Newbie loads of things going round in my head!

Posts: 25,270
9/30/12 2:55 P

Another way of goal setting can be to make an "ongoing goal". For example, by that, I mean a goal that continues to be effective for a long time. One of my goals is to make BETTER, HEALTHIER choices than I would have in the past. So, at the start with nearly 200 pounds to lose, I would have success by eating 11 doughnuts instead of 12 - now, with less to lose and still a long way from goal, I would NOT consider THAT terribly successful, but when school started and there were doughnuts available 3 days in a row and I ONLY took 2 and ONLY ate 1 in the whole 3 days. Obviously, my definition of success changed dramatically, but my goal remained the same. When I get closer to my goal, my definition of success will undoubtedly change quite a bit because my previous successes built on each other. The same sort of process works for exercise - 5 minutes is better than zero, but then 10 minutes is better than 5 and so on until I reach a reasonable exercise level.

Choosing goals that allow you to SEE success frequently and when you celebrate your small successes, they encourage you to try harder and to move to newer and more challenging goals. Monthly, weekly, and even daily goals are things you might add depending on where you are and what you want to achieve. Your goals in other areas of your life can really impact your healthy lifestyle, so some might include getting enough (make it specific - 6, 7, or 8 hours) sleep each night, or spending some time relaxing with your family after (before, during, after whatever works for YOUR family) dinner for 30 minutes, or whatever you think will improve your ability to live a healthy lifestyle.

current weight: 269.0

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150

SparkPoints: (5,109)
Fitness Minutes: (3,084)
Posts: 116
9/30/12 12:26 P

Thank you so much for your reply.
It's really clarified things for me.

current weight: 186.0

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150

Posts: 33,346
9/30/12 1:00 A

Goals are great to help you keep on track. Maybe if you feel you'd stop after one intermediate goal, instead of choosing a single intermediate length goal, set monthly goals! So maybe October's could be something like "did at least 10 mins exercise every day" or "Say a healthy mantra every morning".

Try to set goals that are achievable (or not) based purely on your own actions. We don't always control our weight, so a goal like "lose 3lbs in October" might not be realistic. While you can eat healthy and generally lose weight over time, you can't always predict how much in what timeframe, due to many other factors that affect our "weight".

So always choose actions that YOU control. If you fail to say your daily mantra it'll be because YOU didn't do it, not because stress caused you to keep some water weight even though you did lose 3lbs of fat ... you know?

SparkPoints: (5,109)
Fitness Minutes: (3,084)
Posts: 116
9/29/12 1:15 P

I'm new to SP. I've only been here for 6 days.
I've been reading about goal setting but apart from getting to and staying at 150lbs ( so to lose 44lbs) I really can't think of an intermediate goal. I'm worried if I set an intermediate goal and reach it I will then give up on my long term goal.
Setting an every day goal of staying within my calorie range and exercising daily is very motivating at the moment.
I am scared that I'll get 'bored' with tracking though.
Not sure what to do...there SO much info on SP and I've just received the SP cookbook - I'm feeling overwhelmed!
Plus it's the weekend which means more stress. Before I would eat to 'soothe' myself but I don't want to do that. I have 4 kids under the age of 7 and a workaholic (but wonderful) husband so weekends can be stressful.

This is kind of a mixed up post but can anyone make any sense of it?
I've joined a few sparkteams but none feel like where I belong iykwim

Thanks for reading anyway

current weight: 186.0

194 183 172 161

150