I have extended my goal weight date

[EmilyBee]

I have decided to move my deadline date back to Christmas 2005. Originally my goal deadline was the end of August but I have a feeling that it may come off slower than I thought and I don't want to feel like I've failed if I see my progress points rise above the timeline bar on fitday.

Do you think this is the right thing to do or am I setting myself up for failure by moving the goal posts?

Your comments, as usual, are appreciated

[k0mptec1]

i think that it is probably a good idea as long as you aren't giving extra time to allow for cheats, and looking at your past posts i dont think that is the case. you are just being realistic! Good job with the progress this far :joy I had to move my date up a few weeks, as you can see i am getting married in Dec. and I want to be goal bt then. Good Luck on reaching your goal!

[IrishIrish]

I don't set any goals beyond getting healthy. Over the last year, I've incorporated Atkins into my way of life, so a timeframe isn't important. I stay on plan, I don't look for opportunities to cheat, I feel better when I'm on Atkins than when I'm not, so for me, the time frame isn't important. In the beginning, I played with the Fitday.com tool of estimating how much I would have to lose in order to meet a date specific goal and it put too much stress on me. If I wasn't losing 2 pounds a week, I panicked ... and I would readjust the date constantly.

So, if my weight loss is fast or slow, I'm following the plan ... there's not much else I can do so why do I want the added pressure of failure looming because I don't meet my arbitrary goal.

I think we are all harder on ourselves than we would be on others!! :wave

[EmilyBee]

K0mptec1 - you're right, it's certainly not for cheats. Congrats on the wedding but you've just pointed out that Christmas is only another 9 months away - I've barely paid of the debt from the last one and the next one's creeping up on me already

IrishIrish - I agree with you about the health side of things and my patience has certainly increased over the last few weeks. I can easily say that goal maybe around Christmas whereas before I started the diet I was counting the weeks at 2lbs to get to the August deadline. I have to admit that there is still a vanity thing there for me. I want to look good and if someone said they could click there fingers and make me thin right now I would definitely take them up on it. This WOE has at the very least taught me that results are a daily occurence and we look better with every passing day, week and month. I would rather be eating the way I am right now for 9 months (my whole life actually), than eat like crap and have it all magically disappear at Christmas. I want to see my body evolve. I seemed to miss out on that as my weight increased - if I'd taken the time to notice the changes then I may not be here right now

That was a bit of a ramble, I hope it made sense

[not2late]

My suggestion to anyone doing an Extended Induction is to read Chapters 12-14 and to answer the Four Questions in Chapter 13 weekly. I've seen too many folks here fall off the wagon because they became bored with the Induction foods and "cheated" with foods and amounts that could be legally eaten on OWL or "cheated" with foods that have suitable OWL counterparts.

So take those Four Questions frequently, your priorities and perspectives can change from week to week. And it's always a shame to see someone fall off because they simply became bored with Induction.

[EmilyBee]

My fear is that I will never get bored, in fact, I'm scared that I will be scared to move onto OWL