Its not like it wasn't depressing enough to have the Wii Fit shout out to the masses "THAT'S OBESE" but now it wouldn't let me set a goal in the normal or even overweight range. Is there a way to set a lower goal? I'm ready to pack this thing up and take it back to Costco to trade it for half the items in the bakery! I really want to give this my best shot and do what I can to enjoy it. It would help if I could get an accurate goal.

Thank you!

Welcome to the forum.

Please don't give up. It's always a bit of a shock to see what range your weight falls in if you are overweight, but if you work at it, it will go down.

As for the goal, it is a short-term one. It's what you aspire to lose in a month or two. It isn't your ultimate goal. Your ultimate goal is to be in the normal weight range, and that is already set up in the system in that it will tell you when you reach it. The point is that you can't reach it all at once. It is better to concentrate, say, on losing two kilos a month, than to concentrate on the end goal of having your weight in the normal range.

The best thing to do is not to worry about your weight goal at the moment. Put something in the system. Make it something reasonable and then forget it and concentrate, instead, on working out every day and eating a healthier diet. If weighing in demotivates you, then weigh in only once a week. The important thing is to get yourself exercising and to change your diet. Your body will respond if you make these changes and you will lose weight.

I know it's hard when you want to lose weight: you see what you want to be in your mind and you don't want to take it in little steps. But an all or nothing attitude is a great demotivator. Weight loss takes patience. You will have bad days where you gain a bit of weight. You will have good days where you lose more than you expected. You will have days where nothing seems to happen at all. Keep working at it, though, for it will pay off. Your muscles will tighten up and feel lighter. You will have more energy. It all builds on itself as you continue to exercise. Every day that you exercise is a day that you build your body up. Every day that you eat properly is a day that you aren't eating unhealthily. Every day that you do your best is a victory. It just takes quite a few victories to reach the end goal, that's all.

Don't give up. Post to this forum when you're feeling down and someone will reply to give you a bit of a boost. Most of us are here to lose weight, so we've all been where you are now in terms of feeling down.

Please, let us know how you get on.

I couldn't agree more with lajoggeuse.

I finally got a grip of weight 18 months ago after more than a decade of short-term faddy diets. It's taken that long to go from 109kg (240 pounds) well in the obese range, down to 85kg (190 pounds) which is only overweight by 4kg (9 pounds). It's been a slow process, but I've got there.

I could have lost it faster, but I knew if I tried to lose it too fast I'd just end up putting it back on again, just as I had countless times before. There are numerous studies that show people who lose (or try to lose) weight quickly are much more likely to fail, and often end up putting more weight back on than they lost in the first place. Like me when I was younger, people get into an endless cycle of yo-yo dieting. The only way to stop that is to take it gradually. You are better off making small and gradual improvements to your diet and lifestyle and slowly losing the weight, than radically changing what you eat overnight and then lose the will because it is such a big shock to the system.

I've always had a long term goal of 81kg in mind, the top end of the "healthy" weight range for me. But I always knew it would take a long time to get there, so I set short term goals of losing just a couple of kilograms at a time. Each time I make it over that line I get a little buzz. It's like being in a hurdles race, you can't get to the finishing line without jumping all the hurdles in between Even now when the end is almost in sight, my current goal is actually 83kg, not my final 81kg.

So keep your long term goal in mind, but aim for something achievable in the short term. If you start off setting a really big target you'll just get dispirited and risk giving up, no matter how good your will power is.

A curious things I've found is that every two or three kilos I've lost, I've been able to feel the difference. You don't have to lose loads to feel the benefits. I can still remember how happy I was when I lost my first stone (14 pounds, or 6.6kg). I still needed to lose a load more, but I could already feel the change. When I hit 100kg I celebrated, and when I got to 95kg and was no longer "obese" I literally danced around the room with joy . I had a long way to go, but I'd come so far and even if I stopped there I had still achieved something fantastic.

The Wii Fit could definitely do with being a little more tactful about how it reports people's weight, but it isn't telling you anything you don't already know. The only way you, me, or any of us is going to change anything is if we are prepared to stare the cold hard facts in the face and resolve to do something about them. Getting annoyed with the Wii Fit won't make the blindest bit of difference. I spent nearly twenty years alternating between sticking my head in the sand, and hopelessly optimistic attempts to lose weight, but now I have a realistic set of goals that I know I can achieve, even though it's taken me this long, and will take me a little longer still.

So don't get upset about what some jumped up bit of plastic thinks, set an achievable goal for the short term and go for it. Remember the old saying "Even a journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step". Well losing 50 pounds start with losing one pound. Take it slow and steady, don't change your diet too suddenly, ease into it gradually while making it a part of your regular lifestyle and not a "thing". You'll be just fine.

You can do it. And you will do it. Not only will you lose the weight, but you'll keep it off for the long term. Do it for the whole of of the rest of your life, not just for this summer.

And keep coming back. We are all in the same (presumably quite study ) boat together and there are plenty of people here with the same frustrations.

Thank you so much for your replies. I do see the benefit of thinking small. I was sort of hoping it would let me take the sum of it and come up with an average to achieve good results. In reality, I can't be caught up in the numbers and the weight loss results as much as me need to get strength built up. I have a beautiful child with multiple special needs and as she grows its more difficult to lift her. I do realize that as I build muscle, the weight will also burn off and that is a desired side effect. i have just been at this off and on for so many years that I know that focusing on the weight itself is not enough of a motivator for me.

Thanks again for the lovely welcome and encouragement. i really believe that this encouraging component is going to help me become healthy, fit and more energetic!