Hello everyone and welcome back to another week of my weight loss series ‘Thinking Thin’. Thanks so much for putting up with my ramblings last week and all your kind comments. I can’t begin to tell you how much it helped to get all that off my chest. I must learn not to let things whir round in my head and share them either on my blog or with a friendly ear. It brings a whole new perspective to things don’t you think?

Weight Loss and Goal Setting

Just the process of writing down the issues I felt stuck with helped me release so much, and I’m sure that’s partly why I’ve felt completely back on track this week.

I’m also really pleased to report that since the start of this weight loss journey I’ve now lost a stone. Woohoo! I’m so doing the happy dance right now. I’ve got one more stone to go before I’m back to where I was before I fell of the wagon but things are really moving in the right direction.

I feel like mentally I’ve made more progress than I have before, so I’m hoping this weight loss journey will be far more sustainable long term. One day I’ve got to nail this thing for good, right? I’m fed up of this yo yo weight loss, weight gain situation I’ve got myself into.

Setting Goals For Weight Loss

This week I’ve been really thinking about my weight loss goals, and how they can help me. I finally realised I’d let things slip out of control again when I went to BritMums Live in June. When I saw myself in the full length mirror at the hotel I was staying in I knew enough was enough. I said to myself ‘I do not want to look like this, this time next year’. It was at that point I started to work towards getting my comfort eating under control again.

Now, it’s dawned on me that BritMums Live is a long way off, and that some shorter term goals might help me stay on track. I don’t want to use the number of pounds lost as a target, as I think as long as I’m losing I’m going in the right direction. I don’t want to feel disappointed if I don’t lose 10lbs by X date for example, that could be a recipe for disaster.

The one thing that I am always nervous about when I embark on a weight loss journey is that I will have lots of excess skin to shift after I have lost the initial weight. However, my friend was telling me about different plastic surgery procedures done by doctors like David Shokrian the other week and that gave me some hope that if I do lose a lot of weight then I can get rid of the skin in a simple and tidy procedure. This just gave me more motivation to lose weight!

Weight Loss Goals That Will Work For Me

Instead I’m going to focus on events or occasions in my life that are important to me. It is when I’m on holiday, or during a family Christmas or attending an event that I become the most self conscious about my weight.

I don’t want to continue feeling this way about myself at every holiday or when I’m looking back at the Christmas photos. I’m always left feeling not very good about myself, and I know this can be a trigger to comfort eating.

We have just booked a holiday to Pineda De Mar in Costa Brava for October. I want to continue losing weight until I go on holiday. There is nothing worse than being over weight in a warmer climate, don’t you agree? My fingers swell up, I feel hot and sweaty and it’s just not a pleasant experience all round. But I love going on holiday, and I want to be free of all these negative uncomfortable feelings so I can just enjoy our family time.

I don’t think I’ll be a waif come October, but I want to feel like I’m on top of this weight loss thing and more comfortable in the heat at least. I’m finding it really helpful to bring my focus back to an earlier date. Weight loss milestones are really important to keep us all on the right track.

Just focusing on next June is a dangerous thing to do. It feels like such a long time away, that I could slip into thinking ‘that cake doesn’t matter today, as I can start again tomorrow’. That has been a slippery slope for me in the past, and before I know it I’ve eaten cake everyday for 2 months. That’s not going to help me reach my ultimate goal of significant sustainable weight loss by next Summer.

The next goal I think will be Christmas. It would be lovely to feel more confident in the Christmas photos and enjoy looking back at pictures of myself. I know I find it really hard to look at photos of myself when I’m over weight, and I guess that’s pretty common.

A pattern seems to be forming here already. It seems sensible to break my journey down into 2 month milestones, and if that collides with an event as well that will be an extra incentive to stay on track. We usually go on holiday to Nerja in early March, so that can be another milestone to aim for.

Holidays Are A Huge Incentive For Weight Loss

I’ve shared with you before how using how you feel in a situation can make a huge difference to the way you eat. If you always feel yucky after eating fish & chips, when you fancy them, think about that feeling you will get when you’ve finished. It will soon put you off going near those fish and chips in the first place.

Thinking about how I feel when I’m on holiday, is another great tool for me to use when I’m feeling like eating unhealthy foods. I’m fed up of not enjoying myself because of my weight. I want to be able to chase my children round the beach or play ball games with them with out feeling out of breath and unfit. I want to have fun with them!

One of my friends is trying a weight loss programme that gives you a money incentive for losing weight, take a look at this HealthyWage review, and she finds that this is a great incentive for her to lose weight and keep going. But for me, I feel that if I focus on my holiday in Costa Brava in October, I might just speed my weight loss up a little and I’m less likely to hit bumps in the road along the way. If I had to put it in terms of my size, I think I’d like to go down another dress size, so that I’ve got an excuse to do some clothes shopping as well. Those would be happy days for me!

I’d love to hear how you set goals for your weight loss journey, and how you keep yourself motivated. Let me know in the comments or share this post with your followers if you think it would be helpful to them.

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28 COMMENTS

  1. When I lost four stone after having my first child, instead of fish and chips, and other junk food, I treated myself with healthy but tasty foods. I love eating prawns from the fish mongers but find them expensive. I used to have short term goals then treat myself to a bag of prawns every few weeks if I reached my target. It seemed to work for me. You sound like you are doing well so far. Your holiday sound like a good motivator.

