DAY 71: Short-term goals & milestones

Posted on June 2, 2015

As I was syncing my Vivofit today for the first time in nearly three weeks (oops), I saw in my monthly stats that I did 154.2 miles in May. 154.2 miles! That's more than I drove last month! (To be fair, I hardly drive, like, ever. But still.) I've been trying to think of more short-term goals I can set so I don't get overwhelmed with the total number of pounds I have to lose, and now I have one. I want to do 200 miles in June. I know that's upping it by a lot, but I think it will give me the extra reason to go to the gym on the days when I feel super lazy. There are also the days that are even worse than that, when I make it all the way to the gym, get rigged up in my work-out gear, and then only do weights before peacing out. I can DEFINITELY hit 200 miles this month if I actually stick to my gym plans. Then, in the months to come, I'll add 2 miles to my monthly goal for every pound I lost the previous month. So, if I lose 12 pounds in June (that'd be great!), I'll have to go 224 miles in July. It'll be a good way to simultaneously keep myself accountable and committed while stepping up the effort as the pounds become harder to shed. Now, I'll just have to stick to it!

The non-scale milestones have also been hard to figure out. There are so many things I haven't been able to do because of my size that would make great milestones to celebrate being able to suddenly do as I shrink. The trouble is, some of them were very emotionally painful to be confronted with, and I'm certain I've forgotten many of those. Off the top of my head, I can think of:

Not fitting into a roller coaster at a theme park 2 years ago, and having to wait around for my friend to go through the line and ride it by herself -- sucked for both of us
Being too heavy to sit on my own furniture: the dining chairs and patio seating I own have weight limits that I have exceeded since before I purchased them (I'm almost past this one!)
Taking up more than my half of the bench on the commuter train (I'm almost past this one!)
Not being able to cross my legs
Not being able to find a sports bra that fit so I could even work out (thankfully, I'm now in the sports-bra-findable range)
Squeezing very uncomfortably into airplane seats, only to find that my legs spilled onto the passenger next to me underneath the dividing arm rest and the seat belt could barely stretch enough to contain me (I'll be on a plane in 2 days -- we'll see how things have changed since my last flight before I started losing)
Not being able to grab my foot from behind when my leg was bent at the knee in order to stretch out my thighs
Struggling to walk at a 3.0 mph pace
Getting winded after one flight of stairs
Snoring and consequently not sleeping well
Having prediabetic sugar levels at my March doctor's visit (which propelled me hardcore into making the changes I needed) (I have a follow-up in July, and I have reason to feel optimistic about changes!)
Not seeing my feet over my belly when I look down
The towel doesn't close around me when I get out of the shower
Being too heavy to stand on the step stool

I'd like to keep a running list of these that I can check off as I periodically discover there are new things I can do, or things I used to have to do because of my size that I no longer need to. It'll probably be annoying, but I'm likely to post them here to keep me accountable to more than just myself. I'll probably also add to it as time goes on and I remember more things that should be included. For now, it was fun going back up and crossing off the ones that I've already hit! :)

The last thing I need is a companion list of rewards. So far, my rewards have really only been haphazard, like when I feel really good and know I've had a good week -- down 5.4 pounds, HELL yeah! -- and treat myself to a foot massage. I think systemizing it more for myself will take me further in terms of motivation, inspiration, etc. So, that'll be my homework for this week.

The reason I'm posting this long-winded thing here is to see if any of you lovely DBers have any feedback, positive or negative, on this whole approach. What has worked for you? What hasn't? What tips, advice, warnings, etc. might you have for me? I am doing everything I can to think ahead and protect my investment here -- I know myself, and I know when I start getting bored or frustrated with this, I will start to slip... unless I trick myself now. So, please, don't hold back. Help needed! Thanks in advance!

Comment Now!

Kimberly G.

06/02/2015 5:33PM

You are doing amazing. Keep that focus and you will be golden!!! Love this post! It's more than just that number on that scale. We all all know that.

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Kimberly G.

