I am not one to set goals very often. Of course I have said "I will lose 10 pounds" every January 1st as my New Year's resolution...then again March 1st as my "get ready for summer" resolution...and then again July 1st as my "I haven't done it yet and it's so hot, I have to be in shorts, and I feel depressed looking at all the girls in bikinis" resolution. By September 1st I just get ready for the hoodie and layering season. The whole process will start over again January 1st.
During October - December last year, we were in the process of moving. That meant we had to declutter the house before listing, keep it perfect for showings, and then pack it up once we had a contract. We had to do this all with a 1 1/2 year old boy who loves making messes. It took all my time and attention to just keep the house together. That left no time for keeping up with walking on the treadmill, which is what I had been doing since London was born to keep in shape and keep my weight down. Then once we moved to Fishers, IN, we were living out of boxes, eating out too much ,and I was dealing with the new diagnosis of melanoma skin cancer. In those 4 months, I gained 10 pounds. Someone (and I honestly have no idea who it was, I just remember a conversation with someone and their face is a blur) once told me that they bought a piece of clothing that was too small for motivation to lose weight. I have done that twice in my life, once recently. I was looking through the clearance racks at Target in January. I tried on a pair of navy skinny jeans in the size that I used to be before I gained the "moving" weight. The jeans didn't even button! I bought those suckers anyways! I explained to Kevin that I was so mad that these jeans didn't fit. He asked me why I was buying them when they did't fit..my reply was "BECAUSE THEY SHOULD!" (and because they were a really good price). Once I had my melanoma surgery, got a clean bill of health, and healed up, we joined the Indy YMCA. A friend from church, sweet Marie, told me about some of the free exercise classes that the Y offers. I've been working really hard going to the classes and doing some treadmill workouts on my own at home. I tried on the navy jeans the other day and the darn things fit! Of course I knew I lost weight even before trying the jeans on. I've been weighing myself daily. I know it's not what you should do, but it's what I do to keep myself accountable everyday. Seeing the number go down on the scale was rewarding at first, but then it just kind of stopped. It felt fantastic to put those jeans on and button them. It made the idea of losing weight a reality by being able to see jeans that didn't button, now fit. It made my day.
So I challenge you, if you have a weight goal, make it tangible. Pick out something that you used to be able to fit in, but no longer do, or buy something new that doesn't quite fit, but you hope will and work towards fitting into it. I guarantee the day you slip on that piece of clothing and it fits, it will be so much more rewarding than seeing a number on the scale. The scale can be a dangerous thing ,at times, for women, retaining water, PMS, adding muscle mass can all hinder your weight loss from showing as quickly as you think it will. Seeing is believing. Set a goal that you can literally see the results.
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