Discussion Topic

I visited with my Primary Care Physician yesterday. It was a follow up exam primarily to aid in weight loss. As I've noted before on this blog, my PCP is very kind and understanding. He has never, ever fussed at me about my weight, not even at 254.4. Whenever I mentioned the desire to lose weight, he was right there willing to offer his encouragement. I have always been able to speak freely with him about whatever was happening. Yesterday was no exception.

I thought going in that I'd lost 3 lbs since my last visit, but I did not go back and look at my many, varied graphs and spreadsheets to verify that fact. I knew that he'd be pleased with a loss no matter how much, and I'd just not tell him that at one point over the summer I'd been down even lower.

He doesn't even weigh me anymore. He just asks what did my scale say that morning. He used to both weigh me and ask, but the difference between the scales must have been consistent enough that all he does is ask. I told him my weight yesterday morning adding that I thought that was three pounds below the previous weight. Imagine my surprise when he told me that I had actually gained 5 lbs since my last visit!!

I confessed that my weight have even been lower than his last recorded weight, and that I'd planned just to keep that my little secret. He responded in his usual way saying that he was the last person to "do this" as he pointed is finger at me and shook it as he laughed. He typed some stuff in his laptop though, so I might have lost my no scale privileges for a while!

Everything physically checked out fine. I assured him that I had not given up in the weight loss department, but that my job had become so demanding and I was working such long hours that I wasn't focusing like I had in the past. I don't really know when this will end, as far as the work situation goes, so I've got to figure a way to schedule things a little better so that I can plan meals and exercise like I was this summer. He offered to schedule a follow up in 90 days if that would help keep me on track, because that is just the kind of guy he is. I declined, because, one I think I can do it without that authority accountability, and two scheduling something else just about gave me a stroke!

So, we set an appointment for the end of April. Then he suggested that I set a goal to lose 10 pounds before that date. It was my turn to laugh, and I told him that I needed a real goal. He gave me the standard, don't set yourself up for failure argument. While I understand that, and I know that most of this battle is mental, I still think that I need a goal that is going to make me work. I think a goal of 10 lbs in 6 months is so easy that I won't even try until sometime in March.

This is my dilemma - goal setting. It has been all along. I  mentioned very early in this blog how I attributed my past failures to poor goal setting as far as a goal weight went. I have a much more reasonable goal weight, which the doctor confirmed yesterday. My problem now, is how long should it take me to get there. When I set my four goals just a few weeks ago, Sharon said she thought they were too much of a stretch. I really, really appreciated her honesty. It turns out, she was right.

So now, I'm turning to you my faithful blog readers. How do you set goals? What do you do if you don't meet them? What is a reasonable amount of time to lose 10 pounds? I have some goal setting to do. I need your help.