When typing this title, I accidentally typed “shirking” instead of “shrinking”. This felt strangely appropriate, given that I’m posting this a day late. Someone asked me the other day, “Who is making you post articles on certain days?” The answer is, of course, no one. I’m the one pressuring myself to post on certain days, because I set my schedule and said I would, and I feel bad if I don’t. Plus, holding myself accountable feels good because it means that I’m staying focused on my goals. So in that spirit, I’ll try not to be depressed that I can’t seem to make much progress lately! Instead, I’m going to focus on my small wins.

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Pounds lost: 53.2

% to super goal: 42.2%

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Weight loss feels so sloooooooooowwwwww sometimes. I think that’s what makes us look for the “quick fix” or the next fad diet, in hopes that this time it will make it happen fast. Cutting carbs, loading up on protein, eating “fat bombs” – I don’t know. Maybe it works, for a while. Maybe it works long term, if you can stick to it. Or maybe I’m making this harder on myself than I need to. Sometimes it feels that way.

The thing is, I didn’t go into this thinking it would be easy. I got excited with early success, then it was hard to come down off of that when my body regulated itself to something more realistic. Which is where I’m stuck now. I feel like every other week I’m complaining about being stuck. But then I go back to look at previous posts and realize, a month ago, I was complaining about being at 205 lbs because of traveling. Now, I’m complaining about being at 198. The reality is, that even though it is slow, it IS happening.

Celebrate the Small Stuff

This brings me to my true topic for today, which is something I talked about in my podcast last week: tracking wins. Even small ones. The idea is that noticing and paying attention to our small wins is perhaps even more effective than celebrating our big wins. The small wins are the little decisions or choices we make every day, our small accomplishments, that keep us moving towards those big wins, or those big goals.

So in that spirit, here’s my wins for the last week:

• I had missed several days of tracking my food. As a result, I know that I was eating more than I should because I stopped paying attention. So this week I paid special attention to tracking my food and did it every day.
• Twice, I was able to say “no” to a snack, and have a glass of water instead. I realized I wasn’t really hungry, I just wanted something to do.
• I ate some of my yogurt before it went bad!

It may not seem like much. Focusing on my small wins helps me see that even if I’m not seeing the scale change much, I’m still making better choices, which is the whole point of this exercise. I don’t want to be dependent on tracking my food for the rest of my life, or be on a restrictive diet. I want to get to a point where I feel healthy and I’m comfortable with how I fit into my clothes, and then I want to make decisions that let me maintain a healthy weight.

I’ll Get There

I’m not there yet, but I do think I will be there eventually. Remembering where I started and all the successes – small and large – that I’ve had since then helps me to believe it. So here’s to a new year, a new dedication to my goals, and to making them happen!

Doing the damn thing!

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