Small Goals, One Day at a Time, Rewards

You need to lose fifty or a hundred or three hundred pounds.

Wow.

That’s a really big number.  That’s a horrifying number.  That’s an impossible number.

Make it less intimidating.  Break it down into smaller pieces, and lure yourself along to one small achievement at a time.

Many people find that having smaller goals lets them set their sights on something that seems achievable.  It’s not a hundred pounds, it’s ten pounds ten times.  And then it’s not even ten pounds ten times, it’s this ten pounds.  Just ten pounds, looking no further than that.  They set their tickers to reflect a ten pound goal and call it “Goal #2.”  They manage themselves so they don’t freak out about the giant task ahead.

What do you need to manage yourself?  For me, I needed to set a more “realistic” goal.  I felt like 150 was a number I could envision.  It was only much later, when I realized success was attainable, that I decided I didn’t need to settle for 150 just because I had gotten up to 235.  I ended up losing down to 135 before I felt I had the body I wanted to live in for a long time.  But when getting started, I had 150 on my ticker and “we’ll see how it goes and maybe I’ll stop at 170 if I like it there” in my mind.

Some people focus on one day at a time in order to not get overwhelmed.  Telling themselves that they’re making a change forever can provoke a defiant opposition, or trigger feelings of helplessness.  Instead, saying “just for today I choose not to eat ___” can make it manageable.

Many people find rewards are helpful for reaching mini-goals.  A charm for a charm bracelet, for each ten pounds lost.  Mani-pedis, massages, cruises, a new dog, designer jeans, etc.  A series of things to work towards.  Just make sure to never use a food as a reward.  It’s not about getting to goal so you can eat the forbidden again.  We’re making a permanent lifestyle change, not delaying all the good things for once we’re skinny.  All rewards need to be not food-related.

I found I didn’t need rewards, because I was so pleasantly distracted by the rewards that the weight loss brought me.  I had so much more energy, attention, cute clothes, etc., that I didn’t need anything else.  Or maybe more accurately, I was so busy rewarding myself with new shiny things all the time that I didn’t need “extra” rewards for attaining goals.  My favorite reward of all is people telling me how hot I look, and you can’t buy that.  You have to work for it.

Do some reflection on yourself and what you need to keep your head in the game when confronting a large task.  Then actively manage your mind to keep you on track.