Goal Time!

Now that you have committed to making this change in your life and have spent some time pondering WHY you want/need this change, it's time to set some goals.  Goals are very important because they will keep you focused with a purpose and help with continued motivation.  There are two types of goals that you will want to consider:  scale and non-scale.  A scale goal, obviously, is a number that you would like to see on the scale or a percentage of weight loss (5%, 10%).  A non-scale goal could be fitting into a particular size or outfit, a fitness goal such as walking or running a 5K, walking a loved one down the wedding aisle, or a health goal such as reducing your blood pressure, cholesterol or dependance on insulin.  In order to facilitate continued forward progress, we will be setting several different goals, some short term and some long term. 

To begin, goals need to be VERY specific.  Broad phrases such as "I want to get healthy" just won't cut it.  It needs to be clearly defined.  What does being healthy look like to you?  Time to use your imagination:  How will it feel?  How will you look?  Get detailed and write it down.

This is a good time to address journaling.  Some people are natural journalers and have made this a habit throughout their lives.  Me?  Not so much.  Quite frankly, I just don't find it to be a good use of my time.  I don't like looking back and I'd rather talk through things.  If you are more like me and not much of a journaler, it is very helpful to find someone who will listen without judgement as you work through the emotional side of your experience and have a sounding board for ideas.  This would be a good thing even if you DO journal!  I'm lucky that my hubby is gifted at this and knows my history.  He also happens to have great suggestions.  But journaling your experience can be helpful for many different reasons.  There will be times that you will have smooth sailing where everything is going well and times of struggle where you just can't seem to get back on track.  It can be very beneficial to have the ability to look back at the times when it was working for you and see what you were doing differently.   No matter what eating plan you choose, a consistent theme of all of them is to write down every bite.  Writing down what you eat and drink each day as well as keeping track of exercise should be a part of this.  In the hustle and bustle of life, it's far too easy to forget a snack or two that you had one day.  I say that I don't really like keeping track of these things and taking the time to write it down but I will also say that when I DO these things, the results show it.  The accountability that it brings to the table (pun intended) can make all the difference in your success. 


If you choose to join Weight Watchers, make sure that you take advantage of e-tools.  This is a great way to keep track of all that you eat and the exercise that you do.  It's quick and easy to enter it and it will also automatically track your weight and allow you to set your own goals for weight loss.  I did reach a point where I wanted more information than the Weight Watchers Points Plus program offered.  More specifically, I was concerned that the zero point foods that I was eating (all fruit and most vegetables) might have been slowing my progress.  So I started tracking food and exercise with a calorie counter.  I use this free app for my iPod that I really like.  Honestly, I have found that it has a larger data base of foods than the WW app has.  While we're talking apps for tracking things, I would like to mention the Nike+ GPS  app.  This one costs $1.99 and works as a pedometer on steroids.  It tracks all of your workouts, pace and calories burned as well as keeps records of your longest distance, longest workout, fastest mile, fastest 1K and fastest 5K.  If you have a smartphone, it can also use GPS to track your route and your pace at each portion of the trail.  I don't have a smartphone and use this on my iPod Touch without the GPS and LOVE it!  Hubby is even using it to track his lunch time walks.

While you are writing things down, take a few minutes to grab a tape measure and write down measurements for your upper arm (bicep area), bust, chest (bra band), waist, hips and thigh.  I would recommend doing this about once a month.  Make sure you are measuring the same spot each time.  Freckles are very helpful for this ;-)  There may be times when the scale stalls for you.  It took me all three months of this past summer to lose just 5 lbs.  I felt like I was banging my head against the wall until I stepped back and considered that I had really increased how far and how frequently I was running.  Looking at my measurement tracking helped me realize that I was, in fact, still losing fat but gaining enough muscle that the scale wasn't budging but the inches were!


So get out your journal, legal pad or grocery receipt and write down your wildest dream for your health.  When I first started, my goal was simply to reach my goal weight in one year.  Here's a good starting place for figuring out that number for yourself:  ideal weight  There are so many factors to consider when choosing this number such as height, BMI, bone structure, age and gender that this should just be considered a suggested range and not gospel.  You will know what is right and what is unreasonable for your body.  One year away is a great time line for your long term goal.  It's a very realistic amount of time to wrap your brain around though it may not necessarily be realistic for everyone to expect to reach a maintenance weight by then (remember that a good rate of weight loss is 1-2 lbs per week).  Now, how will you reach that goal?  Get specific about what things you will implement to get you there.  


