Thursday, September 3, 2009

I hit my first goal!

Okay, I know I might have kind of given it away in the title, but check out this weigh in:

Weight: 250.0
BMI: 42.91

Ahhh! YAY! Okay. I should not just write random screamy things as they do nothing to illuminate the post, but by god I just cannot stop smiling.

I started this journey on July 7th. Using that as day 1, today is day 59. When I started, I declared a mini goal of getting to 250 pounds by September 15th. This is the equivalent of 28 pounds and just an eensy bit over 10% of my starting weight. Hitting it required dropping an average of 2.8 pounds/week. Today, September 3rd, 12 days early, I finished my first mini goal.

What now? Well, it's time for a new mini goal!

So, I've got two long term goals, which I call my long term goal and my long term stretch goal. My long term goal is to not be obese at my brother's wedding, which would mean getting my weight down to 175 by August 14th, 2010. My long term stretch goal is to not be overweight at my brother's wedding, which means hitting 145 by that same 8/14/2010. When I started, that meant losing a little under 1.8 pounds/week for my normal goal, and losing a little over 2.3 pounds/week for my stretch goal. Because I've been going above pace, the sustained loss needed to hit those milestones is now a bit over 1.5 pounds/week and a bit over 2.1 pounds/week respectively.

Once I set my first mini goal, I knew the weight I was going to attach to my second mini goal: 233 pounds. At 233 pounds, for the first time in too long, I will no longer be morbidly obese. Morbid is such a wretched word, such a wretched concept, one label I just can't wait to be rid of. My next goal is to not be morbid.

But I need a deadline. Some people don't like deadlines (weight loss isn't a race, after all), but for me they're helpful. It gives me a discreet point to work towards, and an expectation of pace. By attaching a deadline to my goal, I'm more likely to work harder and lose the weight faster.

So, 17 pounds. Back when I thought I'd be hitting 250 on the 15th, I sort of assumed that I'd make Halloween the deadline. Plugging that into calculators this morning (thank you fitday!) that meant a pace of 2.05 pounds/week. That's slower than my stretch goal, and thus way too slow for a mini goal. Mini goals are meant to push me.

The next meaningful date I could think of was Saint Crispin's Day, which is October 25th. An October 25th deadline would mean a loss of 2.29 pounds/week. This is above the pace needed for my stretch goal. The main benefit is that doing things around Saint Crispin's day is just totally badass. I could be all "We few, we happy few, we band of brothers we" and whatnot.

But, I asked myself, is 2.29 enough of a stretch while you're still this high? I weigh quite a bit right now. This, in many ways, sucks. But having so much to lose gives me one substantive benefit: moving myself around burns a heck of a lot more calories than it would for a person of reasonable size. Because I still weigh so much, dropping a given pound is comparatively easier than it will be down the road.

So I tried pushing it up a bit more to the 15th, the ides of October. (Did you know the ides only take place on the 15th during October, March, May and July? In all other months they're on the 13th. In other news, I am a gigantic nerd.) Fitday says this means losing 2.83 pounds/week. This is a slight bit more than my last mini goal (which started at 2.80 pounds/week) but is slower than the actual pace I've had thus far of 3.32 pounds/week.

My new goal is to lose 17 pounds by October 15th.

It's going to be tough. That's a high number. I'll need to push workouts and keep mistakes few and far between. But it's also eminently doable. If I want to, there's not a doubt in my mind that I can make it.

The comments you guys left yesterday were just incredibly insightful. Several of you brought up that "easy" isn't quite the right word, and thinking about it more I realized that's true. The pain of recovery and long term restrictions are not to be underestimated. I started drafting a bit more of a response to all the good points you guys brought up last night, but that got preempted by my WOOHOO 10% post. So look for that in the near future.

In the mean time, I'm still smiling. I've lost 10% of my bodyweight. I've improved how I look, lowered my risk of disease, and quite a few other things. I'm happy I stuck through, and I'm proud of myself for doing so. I hope the rest of you guys get to have just as fabulous a day as I'm having.

