Ready for a change?

  What's your health goal?  What's your desired outcome? 

What will achieving that goal do for you?  What's the upside to reaching it?  Any downsides?  What's in it for you?

On a scale of 1 to 10, how excited are you by your health goal?

We can resolve to lose 10 pounds (or more), we can decide to give up desserts, we can choose any number of weight loss/health goals that we like.  But if our goals aren't aligned with what's important to us, if we aren't motivated by them, if we can't see/feel/taste/hear what we're getting out of it, then most of us won't last the week.

When I find myself no longer reaching for a goal I thought I really wanted, I go back and see how I can make it a SMARTER goal.  Sure, goals need to be SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time bound), but they really need to be SMARTER (Simple, Motivational, Aligned, Resourced, Trackable, Enjoyable and Revisited).

This week I'm making my goals SMARTER and focusing on Simple, Aligned and Trackable.  And I'm clear about what's in it for me.

• Take my vitamins daily - to have the energy and focus I need for everything else in my life.  
• Do ~1 hour of activity daily - to have more energy and deal with the stress better.  I also get a lot more done when I exercise. 
• Do my strength & stretching exercises for my hip daily - get rid of the pain. 
• Stop & Breath - it's my way of lowering the stress and re-energizing so I can keep going.  

What's in it for you this week? 

When someone offers you food do you tell them, "I can't have it because I'm on a diet" or "no thanks, I don't want it"?  Do you respond with "I know I shouldn't, but maybe just this once" or "thanks, I'll have a taste"?  When someone offers you food, what story do you tell?

When you don't go for your walk or get to your exercise class because you're just too busy, do you rationalize that work is so much more important than your health?  Do you tell yourself it's okay, you'll do it tomorrow?  Do you beat yourself up or blame others?  When you don't follow through with your exercise plans, what story do you tell?

When you're alone with yourself and faced with the journey of losing weight and making healthier choices, do you hang your head and mumble "I'll never be able to keep it off" or do you pat yourself on the back and focus on how far you've come.  When it's just you and your journey, what story do you tell?

I love the concept of self-talk being a story.  Stories I can re-write.  Changing a core belief (losing weight is hard, for example) or visualizing yourself at your healthy weight can be challenging.  But editing the story you tell to include "I am making better choices every day" is simple.  Telling a story is about possibilities and adventure; a story is fun. 

This week, I'm focusing on telling the best stories I can think of about my weight journey, about my work and about my life.

What story are you telling this week? 

A lapse does not have to turn into a relapse.
A relapse isn't forever, and it most certainly is not failure.

As you journey down your own road to health and wellness, there will be detours along the way.  Sometimes those detours are short jogs in the road; maybe you ate the whole dessert when you had meant to have only a few bites or you didn't exercise today because you were too busy.  Other times the detour can be a bit more of a diversion, such as getting sick and taking a month to get back into your exercise regime or taking a couple of weeks after you're back from vacation to begin making better choices again.  Yes, there are times major construction derails your intentions and new behaviors.  But these lapses don't have to turn into relapses and relapses aren't permanent.  You might call relapse backsliding, but I like the term recycling because everything I learn can be re-used to get back on track and feeling good again.

This week I had a relapse day. It was more than a lapse though it was only half a day.  I describe that morning as stressful, but it's been a long time since I felt that overwhelmed and mentally drained.  I returned to old coping skills without even thinking about it and I started eating to deal with the stress and the emotions.  Thankfully we didn't have any chips in the house because I was ready to eat one of those humungous family-size bags myself.  The cycle of stress, eating, low self-confidence, more eating,  negative thinking, and even more eating kept building.  But, after accepting the lapse, acknowledging the cause of the stress and my less than effective coping behavior and a good night's sleep, I'm once again ready and willing to make better choices.  So a lapse didn't turn into a full blown relapse and a relapse wasn't failure.

Will you forgive and move on if you relapse this week? 

You can have that dessert.  Eat half and share the rest with a friend.  You can have that juicy hamburger with those tasty fries.  Split everything in half and ask for a doggy bag immediately.  Is there a favorite food that you haven't had in awhile because you're losing weight and you think you can't?  Remember, you can have anything, you just don't have to eat it all.  Have half.

I've been hearing a lot about a great new restaurant in Hilo and the fact that they have huge portions is always mentioned.  I want to try the food, though I think I'll share half and then bag up half of my half.  But I can still go and enjoy. 

This next week, it's about taking the time for exercise, family and self.  It's not about making the time but actually taking it. 

We often push our exercise and self-care to the bottom of the priority list.  But this week I took the time to exercise.  In the middle of working to a deadline, I took the time to get my exercise in.  And you know what?  I had more energy to accomplish the work that I thought was so important.  I'm sure you have experienced the same thing. This week take the time to exercise, take the time to prepare healthier meals, take the time to be with your family and take the time to stop and enjoy the moment.

I've started playing in the water again.  Oops, I mean, I've started swimming again.  Swimming has been on my exercise agenda for awhile because walking is too hard on my leg at the moment.  Finally, I jumped in last week.

I was just going to do it once a week, but I forgot just how calm and centered I am after a swim.  So I went again yesterday.  I'm hooked; I'm already looking at my schedule for next week to see when I can go.

If swimming has been on your list to do, the first step is to find your swim suit.  Next pack your bag and put it in the car.  If swimming isn't your thing but you have another activity that gets you moving and gives you that feeling of peace and well-being, when will you enjoy it next?

What will you do this week for movement & peace?

I am sure we can all agree that tracking works. 

When we track (or journal) what we eat, we eat less and we eat healthier. 

When we track how many steps we get each day we get more. 10,000 a day may be the goal but anything more than what you did yesterday is good. 

When we track a habit we're building (drinking 6 glasses of water, eating 5 servings of fruits & veggies, flossing) we are more successful at achieving it.

Have you ever thought of tracking what makes you smile? Do you know what makes you smile?

This week I'll be tracking my smiles.  What does Smile Tracking have to do with a healthier weight?  First, health isn't just about weight or physical wellness, health is also about happiness & mental wellness.  More smiles mean more wellness.  Second, if before you bite it, you ask 'will this make me smile?' you're probably less likely to pop it in your mouth.  So yes I'll be tracking my smiles this week.  My goal is to have 100 by my next Small Steps.  I'll be posting what makes me smile on Facebook and here.  Please share with me what makes you smile.    

Will you Smile Track this week? 

 

By the way, 100 smiles in 7 days is only 14 smiles most days.  I think I can do it.

organizing and losing weight.  A successful life is as varied as the people who live them.  What is success and how can you, I, and we have more of it?  That is what I am here to explore, share, learn, teach and experience.  I've been playing with the idea of expanding my writing into more areas of life and living then just organizing and losing weight.  And as usual, I came up with a gimic to start...I thought I'd start with an 'A' attribute of success and go through the alphabet.  I certainly know that X and Z and maybe even J are going to be tricky but I figure I'll have fun trying.  I also know that I'm likely to jump letters after awhile since life happens and I know an important 'aha' moment will need to be shared.  I plan on updating this every week, but this time I'm not promising anything.  So here I go....woo hoooo!

Some ideas (from readers and my list): * meditation * yoga * enjoy a relaxing cup of tea * a beautiful drive * go to the beach * call friends and family * enjoy food from your own garden * naps * cup of coffee on my secret bench * writing in a gratitude journal * a stroll * a soak in the tub * a few minutes of alone time * playing with the dogs *

I'm trying to discover soothing rituals that I can use in place of eating when I'm stressed. What's your favorite way of de-stressing?