5% or 10% of your body weight lost is a great medium term goal.  5% is not a huge amount of weight to lose and you will begin to feel confident about your ability to lose around this point.  Break it down further into what your monthly goal will be.  What will you do to get there?  Break it down again into a weekly goal and what you can do to reach it.  Now what will you do on a daily basis to move yourself toward all of these goals?  The things that you have written down are very fluid and can change as you move along your journey.  Regularly reconsidering your goals and what you are doing to reach them will be a key ingredient to staying motivated.  Be sure to include rewards for meeting each goal.  


Here is a sample of what a goal worksheet might look like: 

Time Line	Goal	How To Get There	Reward
1 year	goal weight	join WW	wardrobe I LOVE
		exercise regularly	Vegas vacation
??	5% weight loss	track calories/points	5%-manicure & pedicure
	10% weight loss	exercise regularly	10%-new running shoes
monthly	track measurements	keep tape measure and	eat out at a great restaurant
		log in bathroom
		set ongoing weight goals
weekly	attend WW meetings	“Mommy and Me” meeting	movie night
	increase fitness	exercise 4-6x per week
		run 5K & 10K races
	stay motivated	watch The Biggest Loser!	try a new exercise video
		listen to Jillian Michaels' podcasts	or class
daily	make sure scale is	weigh daily at same time	great toiletries to wash
	going downward	measure portions	off all the sweat
		track calories/points
		make exercise a priority

Hopefully, by this point, you have a game plan in mind and are ready to roll up your sleeves and do the work to make it happen.  You CAN do it and you ARE worth it!  With a little planning and the right tools it's only a matter of time until your are checking goals off of your list.  


Excuse time!  Since I'm asking you to take the time to do a whole bunch of new things, it's only natural to say: "I don't have time to exercise!" None of us has time for one more thing in our day but you simply have to make it a priority.  Write it into your day.  Actually put it on the calendar or whatever you use as a daily planner.  It is also helpful to tell someone that you are going to exercise today/tomorrow.  I let hubby know that I want to run in the morning then he keeps asking, "When are you going?" if I don't go right away because it impacts his schedule, too. 

Of course, you don't want to have "Wal-Mart bags" (as my hubby so delicately calls them) hanging under your arms (or on your stomach or caboose or chin or...) after the weight is gone.  Exercise is what will tighten up everything so that makes it your new best friend!  Once you find your stride so to speak, you will find yourself fiercely protecting your workout time just like you did your kid's nap time when they were a baby.  So when the heck will that time be?  You have to find what works best for you: Some people prefer first thing in the morning.  My hubby walks over his lunch hour to decompress after a full morning of middle schoolers.  Others really like the evening.  I prefer first thing in the morning for several reasons:  1.  It's an excuse free zone.  I haven't gotten my mind on a hundred different things and gotten too busy doing something else to fit it in.   2.  It doesn't interfere with family time.  I go either before the kids are awake or while they are at school (Yes, HUGE perk of staying home).  3.  It's sooo quiet and peaceful first thing in the morning.  The bike paths are much less crowded than in the evenings.  4.  I only have to shower once per day.  5.  I have found that I have to exercise with very little in my stomach.  A cup of coffee (It really does help and is okay! More on this another time.) and a piece of fruit is all I can really handle before a workout.  Try working out after eating bacon or eggs sometime and you will know the meaning of the word REGRET! ;-)  Another way to find the time to exercise is to involve your family.  Hike together on the weekends (been to the mountains or Vogel Canyon lately?).  Ride bikes or take a walk together after dinner.  On these outings you can race to the next corner or fire hydrant to step it up a bit.  Take the kids to the park and chase them around the equipment instead of sitting on the bench messing with your phone while they play.  My son has ridden his bike along with me on runs.  Jump on the trampoline with the kids.  If you don't have family nearby, make a date to call someone on your cell phone and "walk together" while you catch up.  The time will fly by.  

Why bother?

You think you want to do this.  Now WHY do you want to do this?  What will keep you on the path toward your goals?

I strongly dislike (my kiddos won't let me use "hate" ;-) trends.  I refused to watch "Friends" until it went to syndication.  I will not hop on the "Twilight" bandwagon.  You will not catch me in neon clothes this summer (I contributed to that quite enough in the 80's).  So when I began to look around and notice that America was becoming "fat", I started to fear that I had betrayed my own principles and followed the crowd.  "The 'average' American woman is now a size 14.  I'm above average!  I've always been a major over achiever...but this is not what I had in mind."  My thinking was finally starting to shift.

