Unrealistic goals

I was driving up to town this morning for my butt crack of dawn weight watchers meeting and got to thinking about my weekend plans. Those plans? Laundry, clean the house, make a couple meals and blessedly, after work today (Saturday until noon) nothing else. A glorious weekend of relaxation. (I've said this before and I usually end up running around doing stuff.....we'll see). The weekend loomed big in my thoughts as I pondered activities that I can do and complete this weekend. And then I had the brain child idea. I will do one activity (clean the kitchen) and then I'll do 1/2 hour of exercise. Then I'll do another activity (play on my computer) and then follow that up with another 1/2 hour of exercise. Then watch a movie, followed up by some more exercise. I'll exercise my way through the weekend. How wonderful does that sound? I drove a little further down the road and started laughing. There is NO way on earth that I'd be able to keep up that pace and that plan. It is totally unrealistic! I know that once I start watching movies, that exercise will be the furthest thing from my mind. I am so not going to want to get up off the nice comfy sofa, where I will probably have a cat or two cuddling up with me, to go exercise....just to go back to the sofa for another movie. Yes, I will probably ride the exercise bike for the first 1/2 hour to hour of the FIRST movie. But it's unrealistic to think that my original plan would work.

So how unrealistic are the goals that we set for ourselves? Yes, there are 22 more weeks in this year....and yes they say that a healthy weigh loss is up to 2 pounds a week. So yes, it would be HEALTHY for me to say that I was aiming to lose 44 pounds by the end of the year. Is it realistic? BARELY....life doesn't always work that way...there is a lot of vacation time, holidays and birthdays between now and then. Will I aim for that? Of course! But I'm not setting it as a time goal.....it is just an estimated time frame for me to reach that goal. But how many times to I set myself up for failure because I set unrealistic goals?


Well, I lost 2.8 pounds today. I'm so happy....and I'm heading into my weekend with a plan for eating healthy and staying on track!

OK, so here is where I"m at. I was at my meeting this morning and they announced that the 7AM meeting (which I have to leave 5 minutes early as it is, in order to make it to work on time) is being closed. They are combining the 7AM meeting with he 8Am meeting.....and having it at 7:30. So "it's only a half hour". But that makes it unattainable for me on the weeks that I work. I am so upset that I could cry. Just when I feel like I'm getting a handle on things...........

So I have a couple options...I've already asked some friends their opinions via email...but I need more opinions!

1. Quit going to meetings for the time being and try (once again to go it on my own). Driving back to work, I came up with a few ideas that may help keep me on track if I take this option.

*keep my e-tools- I like tracking on e-tools, especially since I can track on my phone even while I"m eating

*weekly, take a full body picture (clothed of course...tee hee hee) AND a picture of the number on the

scales....and post it on my blog for accountability. And ask my blog readers and my friends to keep me accountable.....have a set day for it!

2. There is a Thursday night meeting that I could conceivably make. It would be TIGHT....as in I get off work and I would barely have time to get there, and if I was held up at work for whatever reason (happens sometimes) I'd not make it.

*the pro is that I would be in a more consistent meeting

*the con, I'd be rushed

*the other con, I already am away and doing something on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings with my zumba after work. My husband is very accommodating, to the point that when he's home, he's OK with the fact that dinner isn't served until 8PM...actually later since I don't get home until 8PM. Is that fair to him to ask him to accommodate me another night....and we don't have many nights together as it is.

3. I could continue on and only go to meetings every other week....when I'm not working.

*pro-I'd still be going and having that accountability

*con- I'd be paying $20 per meeting

*there is a slight chance that on the 'work on Saturday' weeks, I could possibly get to a Tuesday morning meeting that they hold at 10AM, since my 6 day work week, they try to not have me come in until noon on Tuesday.

-con to that is that I'd be weighing in on Saturday and then turn around and weigh in again 3 days later

-con I like the consistency of meetings....I get the most from the people that I talk to at my meetings..

-pro- I'd be in a meeting each and every week!



I don't want to be a meeting attender that hops from meeting to meeting and/or sporadically attends. But it looks as if I may have to if I want to continue. What are your thoughts?