Let's Talk About Goals, Baby

Goals. Things to accomplish. We list them in our minds, on paper notepads and post-it notes stuck on bathroom mirrors, and some of us post them in our blogs. Sometimes we list things easily achievable; some times we list things we really have to work for. Sometimes we come up with goals that are completely unattainable or out of our control, and sometimes we create goals we have no intention of completing. I'm fairly certain most of us have goals in our lives in some way, shape, or form.

As I peruse the many, many weight loss blogs on this website, I see weight loss goals all over the place. Most people, like myself, have a ticker that lists starting weight, current loss, and goal weight. My final weight is at 140 pounds for a total weight loss of 80 pounds. I don't have an end date listed. On the contrary, I've seen people that meticulously list their weekly or monthly weight loss goals weeks and months in advance. I'm not sure that particular system would work for me as I get a little bent out of shape when I don't achieve my goals and I would probably crash and burn on a system with compounding expectations.

I've also seen people with reward systems in place. Five pounds and they get a pedicure. 10% and they get to splurge on a date night. Fifty pounds and they get new clothes. One hundred pounds and they get a beach vacation. Hey, good for them! Pedicures are something that I can't afford right now. Splurging on a date means that you have the potential to splurge on your diet too, plus if you have a date are you really going to tell him if i lose these last two pounds by Friday, sure! You wait 50 pounds to get new clothes? You're probably looking pretty schlumpy by the time you pull up to the mall. Maybe I'm being overly critical right now. I'm just not sure goals with rewards are for me.

Here are some significant numbers for me that I am looking forward to seeing:
207 pounds-I have not been below 208 pounds since 2004 all of my diets, plans, and lifestyles changes tend to die right around here.
199 pounds-This is less than 200.
198 pounds-This is 10% of what I was when I started this.
195 pounds-The only goal I've set and I'm fully into competition mode for this one. It's not a personal goal, it's an I-will-win-and-show-these-other-ladies-what's-up goal.
190 pounds-This is my driver's license weight. Who doesn't lie on their driver's license. Wouldn't it be great to know you're actually telling the truth? Wouldn't it be great to say that you're lying because that number is actually higher than what you are? Uh huh.
170 pounds-I think my lowest weight in my adult life
169 pounds-The weight I must be at to be considered overweight and not just obese with a BMI of 29.9
154 pounds-I told a friend a long time ago that if I got to this weight, 30% of my starting weight, I'd get a bikini wax. I said this thinking I would never, ever get down this low. It would be neat to call her and let her know that I finally let another woman apply hot wax to my girlie bits and pull.
140 pounds-What I think I'd like to weigh and the weight I must be at to be considered normal and not overweight with a BMI of 24.9

I guess what I'm getting at here is the idea of setting a goal puts a lot of pressure on me. It's an expectation that I will accomplish this task. It's all about about meeting a deadline. I just can't handle that right now. How do I feel about a reward system? Isn't seeing the number on the scale reward enough? Quite honestly, rewarding myself is probably why I'm here in the first place.

Instead of goals, I have things to look forward to. Kind of like you look forward to seeing new flowers each spring, I'm looking forward to seeing the above numbers on my trust scale.

Positive note: It's nice to see what I have to look forward to all mapped out.
Negative note: I just ate a 19 point breakfast. It tasted so good but I have 6 points left for the rest of the day, unless I partake in my flex points and I'm not so sure about that the day before my weigh in.
Something for tomorrow: not drinking water is not an option.