When my family visited Disneyland this past October, I realized that this particular venue probably held a pretty accurate cross section of America on any given day.  It was shocking and disheartening to look around and realize that, far and away, the majority (probably more like 90+%) of the people we saw were not just overweight, but more likely morbidly obese.  It made me sad to realize that this has become the norm.  Do you remember that one kid you went to elementary school with who was overweight?  Now I look at my kids' schools and notice the handful of kids who are NOT overweight.  Wow.  Check out this map put together by the CDC:  US obesity trends  I am proud to live in the one "blue" state that held on the longest though I did not personally contribute to that.  So my initial "why" was that I just didn't want to be like everyone else.  Weak, yes, but it was a start.  It's also one of the small parts of my overall "why" that keeps me going.  Not wanting my kids to become part of this particular trend is also pretty darn motivating.

But WHY did I need to lose weight?  I was not diabetic.  I did not have high cholesterol or high blood pressure.  I could climb a flight of stairs.  I could go for a hike or bike ride and often did.  I could walk many miles.  No problem.  Since I didn't have any overwhelming medical motivations, here are the little reasons (besides not wanting to be trendy) that added up:

• I hate (sorry kids!) plus size clothes.  They are ugly, not flattering and there is not much from which to choose.  I spent a lot of money on clothes.  Not clothes I loved.  Not even clothes that I liked.  Just clothes that I could stand to wear.  I was reaching the point where I was having to buy those clothes in the next size up.  Again.  NOT going to happen. 

• My kids LOVE to swim.  A lot.  My husband HATES (sorry again, kids.) to swim.  A lot.  So I take them swimming.  The little one can't go in the water alone.  So I get the wonderful privilege of wearing a swimming suit in public.  Talk about anxiety.  My small town friends know the thrill of seeing everyone they know at the pool in said (plus size, ugly, not flattering, can barely stand it) swimming suit.  Now throw in all the former students who are lifeguards at the pool.  Yep, not fun.  

• Photos don't lie.  Posting pictures of yourself on Facebook when so many of your friends are people you knew in high school and college when you were 25, 50, 75 lbs. lighter...well, if you are reading this post, you know EXACTLY how that feels.  I found myself avoiding, at all costs, posting pictures of myself.  Especially full body shots.  Sifting through pictures that I planned to scrapbook for my kids was a real eye opener as well.  But Christmas a few years ago was the last straw.  There was no denying that the person in that photo was me and that's really how I looked.  

As I started to lose a little weight, the reasons to continue changed but were even more compelling for me:

• I suddenly realized, not just how much easier it was to move, but how freely I was NOT moving before even though I would have told myself otherwise.  

• I never had blood pressure issues but after I had been running regularly for awhile, I had a check up.  The nurse was really stymied by my numbers so she took it again.  At another check up almost a year later, the same thing happened.  Honestly, it was pretty entertaining to watch them trying to figure out if something was wrong with their equipment.  Then I explained that I run.  "Ahh!  That'll do it!" was their relieved answer.  By the way, 100/61 if you were wondering.  I don't know anything about blood pressure but, apparently, that's pretty low.  It was also fun to watch them recheck my chart after they weighed me.  I guess they don't see weights drop very often or very much.  Sad, really.  Even though I didn't have much for medical issues before, it was really amazing to go to the doctor and have these experiences.  As a side note:  I NEVER ONCE had a doctor mention that I should lose some weight.  To reach the top end of the range of healthy weight for my height, I needed to lose eighty pounds.  EIGHTY! and not a single word was ever said.  I understand it's a sensitive issue for most people but we are talking about saving lives here.  

• Everyone asks me how I stay motivated.  The simple answer:  Now that I have seen how the 'other side' lives, I NEVER want to go back.  I have come to a very strange realization recently.  I am seeing life with a whole new clarity.  I'm not talking insight but literal clarity here.  Everything that I see is so much more crisp and colors are amazingly brilliant.  My only explanation is that my brain has changed.  Seriously.  I have noticed that the very way I approach life has taken a total 180.  For example, I used to get really uptight about driving (who doesn't?).  I would freak out about cars pulling in front of me or not letting me in or not getting a really great parking spot.  Now, I totally roll with it.  I don't stress about getting the boy to school at a precise time because we'll get there eventually, safely and it just doesn't matter.  I am happy to have the opportunity to drive him to school.  Whuck?! Those of you who have known me for decades would never believe this shift in me.  My own husband looked at me kind of strangely the other day and said, "You know, you're pretty funny (as in ha! ha!).  There was about a decade or so there where you weren't funny at all."  Maybe a little backhanded but complimentary none the less.  I guess I've flooded my body with enough endorphins from exercise that my crappy attitude just couldn't win out anymore.  I never want to live in that fog again.  Finally, after all that I've been through, it's a wonderful life!

