Month: April 2025

Goal Set for July 2nd!

On By TerriIn Inspiration, Mindset, Uncategorized2 Comments

What is your goal for July 1st?  (July 2nd for me). 

At my workshop last week, my coach asked this question of all of us.  

I had to think.

Before we set that goal, she wanted us to discuss three things related to what our goal will be- 

Preparation-what do we need to do to get us to this goal?  What are the things that help? Barriers– What might get in the way of reaching that goal?  What obstacles do we face?  And Reality– is this goal realistic based on where we are in our life?  Is it doable?  Looking at our journey over the past, is this goal something that can be achieved or do we need to adjust it to match the reality of our own personal journey?

All of this had me thinking, which is a good thing.  These questions get me to look at my journey and my goals honestly.  It is VERY easy for me to fool myself into thinking this can be done overnight, that all I have to do is wave my magic wand or blink my eyes or twitch my nose and POOF!- I have lost the weight and reached the goal I have set.  But that is not reality!

Believing I can do it is a good thing and helps motivate me to move forward BUT it can also be a negative when I fool myself and falsely believe that I can lose overnight what it has taken me a few years to gain.  My weight loss just doesn’t happen that fast!  I wish it did!  The reality is that weight loss for me, is a slow journey filled with smooth sailing and stormy seas.  Choosing to ignore the warnings, the signs, the history of my journey and heading out, with a false sense of calm and success, just sets me up to encounter those stormy seas, unprepared.

Sitting in my workshop, listening to the discussion I set one goal (-10 lbs), only to change it to another goal (-20 lbs) and then to change it a third time to the goal that is right for me.  A goal that was based on the discussion about Reality and based on knowing myself and where I am currently at on this journey.

You see, I know myself well enough to know that if my goal is too low and easily achievable (by doing the things that I KNOW work) then I will sabotage myself- my mind will tell me everyday that I have plenty of time to reach this low number and I can therefore start “tomorrow” (but as I have learned over and over, tomorrow just never comes…. It is always just a day away).  I also know that if I set the goal too high which requires more hard work with little flexibility, then I am setting myself up to fail- another form of self-sabotage.  Setting a goal that is realistic for me, where I am at and based on my history with weight loss is best and provides the flexibility I need on this journey.  My chances of success are higher with this realistic goal! 

So I set my goal to lose 15lbs by July 2nd, which is my weigh-in day.

Now, how to get there-

Preparation– what things do I need to do and what things work for me that will help me to get to that goal?  Tracking my food (I will write another day about this as tracking in the app is VERY hard for me, so I need a mindset shift here!), walking and/or swimming most days (to say I will do it every day sets me up to fail), portions (weigh and measure everything!), journaling (that is what this blog is for), attending weekly workshops (and virtual when I am traveling), weighing myself at home daily and then stepping on the scale in my workshop for the accountability and breaking my goals into smaller ones will keep me motivated.  The biggest key, however, will be to remind myself of my why!  That anchor…the thing that reminds me every day about why I am doing this will keep me motivated. (I have written about anchors in the past and will write more about my anchor and my why another day.)

Now I am prepared but what about the barriers?  What gets in my way?  Me!  I am my biggest barrier to success.  My mindset.  The lies I tell myself that let me eat the bag of cookies, the bag of chips or a multitude of things that do not help me lose weight and instead keep me very unhealthy.  Yes, I am my biggest barrier and the hardest one to overcome.  I will be sharing those times here on my blog, because I know I am not alone in this struggle!  The other barriers- travel, visitors, stress, emotions, and boredom with food! (I really need variety and new foods in my weekly meals).  As these barriers pop-up, you know I will be writing about them and how I overcame them or how they derailed me and what I do to get back on the right path.

Is my goal based on reality?  Yes, for me.  This goal may not be realistic for someone else- it may be too high or too low.  For me, knowing where I am and knowing I need a little room for flexibility but not too much room, makes this goal realistic and doable for me.  Doable with some work and some flexibility. 

My goal for July 2nd is to lose 15 lbs.  (If I say it out loud or write it here, then I am more likely to do it!) And to help me with accountability and inspiration I created this tracker to record each week’s weigh-in results-

This week, to get me one step closer to that goal, I have committed to tracking my food.  The one change I can make this week.  The one step that will help me get closer to where I want to be.

What is your goal?  And what one step can you take today that will get you closer to that goal? 

Choosing my Hard

On By TerriIn About Me, Mindset4 Comments

It has been a while…. Almost 3 years since I wrote my last blog post.  I think it is time to restart this blog and to document my journey again, more for me than anything else.  This was a tool for me on my journey and the accountability and support in sharing my journey is important for me.  Yes, I am still working on losing weight, getting back to my goal weight while getting healthy and being the best version of me that I can be. 

Since my last post I have been working on this journey and working on me.  Sometimes I am successful.  And sometimes I fail.  I am human, after all.  And this is my perfectly imperfect journey.

About the time I stopped writing, I also quit going to Weight Watchers meetings.  I was disillusioned and frustrated for a bit.  And I was not getting the inspiration I had been used to finding in those meetings. 

I tried going it alone.  I sometimes tracked.  I sometimes planned meals.  I sometimes walked or swam for exercise.  I sometimes….. I thought about ALL the things I know that work and then I did the opposite.  Hmmmm….I wonder why the weight came back on rather than falling off? 

I could blame this weight gain on my age…. menopause….. medication….. travels…. family….. health challenges…. So many excuses for not losing weight.  It was always okay, because I could start TOMORROW.  Only tomorrow will NEVER come. 

So, I did the one thing I know works but had not been doing.  I went back to Weight Watchers in person meetings. 

Walking through the door of that workshop a few months ago was HARD!  Really HARD!  I did not want to see anyone I knew, or anyone who had been in the meetings I led when I was a Coach for WW.  I was so embarrassed by my weight gain…. Still am.  I used to help others reach their goals and here I was far above my goal.  50 lbs above my goal weight to be truthful.  (okay, that was HARD to put into writing too!)

Yes, walking through those doors was HARD.  Losing weight is hard!  But even harder is being overweight and unhealthy.  We get to choose which “hard” we want to do, and I am choosing to lose weight.  It is HARD, but the rewards are so worth it.  I am WORTH IT!

Losing weight means I get to be healthier, get off meds, fit into the clothes I love that I cannot wear now.  Being at my goal weight is when I feel best- physically and mentally.  Being at goal means I am stronger, more confident and I am NOT embarrassed any longer. 

And most importantly, losing weight and living at my goal weight means that I am able to be a participant in my grandchildren’s lives, rather than a spectator.  That is my WHY. 

So, here I am again.  I will write on this journey and share with those who want to follow along.  I will share my successes, my thoughts, my AHA moments and my struggles and failures.  (though I don’t see failure as failing.  Instead I see failure as steppingstones to success as I learn from each detour and derailment.). 

I have been far from perfect these past few months and I have missed more workshops than I have attended.  Life happens.  But today, in this moment, I am ready.  I am committing to working on me.  My mindset has finally shifted.  This journey is HARD!  But I am choosing this hard over the other “hard” things.   

Is losing weight hard for you?  Is being overweight hard?  Is maintaining at goal hard? (oh my, it sure is!)  We all get to choose our hard and today I choose losing weight.  Which “hard” are you going to choose?