Redefining Targets

The counter on the right of my blog says that, in six days, I will have reached my target weight.

Obviously, that's not going to happen!

That target was set right at the start of my weight loss, and depended on a weekly loss of 3.1 lbs. I knew that was an ambitious target when I set it - nearly every source recommends no more than 2lbs a week. However, I figured that a low target might make me complacent - if i reached my weekly goal by a Wednesday, I'd be less inclined to make an effort for the rest of the week. So I kept the elevated target, as a way to keep me pushing right through the week.

And for a long time it worked. I managed to stay ahead of target all the way from February to July. But then August came, my month of gain, and that finally set me behind my target.

Now I look at my weigh-in spreadsheet, I see that I am actually about the same weight now as I was back in July. Since then I lost some more, then gained, and am now working my way back down again. That's two months of no progress. My first reaction to that is a negative one, as I haven't dropped any lower than I was two months ago. There is a small part of me which thinks its OK, with an eye to my maintenance phase - I've been able to keep my weight the same (with peaks and troughs of course) for two months, gaining a bit and then working to reduce that gain. I'm OK with that when I reach the maintenance phase, after hitting my goal weight...but I'm not there yet!

So, I need to make a new weekly target, and new end date. There are 13 weeks until the end of the year (not counting this one), and 30lbs still to shed, so that works out at 2.3 lbs a week. Still above the recommended weekly loss, but lower than the one I have at present. As such, I think I'll make that my target at the start of next week. Chances are I'll still be above that target come the New Year, but I really ought to be really close by then. And you never know, maybe I WILL manage to meet that target, and can start 2012 at my goal weight, not having to lose any more pounds, but rather just trying to maintain the weight!

Its just become a bit disheartening, opening my spreadsheet every morning and seeing a big red column, telling me I'm almost 30lbs behind schedule. In the past I used to enjoy looking at the target column, seeing that I was on track, or pushing hard to make sure I stayed on track. Nowadays its just depressing, knowing that I'll never be able to make up the weight loss in the time I had set. Hopefully having a new target will allow me to finally see green numbers in my target column, and enthuse me once again!