With the theme of "why", I'd like to tell you why I chose Weight Watchers.  I live in a large metropolitan area with every weight loss program known to man available to me.  Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig and Slimgenics are all within one mile of my house.  Not to mention the availability of quick fixes like Alli, Slim Fast and HCG (PLEASE don't!).  I'm sure there are many more that I don't even know about.  I chose Weight Watchers because it works.  No food is off limits (though I honestly didn't know that before joining).  The support system of the meetings, leaders, message boards and online tools is incredible.  There is something for everyone.  Most importantly for me was the fact that I would be eating my own food.  No awful transitions back to the "real world" and no separate meals for my family.  As mentioned in my last post, I also found it to be affordable (It's about $40 per month but varies).  The really cool thing about Weight Watchers is that once you hit your goal weight and maintain it for a period of time, you can still be a member completely for FREE!  What other program offers a deal like that?  I'll let you know just how cool that is when I get there ;-)  I wanted to join for years but didn't have the guts.  Living in a small community before, I wasn't comfortable with the lack of anonymity in that particular meeting room. I was a WW member for exactly one week in high school.  However, after a mortifying first meeting where I bumped into my junior high PE teacher as well as my best friend's mom, I just didn't have it in me to go back.  The beautiful thing now is that they have an online membership where you never have to set foot in a meeting room if you don't want to.  It can be done, quite successfully, completely online.  One suggestion I have is to try different meetings with different leaders if you have the choice.  I tried three different leaders before settling on one whose style I liked.  The connection that I made with her, I believe, was key to much of my success.  I knew that she really cared about me and my success. Unfortunately, she got a promotion and moved on so I am starting over but I now have the skills and faith in myself that I didn't before.

Spend some time in the next few days considering why you should bother to be proactive about your health and wellness.  Maybe you do have a very real medical concern that makes it imperative.  Maybe you don't have the medical issues yet but a family history makes it only a matter of time if things don't change.  Maybe you would love an excuse to buy a new wardrobe that you LOVE!  Maybe you are just tired of being tired.  Consider what makes you worth it and write it down.  Attach a goal weight or clothing size to your bathroom mirror.  Hang a "skinny" picture of yourself on the refrigerator door (even if it's a shot of you when you were ten years old.  That's how far back I would have to go for a skinny one!). Or buy some smokin' hot outfit that you are determined to get into.  Even better, share your "why" with us here in the comments because we totally think you're worth it!

Colorado friends:  If you are ready to climb aboard this crazy ride, head over to this site Weigh and Win.  Kaiser Permanente is PAYING Colorado residents to lose weight.  You do not have to be a member of their insurance program to participate.  All you have to do is weigh in at one of their kiosks and continue weighing in at least once per month.  Rural friends will have to drive but you're making those shopping runs anyway and can stop in on your way.  It won't make you rich but if you're going to do it anyway you may as well get paid for it!  I only wish I had signed up when I first started all of this business!  A weight loss of just 5% will earn you $15.  10% lost is worth $30 and will be buying my celebratory mani/pedi for reaching that goal!  The program is very thorough and has support for exercise suggestions, menus, weight tracking, daily e-mails and a newsletter.  Very cool.

