Goals

I've never set fitness goals before....heck..I don't think I've ever set A goal before.

Right now I weight 255lbs and will hopefully find out my BF% tomorrow. I'd like to be down in the 225lbs range.

Is it unrealistic to set a goal of losing 35lbs in say....10 - 12 wks?

Thanks -
BigD

Yes, that is a tad unrealistic. Ideally you should shoot for losing 1 to maybe 2 lbs of fat a week. That is a realistic and managable amount to lose, it also is in a range that will allow you to maintain, and perhaps put on, a couple pounds of muscle.
 
So for 35 lbs your talking 17 to 35 weeks. But remember if your weight training if everything goes well, your shape should be changing, far more radically than a mear scale is capable of indicating.
 
So while that may seem like a long time the changes in your  appearance should be motivation to keep you going.

Thanks for the response. Yeah, I realized shortly after posting that - that the goal was not realistic.

Another question - kinda along the same lines.
In setting my goals - I want to set a goal to lose "x" amount of body fat. I have found out my body fat % & how many pounds of bodyfat I have (man, was that a shocker, wake up, and overall sad - yet a motivator) - what I need to know - what SHOULD be my goal as far as bodyfat? What is "normal" or healthy? I'm not looking to compete, although the idea has crossed my mind - I have a VERY long way to go before I'm even close to being able to do that, I just don't know what to aim for? I mean, 6% seems waaay low - 10%? is that too high? I just have no clue.

Thanks!
BD

One way to answer your question would be to look at some examples of various fat levels. While it would be extremely worthwhile to point you to a single web page that would show comparative samples, I've never seen such a reference (seems odd, though). If you'll look at my pics you'll see what 22% body fat looks like, and you'll see what 8-9% looks like.

I'll do some digging and see if I can come up with something more meaningful for you. 
 
edit: Here is a web reference that shows one fellow through varioius body fat phases (30%–7%).

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"Push your limits — define aggressive goals"
_________.P R O G R E S S___P I C S

That really helps!  Thanks Cursor!  I can see that I want to get down to 10% - and I know it will take some time. 

Thanks again! 

BigD