because I don't like being tied down to someone's else schedule.)
Motivation. Wow, that's hard. I don't get up and say, Oh, boy! I get to go to the gym. It's more, "how can I get there, find a parking space, beat the crowd (now that's January) and do something?"
Just do it sounds trite and stupid but honestly, it's another thing you have to do for yourself. Remind yourself that it's good for your cardio system and you will go down sizes faster.
Get yourself some sort of music thing so you can make it go by faster. Take a magazine along.
Consider classes and think outside of the box. It doesn't have to be aerobic classes. It can be martial arts, belly dancing, tennis. Consider a swim class to strengthen your skills. You're at a university, right. If I'm right, you have access to the university gym, classes, and even a personal trainer. (Before going to a trainer, go to the gym and watch who the trainers are and who they work with. I had one trainer who was, ahem, a bit loco. Not in terms of giving me too much necessarily but about us being the same age.)
The other thing is this: don't set up insane exercise goals right away. Let the only goal be that you go and do something for some amt of time. Don't start out with 2 hours or something crazy like that because you'll burn out.
As for your weight goal, it's entirely doable. Just remember it's an average of 1 pound a week. Some weeks it might be more and other weeks, you might have a gain (TOM and all that jazz). It's not necessarily the goal you're striving for in a way, but the journey of eating well and maintaining good healthy patterns. Good luck!
http://www.drjoy.com/books.htm
I listen to Dr Joy on the radio most every afternoon - I have never read one of her books - but she quotes out of them all the time - so I have probably "heard" everything in my many years of listening to her. I think that you might find them interesting. The link is above. Library might have them - if not - perhaps used book store.
I'm worse than you at this so not much help here. I actually popped in to read some of the comments to see if I can get my act together, cause when it comes to exercising I am the worse there is. Good ideas here!
Re exercise - I like the recommendation to have a schedule. For example, I do weights before work on Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays. It doesn't matter if I don't feel like doing it, it's just what I do. You know how some days you kinda end up at work on auto-pilot? Well, I'm like that with the gym!
Exercise DVDs can also be a lot of fun. I just bought some Pilates ones to do at home and they're great - sometimes I make such an awful noise with the effort during the challenging bits, I'm glad I'm not in a class!
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