Being Realistic

Whenever you start a weight-loss program you usually have an ultimate goal/long-term goal and a few short goals. The long term might be to lose 30 pounds while the short goal is to lose 5. Experts say that when you begin, goal setting is extremely important. They also stress it is critical to make sure that the goals are realistic and obtainable. The importance of realist goals is vital; if you set your goal to lose 30lbs in a week and 5lbs a day and you don’t meet it, it leaves you feeling discouraged and depressed that you didn't hit your mark. 

That discouragement can even lead to giving up and putting doubt in your head that you can't lose weight. This idea however is fundamentally not true, because you could have perhaps lost 2lbs in one week, (what doctors agree is a healthy weight loss for a week) but if you set a goal to lose twice that amount and you didn't, you miss the fact that you ARE in fact losing weight. It's your goals that are out of whack, not you.

So where am I going with all this?

Well it occurred to me over this weekend and after talking to my life coach Christine, one of my biggest struggles with weight-loss is based on setting unrealistic goals. I am the queen of overly optimistic, intense, and more often than not, unrealistic goals which week after week month after month go unmet. That feeling of defeat can really play in your mind and make you feel like you can't lose the weight when really it's a matter or realigning your goals. You may have noticed I just made an unrealistic goal up the other day........12 days of working out in a row with no breaks. Before you ask, it didn't work, I only made it a day or two and then needed a day off for my sore muscles but I spent much of the day on Friday upset that I didn’t meet my goal of exercising 12 days in a row. Looking back on it now, saying I'll workout for 12 days in a row is not only foolish but it could have lead to injury and with all the other things going on in my life, it just isn't realistic.

After telling Christine this entire story she suddenly made me realize just how many "goals" long-term and short-term I had going on. Along with my 12 days in a row of working out, I had a birthday goal weight I was working towards, a WYM challenge, a NMG challenge, and a short goal for this past Sunday's weigh-in.

She then said something that really opened my eyes. As I was telling her how I felt bad about missing a couple of my goals she said, "Well yeah, part of the problem is it sounds like you don't have clear set goals, your goals are moving targets, and frankly it sounds like some of them aren't even realistic."

I thought about that for a second and took a deep breath and realized that she was right. Part of the reason I wasn't meeting my goals is because I have A.) WAY TOO MANY OF THEM and B.) they aren't realistic to begin with.

Christine then recommended I reevaluate my current goals and figure out a REALISTIC set of goals that I can meet that will lift my spirits and excite me when I reach them. She also challenged me to think about "Why are you doing this?"

Originally, when I first started this blog and my weight-loss journey I wanted to lose weight but I also wanted to find a balance of fitness and diet that I could live with for the rest of my life. The concept was to be healthier and lead a healthier lifestyle from here on out.

After I told her this she then challenged me with, "What is your definition of healthy?"

Huh…..that one stumped me, and it still does. What does YOUR definition of ‘healthy’ mean? She invited me to think about what I think it means to be healthy and not only with regards to my diet and fitness but my relationships (family, friends) and mental health. I'm actually still pondering what MY definition of healthy is but based on our discussion I have made a few changes this weekend to help get me centered on my goals.

For starters, I have decided that I'm not ready to tackle 4 or 5 goals at once I need to center myself on just 1 long-term and 1 short-term. That being said, I have ended my WYM and NMG challenges. I intend to pick them up again later on but for now I need to just focus on 1 goal at a time. My long-term goal is to weigh 140 lbs. My first short-term goal is to lose 2 lbs. by my birthday. Something which I think is possible, obtainable, and realistic for me. I know if I can hit that goal I'll be proud and excited and it will help keep me focused. 

After I reevaluated my goals I decided then to look at my diet and I've made some changes. My current calorie restrictions were just that, strict. I've since upped my calorie intake in my ipad ap from 1200 to 1400 a day to see if that helps get me in the green in my ap, control binges, and help keep me consistent. 

In addition, I've also reviewed my workout schedule and made some changes. I was noticing that running hill routines 3 days a week is just NOT realistic for me at this point in my fitness so instead, I'm going back to the treadmill at the gym to take things slow. I'd love to run outside by my house but everything is hills and it's just not realistic for me right now. I'll instead be practicing on the treadmill and slowly upgrading my distance, speed, and incline as I get better. With this change, I will try to keep a consistent workout schedule of at least 30 minutes 4 days a week of walking, swimming, running, hiking, yoga etc. and if some weeks I can get in 5 or 6 sessions, that is just icing on the cake.

So there you have it. It was an uplifting and enlightening weekend and I made some important changes for myself. I'm excited to start this new chapter with realistic goals in place that I am excited to meet head-on. :0)

That’s all for now; I’m excited to get home and go for a nice long walk tonight with Paul before dinner and continue on with my weight-loss journey. Till tomorrow everyone!

P.S. I got some great watermelon at the store over the weekend and have been having it as my dessert at night. Yummy!