  2. I use my old pair of jeans as a goal measurement – if they fit me again… I am moving to the next pair… I still have my old jeans from 10 years ago in size 6… I don’t think I will be going all the way to size 6 but going back to size 10 would be perfect.

  3. I think it’s great to have smaller goals set along the way – it really helps me to stay focused and stops the ‘big’ goal from seeming too overwhelming (or too far away!) I am really enjoying reading your updates and thoughts on this whole process Zena. I totally agree a holiday is good motivation and a treat for reaching a goal too!

  4. Well done you! You are doing so well – you are an inspiration. I must tackle my weigh too. Next Britmums we will be the two skinny ones, right!!! Kaz xx

  5. Best of luck with all your weight loss goals Zena. I’d love to lose some weight too, just to boost my self confidence. Concentrating on your hols will give you a bit of a push and incentive to stick to your goals.

  6. Did you know that I started my blog purely to shame myself in to losing weight. 3 years and one more child on – I still weigh the same. I think the incentive for me is to feel nice. But I think because my goal is so far away it begins to feel pointless after a little stretch of time, say 3 months or so. I guess that’s just the way that I am. I hit a wall and stop. hmmmf! Good luck to you though – it’s great to see you have a goal in mind and truly sound determined to get moving towards that goal xx

  7. I think you are right to have goals that are far enough ahead to give you something to aim for. If they are too far or too close, they won’t work as well I think.

  8. That’s such a good idea, to think of how you feel after crap food rather than craving hte food itself, i always feel rubbish and guilty after pigging out so i’ll try this technique the next time!

  9. Short term goals are the way forward! Mine is my 30th birthday in October. I do think having a long term goal is helpful though. We intend to go abroad in 2017 (!!!) and I want to be slim enough to wear a swimsuit confidently. That actually is keeping me pretty focused at the moment! Keep going with the weight loss – you’re doing brilliantly xx

  10. I set myself small goals. And I give myself a treat once a week. It is very hard, especially with the kids being off school. I also have a skinny picture of myself on the fridge to stop me from snacking on junk food! It inspires me to stay motivated lol.
    Great post and goodluck with your weight loss. You CAN do it! xx

  11. I must admit I am quite down about my weight at the moment, so says I after gorging on cake, apple pie and toast. I have put on a few pounds and have realised that yes I need to stop my comfort eating, it is no good for me. I kind of liken it to when I smoked and it is willpower that will see me through hopefully.

  12. I have started Slimming World as I need to lose baby weight. I have tried on some clothes I can’t hardly get into any more. I can’t wait to try them on in a few months and they fit. Ive lost 10lbs in 9 weeks.

  13. I honestly have no incentive other than to stay a size 14.According to the NHS BMI, I’m obese.I’m 40 years old, 4″ 11 and horrified that I should be 9 bloody stone.I do eat the wrong things but I also eat lots of the right things, I guess they balance each other but I won’t give over more to eating more of the good stuff because I hate the word diet.I wish I could have your mentality and just set a goal and stick to it.

  14. Did my comment get eaten? Think I pressed the wrong button after my long comment. In short, I wish i had your mindset on hitting goals.I hope you reach where you want to be.

  15. I always set myself small, manageable goals whenever I’m doing something as I think it’s so much easier than having something unrealistic to aim for. Good luck with your weight loss journey, I’m sure you’ll do great 😀

    Louise x

  16. I think a two month milestone for goals is a good idea, any longer and I would fall of the wagon I think!! Baby boy is due any day now and I have gained far too much weight! Once I’m recovered from my section I’m looking forward to becoming a little more active and shifting the weight!!! X

  17. I love this post! I’ve just had to bookmark it so I can come back here! I’ve struggled all my life with my weight, I’m currently a size 22-24, though I can still fit into some of my size 20s! It makes me so depressed! In June, my partner put a ring on my finger, I just don’t want to be a fat bride! Then my sister asked me to be bridesmaid for her wedding in May, so I’ve really not got long at all to start losing the lbs, or stones! Good luck on your journey! xx

  18. Best of luck lovely, I agree there’s nothing worse than feeling fat on holiday but then again its so hard to resist all the nice food whilst you’re there haha! I also try and go on a diet before hand but it never works x

  19. great read i can relate to so much of what you say, this time last year i was a skeleton of my now self i lost the weight due to ill health (pnd) and as i begin to change my habits of not eating i went the total opposite way to comfort eating. Im so disappointed in myself that i’m two sizes bigger since last year. i love your idea of thinking first about the feeling i will get if i eat a certain thing. all the best with your journey x

  20. Small bite sized goals are a great incentive to any long term goal..and nothing better than a lovely holiday to look forward to as well. Best of luck with the weight loss.

  21. Fair play! I’ve been piling on the pounds in the last year and I so need to lose them again. I need to feel better in my skin and get fit. You can do it!

  22. Well done, Zena – you’re doing a great job. It’s not always easy losing weight, when what we eat can be so connected to our emotions. It takes a lot of awareness!

    • Thanks so much. Your right about the awareness bit, I feel like I’m constantly discovering more about myself

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