23 comments:

  1. YAY HADLEY!! Im so proud of you! Imagine me throwing confetti on you. Go get yourself some roses or get a massage. Ill try for the 17 pounds with you if you want :)

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  2. You ROCK Miss Hadley! Your post made me smile BIG plus it was fun to watch those numbers churning in that analytical head of yours! WE can do this Hadley!

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  3. WOW!!! Well done! You deserve a big pat on the back. It is HARD WORK to get where you have gotten.
    KEEP SMILING!!
    Before you know it you will be in October smiling even bigger!!

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  4. Great job on your weight loss so far! Keep it up!

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  5. Congrats Hadley!! I have to say your post is very informative and funny! I like how you came up with your new mini goal! You are GOING to do this!!! Good Luck!!!

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  6. I'm doing the happy dance for you :)

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  7. Congrats! that is so amazing! you will be able to knock out those seventeen pounds in no time!

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  8. That's just so great I can't stand it!! YAY!! You will get those next 17 off really fast - I just feel it!

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  9. A huge congratulations to you!! Well done! I love achieving mini-goals and then setting new ones. :)

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  10. WOO HOO! We are on the same team! Yeah! Again congrats on making your first goal! E-mail me anytime you need help, advice, etc! pinguinlvr@roadrunner.com


    ~~Heather S.

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  11. WOOHOO! I think you are entitled to "random screamy things" as well as dancing a lil jig around your living room! Your achievement has inspired me to set some mini-goals...not good at that tho...any ideas? Again, WOOHOO for Hadley!!

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  12. I'm new to your blog, but wanted to offer a giant CONGRATULATIONS!!! You should treat yourself to a pedicure or something else equally as fun. When I hit my mini goal, I dyed and cut my hair and that was fantastic. Keep up the good work. You can do it! Love your blog!

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  13. Go Hadley!!

    Congrats on hitting your goal early & for jumping right on track with making more goals!! Love it!

    Did you see we are fellow Prancers? lol
    Email me if you need anything at all! Oh and don't forget your Labor Day challenge post. I'll get mine up tomorrow. :)

    Best wishes,
    Lynn

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  14. I could not be happier for you if I was you....lol!

    Way to go. Don't get too hung up on loosing too fast. It will come off. If you don't ( i know you will, but...)meet the too fast goal you might get discouraged.

    I can't even imagine you discouraged!

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  15. WTG!

    Hello fellow team mate prancer
    Have a great weekend!

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  16. ahh congrats! and huge props on being a self admitted nerd. i consider my nerdy/quirky/geekiness a point of pride.
    you definitely kicked ass and you deserve a good celebration. go shopping or get a manicure or something. just avoid rewarding yourself with food...thats just counterproductive. and good job keeping yourself reminded of your goals, but don't forget, anything more than 2 or 3 lbs per week is excessive. you seem like you're doing a great job losing steadily, go you!

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  17. Awww yeah! You are a total weight loss pimp! I am soooooo proud of you. You should be smiling. I remember how happy I was when I hit 250 too. Bet your clothes are falling off. Treat yourself to something nice. Like a new outfit.

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  18. Yahoo!!! You reached your first goal! And you did it early! You are a machine!

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  19. You rock! Congratulations! I'm happy for you! It is so nice to reach those goals. I can't wait until you lose the morbid word, too. I hate that word, and it was a huge relief when I got past it. I'm not far, but it's behind me. It will be for you in a few short weeks, too!

    Woo hoo!!!

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  20. Prance Prance Prance!!! Im doin a happy dance for you! That is amazing! and to be able to set goals like that you are determined and motivated! Your doing an amazing job! I also thought the Ides of march was the only one? that's cool bit of info! C ya around my fellow prancer!!! ::hugs::

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  21. Congratulations!!! Hitting these mini-goals is what keeps me going too! Are you giving yourself a non-food reward?

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