(My obsessive goal for 2014 is to get to my goal weight of 120 lbs, essentially losing 56.6 lbs this year. So I’m sorry if it feels like I’m being repetitive with my blog posts at times but weight loss, and the bumpy ride of it, is a major focus of my year so it will most likely be a major focus of blog posts throughout the next 10 and a half months.)
In January, I did pretty well with losing weight. I ended up losing 5.7 lbs, which put me on pace to be at my goal weight by the end of December. I did it by cleaning up the way I ate and exercising. I gave myself a meal plan to follow (eating every two to three hours), I started working out harder and longer, and I limited soda and sweets. I wasn’t perfect and I could have done so much better (especially on weekends – weekends are my downfall), but it was a good start for me.
I wanted to continue my momentum in February, but things have come to a stuttering stop in the past few weeks. It just suddenly feels so hard. I’m coming up against so much resistance and everything feels like a challenge. Every hour feels like I’m fighting against myself and more often than not, I’m losing. And this is usually where I give up. I tell myself that I’m not strong enough, that being healthy is just too hard and that I’m “not that girl,” and I allow the excuses to build up.
I’m still trying to lose weight, but the month of February has seen me gain 1.2 lbs the first week and then lose .2 lbs the second week, so things aren’t going well.
Why aren’t things going well? I’m not trying hard enough. That’s the simplest way to say it. I’m giving in to temptation way too easily and I’m saying yes when I need to say no. I’m following my meal plan probably 60% of the time, but letting myself off the hook the other 40%. And there’s probably the tiredness aspect of it. Chicken and rice and veggies only sound good for so long, until the thought of eating another serving of rice makes you want to throw up. I’m a big fan of variety and I could never be someone who eats the same thing every day, but I’m also a big fan of convenience and making this healthy eating thing as easy as possible for me, and chicken and rice and veggies is easy.
I’ve been in a very negative mindset about my eating habits for most of February and finding the motivation to eat healthily and wake up early to exercise has been intensely difficult. And that’s why Nicole’s post last week came at the most perfect time.
In this post, she talks about the perfectionist trap and this all-or-nothing mentality of setting a huge, scary, mildly unrealistic goal and what happens in our heads when we realize we’re not going to achieve it. The negative self-talk, the defeatist attitude, the giving up. I do it. I’m not a perfectionist in any way, except when it comes to my goals. Then, I want to be perfect at everything and when I’m not, when I know I’m going to fail, I just give up completely. (The 12 Cookie Syndrome? It should really be called The Stephany Syndrome, because that. is. me.)
She also laid out a three-tiered goal-setting strategy. You have your A Goal, that’s your deliciously scary goal that you want really, really, really, really, really bad but it’s going to take everything in you to achieve. From there, you set two smaller goals, called B and C Goals, that will require putting in the hard work and effort to achieve, but they are a little bit easier to attain. This approach really woke me up and helped me to see that even if I don’t make this crazy goal I set for myself this year, I can still strive to achieve my B or C Goal, which will put me on the right path to attaining that A Goal in the future.
So my goals? Well, I thought you would never ask!
A Goal
I want to get to my goal weight of 120 lbs.
What this means is that I have to lose 56.6 lbs this year, an average of a little over one pound per week. That’s a tall order for me and while I want to achieve this goal more than anything, it also scares me to death because it’s something I’ve been trying to achieve for years without much success.
B Goal
I want to be at a healthy BMI.
Say what you want about BMIs, but I appreciate the way they give you an accurate gauge of what a healthy weight is. Maybe not for everyone, but for me it does. To be at a healthy BMI, I would need to weigh 136 lbs, which equals to losing 40.6 lbs this year. That’s an average of .8 pounds a week, which isn’t terribly different from my A Goal, but something about it seems more attainable. Thinking about my BMI now makes me feel sick to my stomach and I don’t want to feel that way anymore. After losing weight, I’m also looking into procedures such as a laser liposuction or tummy tuck like this tummy tuck in Torrance, CA to get rid of the excess skin and an emtone cellulite treatment to lessen the appearance of cellulite. There are also other options such as laser and body contouring treatments in Arizona.
C Goal
I want to spend the year eating healthy 80% of the time and seeing consistent weight loss each month, even if it’s just a pound. This is a goal I can achieve, mainly because it’s not so much focused on a certain weight loss, but more on my effort. With the help of experts such as this medical spa Cypress TX, weight loss will be achievable.
