Setting Attainable Goals

I started this year with a huge plan.  I have to get on an airplane in May for a business trip and I was determined to lose 50 pounds before boarding that plane.  I've realized recently that I'm thinking of goals in a way that seems to be overwhelming, which ultimately makes me feel like they are unattainable. 

Take this past weekend for instance.  I went to a scrapbook conference with one of my favorite people in the world (love you Kirsten).  I had this vision of me in my workout garb running around the block a dozen times working off the very healthy lunch mind mind had fixed for my consumption.  With this new found commitment of the year, I was sure that I was going to be the weight loss angel.  Yeah right!  Will power - not one of my strong suits.  About half way on the drive to Portland, I realized my dream of a perfect guilt free weekend would not be possible and quite frankly wasn't realistic.  So, with the help of Kirsten, I retrained my mind.  I set small goals and did things one at a time. 

First, breakfast.  Big surprise, I hadn't eaten anything to start my day and knew that the drive thru was our only choice given the time we had to get to Portland to take our first scrapbooking class.  Goal number one, make a good choice for breakfast.  I'm happy to say, goal number one accomplished.  We went to McD's and I opted for the egg mcmuffin (for you WW buddies - 7 points) and the water I had brought.  Lunch was another story.  The chicken strips and fries were screaming my name, but it was time to set another goal.  Goal number two, make a good choice for lunch.  I chose the turkey sandwich on rye, no mayo.  I added a Starbucks Vanilla Bean Cream, but ordered without the whipped cream and discovered they make it with nonfat milk - SCORE!  I could go on and on about the goals, but I think you get the picture. 

I learned a few things this weekend that I wanted to share.

*  You don't have to give up the fun you've had in your "past life" before you counted calories and avoided processed foods.  You just have to make different choices.

*  Pizza is good whether you get stuffed crust cheesy loaded grease dripping Pizza Hut, or the Chicken Bacon Artichoke Delight pizza from Papa Murphy's.  Let me tell you friend, that is one good pizza with a fraction of the fat grams and calories.  You can practically eat half a pizza for the number of points I usually save for dinner. 

*  Dessert doesn't need to be a chocolate brownie covered in fudge and loaded with peanut butter.  It can be a low sugar yellow cake mix baked with nothing more added than a can of diet cream soda and topped with a lowfat (or no fat) frozen yogurt (the tart kind is awesome - thanks for the introduction to it Michele).

*  It is not a human requirement to eat popcorn or greasy potato chips while watching a movie.  Keep your hands busy and your mouth will get over it.  Crochet or cross stitch.  Besides then you have something else to keep your eyes on during the gross parts of the horror flick you're watching.

So, I've decided to set a couple of goals this week that are smaller and more attainable than the overwhelming 50 pounds before May.  Maybe if I achieve enough of these, I'll actually make those 50 pounds. 

1)  Get my new WW code to get the online program started again.  Let's face it, I know what to eat, but portion control is not my strong suit right now.

2)  Build up my courage to run 30 seconds on the treadmill at the gym.  It doesn't matter what jiggles or how long it takes to stop, if I never try it, I will never conquer it.

3)  Make sure my rewards are appropriate and not food related.  If I lose an ounce, I'm not entitled to a new outfit, nor should I run out and eat a hot fudge sundae.

4)  If I skip a day at the gym, either make it up on an off day or do something mobile at home to get my heart rate up.

These are the goals I need to start with.  Maybe next week I'll be ready for more.