EXCUSE TIME!  I can't exercise because my knees hurt.  Honey, this is exactly 'why' you should exercise.  My knees hurt, too.  Until I lost about 20 lbs.  Then lo and behold, they magically didn't hurt anymore.  Hmm...  Now I do realize that some of you have real joint pain that is not weight related and is, instead, the result of an injury or arthritis.  There are ways around this.  I'm definitely not calling anyone old here, but there are more 'seasoned' people in my Weight Watchers meeting who swear by the swimming pool.  The buoyancy of the water relieves stress on the joints.  Swimming laps isn't necessary.  Even just walking in the water offers enough resistance to burn some serious calories.  Of course, water aerobics type classes can be a lot of fun, too.  One caveat:  you will probably be required to wear a swimming suit.  If swimming isn't for you, check out an elliptical machine.  There is no joint impact involved and many offer a wide range of built in programs to keep it interesting and challenging. (I did have a little knee swelling and stiffness due to the large range of motion on this machine. For some reason, I have this same problem on a bike.  So I only do the elliptical 2-3 times per week.)  I'm all for exercise that you can do while watching television!  Don't discount walking, either.  It truly can be just as effective as jogging.  Better yet, try it all and mix it up to keep your body guessing.  Ideally, you would be doing some form of cardio for 30-45 min. 3-5 times per week.  Maybe something nice to shoot for a little further down the road?  Everyone has to start somewhere.  I used to do a whopping 17 minutes on the elliptical...and I had WORKED UP to that amount of time!  The key is simply to start.  That first step may be the hardest but it's the most important.  Now get out there and don't look back!

Getting Started

Getting Started...

I have had many people contact me seeking information about how I have found the motivation to get active, lose weight and keep at it.  Enough friends were seeking help that I thought a blog about my experiences would be the most efficient way to share what has worked for me.  I know NOTHING about blogs, other than having read a few, so this is going to be a real learning experience for me to get this thing started.  On the subject of getting started, I will share where it all began for me.

First a disclaimer:  The only experience that I have is my own.  I am not a weight loss professional, a fitness guru or a nutritionist.  I have fumbled my way through this journey seeking things that might work for me; clinging to what does work and casting aside the rest. Weight loss and physical fitness are simple concepts on their own but a completely different matter when applying them to your own situation (or so I have found).  Please view this information as simply things that have worked for me and not any sort of gospel or guarantee.  

Believe it or not, I was a skinny kid.  That is, until puberty hit.  As if junior high wasn't horrible enough, I also had the joy of packing on pounds.  It boiled down to never establishing healthy eating habits and no longer having the time (thanks to homework and activities) to play outside constantly.  This was also the beginning of really screwy emotional stuff.  Fast forward through the trauma of high school (more pounds, worse eating habits and even less exercise!).  Add in some truly horrible personal loss in college, a complete lack of skills and no family support for dealing with any of it, and it equaled a lot of weight.  While the simple answer is too much crappy food and not enough exercise, anyone who has dealt with obesity knows that it's just not that simple.  I have found that dealing with what goes on in my head has been a much larger key to success than any eating plan or fitness regime.  I like to say that losing the weight has just been a perk of finally finding myself.

Unfortunately, for those seeking the magic answer for how to get started, I don't have it.  It is necessary to just jump in feet first totally committed to making the change for yourself.  No looking back.  You really do have to decide that you are worth it.  Yes, you do it for your kids.  Yes, you do it for your spouse/partner.  Yes, you do it to make your parents proud.  What ever it takes to get started.  But at the end of the day, it has to be for you because you are tying the tennis shoes at 5 am when it's twenty degrees out.  You will have the sore muscles.  You will probably, at some point, have to pass on some foods you love.  But they will see all that you are doing to make your life better and they will also grow from it.  For me that meant acknowledging that whether or not I felt my family could afford the monthly fee for Weight Watchers, I could no longer afford to continue down the path that I was on.  There was no "aha" moment.  Several pieces of the puzzle fell into place that made it possible for me to take the first step down this most important path:  Though it didn't feel like a positive step at the time, I was able to eliminate some key toxic people from my life.  And my family moved to a new city for a fresh start.  Keep in mind that these key events happened over a period of about three years.  After we moved, I spent about six months driving past the Weight Watchers store longing to go in but not having the courage to do it.  After all, I'm a stay at home mom and my husband is a teacher.  We definitely don't have any extra money for something as dumb and selfish as that!  The funny thing is, I found that after several months, we DID have the money and it wasn't a stretch to come up with it every month.  It took some work to convince myself that it is not selfish to commit resources to making myself healthy.

Since everyone seems to love excuses for explaining why they don't exercise, I am going to keep a list of the best ones and why they shouldn't stand between you and what you really want.

Excuse #1:  I can't afford a gym membership.  To date, I have lost 53 lbs.  I have NEVER set foot in a gym.  Walking (and running) is free.  Exercise videos from the library are free.  I have seldom seen a yard sale that didn't include some kind of fitness equipment at a very reasonable price.  We all know people who have treadmills or ellipticals with clothes hanging on them.  Also try Freecycle for items in your area that people are giving away and Craigslist for great deals on used equipment.  Of course, you should always play it safe when meeting strangers on these sites.