Goal Setting: Commitophobia or Motivating?

I've never been one to set a number for my goals in weight loss and health. It's always been a very vague, "I want to feel good again," or "Be healthier." After some reflecting it seems to me that I'm afraid to commit to a number and fear failure. Pretty typical, huh? So it's time to bunker down and set some real goals.


We have a cousin getting married the first week of June in California. I would like to be down 15 pounds by then. I have 18 weeks to do this in, which means I can follow the no-more-than-a-pound-a-week-for-breastfeeding-moms advice I've received. It also gives me some wiggle room and I'm a fan of that. There's a vanity aspect of it, of course. I want to look good and feel good being out there, but there's more.


Remember those other cousins we went to Tahoe with last year? They also had a baby boy born exactly a month and a day before Vince. We're going to go camping with them in Yosemite following the wedding and take the boys. It'll be tons of fun and I'm really eager to be able to keep up with them. The snowshoeing really put into perspective how much more you can do when you are in significantly better shape. Plus! Yosemite has some awesome hiking trails and waterfalls off the beaten path that I want to visit.

So the goals:

1. Lose 15 pounds by the 1st of June
2. Be able to walk 5 miles in one instance.


Where I currently am on these goals:

1. I'm down 1 pound from my pre-pregnancy weight! Yay! 14 more to go!
2. I can easily walk 1 mile now and am starting to get into the grove of doing 1.5 miles.


It'll be tough, but I think I've got enough time to make it happen!

Do you set goals? How do you keep up with them?