Realistic goals

[brightstar]

One area that I find to be very hard in dieting is goal setting. It’s so hard to try to find a balance so that you’re challenging yourself and pushing yourself to lose more weight, but you’re not setting your goals so low that it’s too easy or too high so that you’ll never make it so you’re always discouraged.

Does anyone have any suggestions that work consistently?

[Paplo]

I think it's pretty much a trial and error process. Take a good guess at the best short term goal to challenge but not overwhelm you, then see how you do. adjust as needed but don't just do it so it's easy.

[tara]

Use a diet diary to help you track. After you have a "baseline" you'l be able to set better goals.

[treehuggertodd]

It will also help you to identify patterns in your behaviors and weight loss

[Penny]

when you're setting your goals, always set them just a little bit higher than what you think you'll be able to achieve at your very best. Then, aim for them as hard as you can. YOu might surprise yourself!

[Nelly]

What is a realistic goal for the number of pounds that a person should lose in an average week/month?

[KraftyJo]

Nelly, any time i've ever talked to my doctor about it or whenever I've even signed up for a good weight loss program, they've all said to aim for 2 pounds a week. Sometimes you'll only lose one and occasionally you'll lose 3, but 2 pounds per week is the healthy goal. It also means that you're more likely burning fat and not just watching water weight go up and down.

[Mike]

realistic goals are a good lesson in weight loss and life.

[tara]

realistic goals are a good lesson in weight loss and life.

That's actually a good point. If you are using goal setting as a practice for the first time in weight loss, you might be able to take away a useful skill from this!