Goals: setting them, acheiving them...are we really ever happy with them?

The title sounds like this is a depressing post, but it's not!  I've just been thinking since we got our week 8 measurement results from Dan about my personal weight loss goals and wondered if I will ever stop having weight loss goals.  My guess is no, I can't EVER remember a time that I didn't want to be thinner, no matter how thin I was at the time, I always wanted to lose weight. For this 14 week weight loss challenge I set an aggressive goal of wanting to lose 30-40 pounds.  I also set a year long weight loss goal because I want to continue to lose after the BWLC is over.  Once the year is over will I just set a new goal?

How many women out there do you know that are happy with their bodies and see no reason at all for change?  Not many, although I have recently met one such lucky lady.  I told her I was using her in my next blog, so I hope she doesn't mind :-)  Off handily this person said to me "Well, I've reached my goal, weight, but I still like to run with someone for the company".  She said a lot of other stuff too, I am sure, but once she said she had hit her goal weight (as in final goal weight, not short term one before she sets another one) she lost me...that was all I heard.  Wow, really, I don't know that I have ever heard someone say that to me (OK, maybe except for my cousin, the fit model, but she is always still "working on her body").  Don't get me wrong, she has every right to say it, she looks fantastic, but still, even the women I think look great always say they need to lose weight.  I can assure you that even though I was a lot thinner than I am now in my younger days, I have never been worried about being too thin!  I mean I'll bet even as a baby nobody worried about whether I was getting enough to eat..haha!  I never thought I was "where I wanted to be."  If I lost 10 pounds I wanted to lose 10 more. 
I have always been active, played sports, did gymnastics for 5 years, softball since I was 7 years old and actually liked to exercise.  I mean I like working out (training is a better word, I know) and for the most part have done so on a regular basis. I was always good at doing the newest thing: step aerobics, kick boxing, elliptical machine, yoga, Body Pump, Zumba, etc. What I have now learned is that by training for specific goals I get more out of the time I spend exercising.  I also know that, for me, I HAVE to eat right and exercise twice as hard to see results.  I think I may not actually have a metabolism..is that possible?  Just kidding, but I know that I have been really really doing a good job of eating clean and even adhering to Dan's SPARK diet at about 99%.  I have been working really hard at our group training sessions and have been doing my own workouts on the off days too.  I am seeing results, pretty good ones too for 8 weeks, but when I step on that scale I always want it to be more, or less, you know what I mean!  Will I ever be satisfied?
Another good friend of mine said something else a few weeks ago.  She too has been training for weight loss for over a year now and she said she came to the realization that maybe she just needed to be happy with who she was and where she was.  She has lost a good amount of weight, gained a lot of strength and looks amazing.  So, if we are healthy and at a healthy weight, can we stop setting weight loss goals?  I'll get back to you on that :-)

Here are my 8 week stats ( I know y'all want to know!)
Weight: -21 pounds
Thighs"  -3" in each leg
Hips: -5"
Abdomen:  -1.5"
Arms:  -1" in each arm
OK, so if you're not quick at math that is a total of 21 pounds and 14.5" gone from my body!

Yeah, I know that is pretty impressive, thanks Dan, thanks Giggle! 

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