I haven’t given up on my A Goal and I know it’s still achievable, even if February winds up being a bad month for me, weight loss wise. But having these other two goals to strive for helps to keep things in perspective for me. It helps me to see that, at the end of the day, my main goal is being healthier. Eating more wholesome foods, putting less junk in my body, and seeing myself become stronger and fitter through exercise. It’s going to be hard. It’s supposed to be hard. Nothing worth doing ever comes easily. And commitment means that I stay true to my goals, even when pushing through seems like sludging through a river of molasses. Even when every day is a challenge. Pushing through… that’s when the change happens. That’s when you find out just how much you’re willing to work for what you want.
Do you have a goal – big or small! – you’re trying to achieve right now?
Weight loss goals are definitely tough to to achieve. It’s such an all encompassing change and something you have to say yes to every day. Maybe it would help to get a new cookbook so you could try a variety of recipes? If you committed to making 2-3 new recipes every weekend and freezed part of them, you could have more variety to eat during the week? Just a suggestion as I think the eating part is the most important part of weight loss so hopefully you find something that works for you.
In terms of healthy living, my goal for the year is to maintain my current weight which is tougher than it sounds at times. I definitely still face temptation and have to say no to myself but it’s worth it in the long run. I am hoping my ability to be more active will make it easier to maintain my weight. Besides that, my other goal is finding a job but that one is kind of less in my control since I have no impact on what gets posted out there. But hopefully the timing syncs up soon as I am antsy to have a clear road home.
My goals right now, as silly as they sound: to survive this devastating loss and then to get back on the exercise wagon with an actual pattern. I’ve been starting and stopping it so much this year that my body is probably really mad at me. Heck, I’m mad at me. but I’m also trying to be kinder to myself given how this year has started off. It’s a weird balance. I really, really hope that once this Saturday is behind me I can be more dependable on my workouts… mostly because I crave it and need it 🙂
Such a great idea to have 3 different goals.
And eating healthy? I get it, it’s not fun sometimes. What about the healthy choice meals (frozen ones)? If preservatives are a concern I know there are ones that have as few processed foods as possible available. With the added protein in the meals they do help me to stay full, longer, while still having a healthful snack or two a day.
For variety, you could swap out different parts of your basic healthy meal (chicken + veggies + rice), like a different protein or a different grain. Or maybe season it differently, like with a (healthy-ish) store-bought sauce. That’s what my brother did when he became a vegetarian – he would eat veggie stir fry EVERY DAY, so he’d make it less boring by having different sauces/seasonings. I feel like if you’re getting grossed out by what you’re eating, it’s going to make it that much harder to stick to it.
My goal is 120 as well – and last I checked (halfway through the Shred) I was at 160. Ugh. 40 pounds.
The last few days have been HARD for me in terms of eating healthy. I’ve been craving bad for me foods. For the most part I’ve held off, although yesterday I chowed a bunch of croutons at work. Ridiculous, right?
Fingers crossed we can both get on the right track! Email me if you need any friendly pushes 😉
Oh, what a bumpy road weight loss is indeed! I feel ya on this, lady. My big goal right now is obviously paying off my debt, but I’m getting ready to start working on weight loss again. Bathing suit season will be here before we know it! Plus my friend’s wedding is coming up and I want to look good. 😉 I’ll be rooting for you during your weight loss journey while I try to motivate myself, too!
I dunno, friend. I really have to disagree with you on some things here. First, my BMI based on my height and weight is 28.6 when I plug it into one of those stupid little BMI calculators online that go solely on your weight and your height. I honestly think BMI is a TERRIBLE way to tell if you’re healthy. I think your best bet might be visiting your family doctor and getting your blood pressure and cholesterol checked. I know that’s one thing I’ve really taken away from the Jillian Michaels podcasts, it’s not about your weight or your height or how those two relate to each other but rather how good your cholesterol, blood pressure etc. is and the only way you can find that out is by going to see the doctor.
Secondly, I honestly would consider basing my success on measurements vs. weight loss if I were you. The scale is so finicky and really, as long as you look fabulous and your clothes fit good who cares what the scale says?? Even if you still want to have those weight loss goals in there, maybe consider taking your measurements every month as well. That might really help motivate you too.
Just my $0.02.
I like Amber’s suggestion to also take measurements. I always want to do this and I never do but I think it would be really helpful on months where the scale may not move but good changes are still happening.
Losing weight is tough. I would like to be about 15 lower than where I am right now but I struggle with crossing that line into obsessive behavior when I try to lose weight. I think BMI might be a good starting point to gauge where you want to be but don’t let it dictate your goals. I think your goal of eating healthy 80% of the time is awesome. Really, I think our health boils down to what we eat and how much we move. If we follow good practices there then our bodies should naturally gravitate to where they are meant to be.