SET SMALL GOALS

I have big goals, medium goals, and very tiny goals. Why?

When I first found out that I was diabetic seven years ago, I went extreme with the diet and exercise, and just had one big goal of getting down to one hundred fifty pounds (starting at about two hundred thirty pounds). While I did drop about forty-five or fifty pounds, I was still quite far from the big goal - and I grew weary. I started craving foods that I had given up, and focusing on how much more weight I had to lose, and grew tired of the struggle. I gained it all back and then some.

This time - I have been setting very small goals since the very beginning. I started this endeavor February first, at two hundred fifty-two pounds. My first goal was three pounds (so that I could say hey I'm under 250!). I met that goal very quickly and patted myself on the back profusely for it. My next goal was two pounds, so that I could say I've lost five pounds. I kept doing that over and over. It feels fantastic to achieve a goal, even if it is a tiny one. But when you keep getting that pat on the back over and over, you're excited about going forward with the next small goal. Eventually, all those small goals added up to twenty pounds, then thirty, then forty.

Currently, I am down forty-four pounds. Can you guess my next goal? Yep! One pound, so that I can say I've lost forty-five pounds! Of course, I have the giant goal of reversing my type two diabetes, but that goal is still in the future, and I'm not really sure how far off it is. So in the meantime, I will continue to set these small goals, achieve them, and pat myself on the back for each and every one. In addition to weight goals, I have also set goals with food. I wanted to get olive oil into my daily diet, and avocado into my weekly food intake, so those are both small goals that I work toward and achieve every day.

Do yourself a favor - set very small goals, check them off the list as you reach them, and pat yourself on the back for it!