Also I recently achieved the fit a towel around myself goal! Yay! Slowly but surely we will get there

Pirwaki

Thank you so much for your words of encouragement. It helps me keep focused and driven. Congratulations on your recent victory over the towel! I KNOW we will do this! :)

Andriks

06/02/2015 12:48PM

It is great when you stop for a moment to look back and see what you have accomplish. What has helped me is writing down what I do, like if today I ran 3kms, tomorrow, 5kms, or like having a weekly goal like running 30kms per week. For me weekly goals seem shorter and easier to accomplish and you can see results in the long run. Your next treat could be maybe some new tennis for the gym or for walking? Sometimes these type of treats also help us maintain the motivation, like maybe some tennis shoes to walk a little more or maybe a nice gym t.shirt that whenever you see it you want to workout... sometimes that helps me too. All in all it seems you are doing great and the fact that you have the 200 miles goal for this month will help you a lot. Healthy smoothies also have helped me, specially for dinner time when I know I shouldn't eat too much I try to make my self a nice delicious smoothie that helps my stomach feel full.

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Pirwaki

As it happens, I am about due for some new shoes. I'm wearing through mine pretty fast. I've decided to incorporate running into my workouts (instead of just the elliptical) once I clear a certain number on the scale, and that will be within the next week or two. Thanks for reading and making these helpful suggestions!

Washingtonienne

06/02/2015 11:39AM

Treating yourself is key! Sometimes, it's a food treat (a piece of my fave chocolate or a skinnier version of my Starbucks favorite or just the smaller size) but more often it's new workout clothes or my all-time favorite: books. For bigger milestones that I reach, I love a nice spa treatment. It doesn't have to be expensive; Groupon has great deals!

Pirwaki

Good idea about the work-out clothes and Groupon pampering sessions. There are some more high-end/expensive sports bras and shoes that I've wanted, but not bought because A) I'm dropping weight pretty fast, and wouldn't get a lot of use out of them for the price, and B) they're just too damn expensive. As I get smaller, I'll be in the same size for longer stretches, or at least won't look ridiculous in things when they start to get bigger. I definitely have to avoid treating myself with any kind of food -- that's how I got where I was in the first place. I'm sticking to moderation with the "bad" stuff, and just indulging sporadically. Thank you for your suggestions!

bahhhhh

06/02/2015 11:14AM

Okay. You, lady, are just my favorite. I needed to read this blog post SO MUCH. Quite a lot of your milestones are mine, as well. I'm going to write mine out, to remind me why I'm doing this and also to check them off. I can't believe I haven't done this. The airplane seat-- so hard. Public seating with arm rests, just in general, give me anxiety. Rollercoaster-- check (although, I didn't even have the guts to try, I just said I didn't like rollercoasters. But I do. A lot.) Crossing legs, closing towels, all of this. All of this. The reward system, well, I just don't know. I reward myself with stuff without method, like a toddler, so I never feel rewarded by my rewards. I have been planning to, when I lose enough weight to participate well, join a barre fitness class. And maybe, just maybe, a pole dancing fitness class. I love the idea of barre, and all the strength and work that it requires, but I am not physically capable of doing it right now. So that's kind of a reward, I suppose. I'm learning-- well, I knew, but I'm remembering-- that I need constant inspiration to keep me, uh, inspired. I have been neglecting blogging, neglecting reading blogs, neglecting researching and constantly striving for improvement. I got comfortable-- bored, like you said. And that knocked me down. Your blog (and Alice's earlier today) both just re-lit the fire. Thank you! I feel ready to create some new goals and plans and successes. I wish I was more helpful for you, but all I have is gratitu

Kimberly G. and Pirwaki like this comment.

bahhhhh

AND, I didn't ever even think to look at my miles per month. It was very enlightening. I'm averaging about 100/month. I can absolutely do better than that. I'm pumped to make a new workout plan that involves more miles. That's a totally attainable, manageable, trackable (I love graphs, and tracking, and office supplies, so I'm very excited) plannable thing. Yay!

Pirwaki

I'm the same way! I geek out over stats, numbers, trends, office supplies, planning materials, organization, AAAAH! Like you, I have things I want to do on the fitness front, but my stamina isn't there yet because I'm still working up to it. I'm really glad you got some kind of spark from this post, and I'm also really glad you can relate to some of the embarrassing limitations that have now become milestones for us to break through. I can't wait to hear what goals you design for yourself and which obstacles you bust through along the way!