I know what you're saying. I averaged 13 pounds a month until December, which slowed my loss quite a lot, even though I stayed on-plan. Part of me was jealous of a friend who has lost 80 pounds and continues to average 2.9 pounds per week loss. Another part of me, the pragmatic part, won the debate.

Pragmatic Scott said: You're still losing. You're not gaining. What's the problem here?

Dreamer Scott said: Bullshit. We're not losing it fast enough. We'll still be fat next Christmas.

Pragmatic Scott: So what? We have had 30 or so fat Christmases so far. What is another, especially if we're less fat than before. Endure another one, maybe two. No problemo.

Because his viewpoint is inevitably correct, Pragmatic Scott won that debate. Where was the Dreamer going to go with it? Quit the diet because it isn't effortless? Go back to having pizza and cinammon rolls because the diet isn't working as fast as he'd like? Oh, that's logical.

I sat my goals without a true timeframe, other than a misguided Christmas goal that I came close to hitting anyway. I want to be more or less to goal before Kyra gets to the age when she'll need a thin dad to play and run with her, and that's a couple years off. I can do that, even at a pound a week or less.

I do want to buy clothes that aren't in the Big & Tall section by this summer, and that seems reasonable. I'm already feeling my 2X shirts kind of hang down, and my 3X's are positively huge.

Goals are goals: they should be specific and attainable and within our control. I'd urge everyone to have them, but to also have dreams. Goals are something you should get done. Dreams are something that should drive you and unify your actions.

My goal is that my daughter won't remember a fat dad. I can definitely do that. My dream is that she has him around for a very long time. I can't control that, but I can damn well work at it.

Scott