The Importance Of Mini Goals

I think that when you have a lot of weight to lose like I do, setting mini goals for yourself is an important thing to do to help with motivation. You might have days when you feel as though you'll never reach that big ultimate weight-loss goal, but if you have a mini goal set that you are almost at, it's easy to think, I can do it! And in this way, by achieving one mini goal at a time, you find yourself closer and closer to your ultimate goal.

And it's time to confess my actual weight. (I always try to avoid admitting what I weigh, but if you are to read about my mini goals, then you need to see my actual weight.)

Here are my mini goals (mine are all about weight, but they don't have to be. You could set mini goals for how easily you do a set of exercise moves or how far you walk each week or getting into different sized clothing; there are lots of other ways to measure your success):

May 12th Starting Weight: 272.5 (WOW! I hadn't realized just how big I was getting!)
June 16th: 1st mini goal - 257.5 - 1st stone lost - REACHED (257)
June 30th: 2nd mini goal - 252.5 - 1st 20 lbs. lost - REACHED (252)
July 28th : 3rd mini goal - 245 - 10% body weight lost - REACHED (244.5)
July 28th : 4th mini goal - 244.5 - 2nd stone lost - REACHED (244.5)
Aug. 18th : 5th mini goal - 240 - weight on wedding day - REACHED (238.5)
Sep. 29th : 6th mini goal - 234.5 - less than 100 pounds left to lose - REACHED (234)
: 7th mini goal - 230.5 - 3rd stone lost -
: 8th mini goal - 222.5 - 50 pounds lost -
: 9th mini goal - 220 - weight after Gabby's birth -
: 10th mini goal - 216.5 - 4th stone lost -
: 11th mini goal - 204 - 25% body weight lost
: 12th mini goal - 202.5 - 5th stone lost -
: 13th mini goal - 199.5 - ONEDERLAND!!!! -
: 14th mini goal - 190 - weight when met Robert -
: 15th mini goal - 188.5 - 6th stone lost -
: 16th mini goal - 177 - weight after Kayla's birth & 35% body weight lost -
: 17th mini goal - 174.5 - 7th stone lost -
: 18th mini goal - 172.5 - 100 pounds lost!!! -
: 19th mini goal - 166 - weight after Angelica's birth
: 20th mini goal - 160.5 - 8th stone lost -
: 21st mini goal - 155 - weight after Victoria's birth
: 22nd mini goal - 148 - high weight in high school
: 23rd mini goal - 146.5 - 9th stone lost -
: 24th mini goal - 140 - average weight in high school -
: 25th mini goal - 136.25 - 50% body weight lost
: GOAL WEIGHT - 135 (9 stone 11.5 lbs.) - healthy BMI of 24.7 -

(1 stone is an English way of measuring a person's weight and it is equal to 14 pounds.)

Only 3.5 pounds to my next mini goal! and I am over 33 weeks pregnant right now, so I still have all of this baby weight to lose with the birth too! (I also have another weigh-in tonight and am hoping to have lost another pound or two.)

If I look at how far I still have to go to reach my ultimate weight loss goal, I would probably feel overwhelmed and discouraged by the sheer enormity of how much I still have to lose. But by taking my weight loss one tiny step at a time and having small, easily-reachable goals, I feel successful each step of the way! I know I can make it to my next mini goal, so it's easy to stay motivated.

Robert told me yesterday that he has trouble believing I have as much weight to lose as I say I do, because, to him, I don't look like I need to lose 99 pounds still. I'm glad he feels that way and sees me that way, but this weight loss is about getting my body into a healthy BMI, and that means I still have 99 pounds to go. *sigh*

But I will be looking better and better along the way, even way before I reach my ultimate weight loss goal!