Setting goals and staying on Total

[zombiegirl]

Hi everyone. I hope you don't mind but this post may come across as a stram of consciousness rather than anything organised and coherent!

I have been tying myself up in knots thinking about where to set my goal weight, and how long I can legitimately stay on Total. The last time I lost weight I got to 68kilos or 10st 10 and I felt great, but this was still more than a stone over my healthy weight. I would be happy to set that as a goal, but feel as though I should set one that has me at a healthy BMI.

The other problem is how long that represents for me on Total. To get there, I need to lose another 3st. I lose at approx 2.5lb per week which would put me at 17 weeks, so around 27th August, but I have a holiday coming up which will slow me down and the odd week where I lose less in any case. I just cannot forsee being able to stay doing this until the end of August, and ideally I had originally wanted to complete my 8 week RTM by the time I go on holiday on 25th Sep. I am getting all of this mixed up in my head and getting seriously stressed about it all. I really want to make a go of this, but just cant forsee me being able to afford, or having the capacity to stay on LL this long (I have been on since January)

What would you do? Someone has suggested i go on RTM so it is finished before my September holiday and then I can do more when I get back (maybe LLLite?) but is this allowed if you are not at goal.

Is there a way I can speed up my loss to make my goal, or is all this just a symptom of my mad brain trying to confuse me and make things difficult?

Sorry for the rambling. I guess it is all making me feel out of control as I have no definite plan, and that is the real issue.

 

[nzmegs]

You are allowed to set your goal at any weight you feel comfortable (unless it is at a BMI of lower than 21 - I think). So if you choose to start management early it is entirely up to you. But make sure you think through your reasons very carefully first.
My original target was to reach a healthy BMI. I honestly thought that reaching that target would be impossible anyway - but it seemed like a good place to start. However, when I got close I realised that for the sake of an extra month I could be half a stone lighter than that and that is where I decided to start management. I am now 4 pounds lighter than that and could even stand to lose some more. In my own opinion - of course.
What I am trying to say is that you will never have the same level of motivation and ketosis as you have right now (assuming you stick to it most of the time). At this point in time dieting is the easiest it is ever going to be. Getting back to that motivation after a holiday or after a break is going to be much harder. Ask all of those people who are doing this for the second or third times - they all say it is hard to get back into it.
It you have a time limit in mind, I would set that as your ultimate goal.See how much you can lose before your holiday, becuase if you don't, I believe you will always regret it. I am not suggesting that you stay on the diet throughout your holiday, but that you go on your holiday with another few pounds less under your belt. You will also have the motivation of your holiday to help you and a few more weeks of counselling to ensure you don't go crazy while you are away.
I know that the end of August seems so far away - but back in January when you started - how long away did May seem? You have done five months and done so well. I felt like you as well especially towards the end. I felt like each week was becoming a struggle and i wanted to see an end point. But actually, as long as i took it week by week and just got through each week, I found the strength to keep going. At the start of each week i would say to myself - "I am committing to one more week". When the end of that week came along, I realised that another week was possible.
it would be great to reach your goal before your holiday. So you should stick to the plan 100% regardless of anything else you have planned. drink huge amounts of water and see it as a challenge to your body and your mind. You are so capable of overcoming both of these. only you are in charge and you can get through those last three stone the same way you got through the first three stone!

 

[Rhyannasmum]

Hi, Im approaching time to decide when to move to RTM too. I'm just above a healthy bmi, all my clothes fit, i feel great, but there's a bit more belly fat hanging on than I'd like or is healthy. So, keep going? Move to RTM and hope to lose a few pounds more? or trust that the management plans i have will see me slowly continuing to lose weight over the next few months? Argh! its a big decision so i understand why its playing on your mind. in your shoes i wouldn't worry about it or even think about it at this stage. I calculate that if you moved to RTM at the end of July, you'd still have it done by the time of your holiday. That means for all of May, June and most of July its not something you need to worry about or decide about. Put a note on your calendar for mid July to think about it, see how you feel, see where you are weight wise and then forget about it for now. i know money comes into play, but if you can afford to keep on plan then do. Strike while the irons hot and keep going, you owe it to yourself.

 

[zombiegirl]

Thanks guys. I had a long talc with my LLC last night who has said the same things as your have - keep going, set the end of July as my target and see where I am then and whether I want to keep going. She then outlined so many diffeent options I could take that I had not considered - moving to lite, just keeping going and having my hols then coming back, emphasising that I don't need to decide now what my final goal will be or when I need to get there.I am going to keep taking each week as it comes and just enjoy the shrinking me. Once I get to 10st 10 (and I will!) I may decide another stone would suit me fine, or not. I also realised that this confusion is coming from my need to be 'perfect', that is do the diet 'perfectly' and be a perfect weight, when I realise logically there is no such thing. I also realise my goal is to be happy. Not just happy with my weight, but happy. This means that I may need to lose more than I thought to feel great about my body. So be it. It may also mean that I am content to be 10lb or a stone heavier than my 'perfect' weight if this means it is easier to maintain steadily within my lifestyle, without the misery and guilt of 'dieting' for the rest of my life. As my wonderful LLC pointed out I won't know any of that until i get there. I think I am guilty of fortune telling!Thanks again. I have read your replies over and they make sense. I am going to prin them out and keep them. It is a bit of a lightbulb for me to realise my goal is not to be x weight, but to feel happy about how I look and feel. Isn't that what we all want really?