The Power of Reflection
It is the end of 2010 and yesterday I spent some time reflecting upon my year. Last year I wrote my weight loss story for Meridian magazine. At that time I had lost 129 lbs. I was delighted when Maurine Proctor, the editor, ran that for the lead story that day. My second surprise came when I had over 80 emails from people who wanted to lose weight and had been challenged by their weight gain.
Every Sunday I weigh in and report it to my health coach Jackie Keller. I knew that my weight was up a little from last year and my weigh in would be the day after New Year’s Eve–not a good night for staying away from food! On Saturday I woke up in the middle of the night about 2 AM really worrying about how I would weigh in. After all the hard work I had to do, to be up a few pounds was very upsetting to me. I even shed a few tears.
Celebrating Achievements
Then I had a flash thought, “Why don’t you look at what you did right instead of focusing on the few pounds that you’ve gone up?” I was pleasantly surprised: I had been on the road a quarter of that year which is always a challenge for me. Two of my six trips were to Thailand where coconut milk is in almost every dish. Those were the two trips where my weight went up and I have had a hard time getting it back down.
I then looked at the exercise I have done throughout 2010. In April, May and June I road my bike 700 miles getting ready for my ride across Iowa. Then at the end of July I rode 480 miles in one week across Iowa and no, it is not flat. One day I even rode 100 miles!
I began to feel better about myself. I decide to get up the next morning and make a list of the top 10 healthy things that I did in 2010. After I made the list I sent it to Jackie. I soon got a note back that said, “Great summary!”
WOW! I realized that I had focused so much on what the scales read that I forgot to give myself credit for a year that I had worked on my health all year. And the proof was, when I went for all my check ups I was very healthy.
The Importance of Goal Setting
My next idea was to write out my health goals for the year 2011. I got some great suggestions from Jackie that I decided to share with you, hoping that you can glean some ideas for yourself.
Developing SMART Health Goals
Jackie said, “I might suggest that instead of taking on all of 2011, you set goals for the first 3 months of 2011. Make them SMART goals — Specific, Measurable, Action-oriented, Realistic and Timed.
“Perhaps consider identifying no more than 3 in each of 3 categories: Nutrition, Exercise and Lifestyle.”
I then went to work on my 3 months goals. I sent them to her and I thought it might help you if I shared two of the areas with you and her response:
Goals from January to April
Nutrition goals: This is a project for me and also for my book.
Me: Write down everything that I eat.
Jackie: NOT SPECIFIC ENOUGH. ARE YOU USING MY JOURNAL FORM? I WOULD SUGGEST YOU ALSO WRITE DOWN WHEN YOU EAT IT AND WHERE YOU ARE (PHYSICALLY). IN OTHER WORDS, ARE YOU SITTING AT THE KITCHEN TABLE? STANDING IN THE KITCHEN? SITTING IN FRONT OF THE TV? THIS INFORMATION WILL HELP YOU UNDERSTAND YOUR PATTERNS OF EATING.
Me: Nibbling has been a challenge for me. I will write everything that I eat. I will chew gum to help me when I am preparing food.
Jackie: TURN THIS INTO AN AFFIRMATIVE STATEMENT: I WILL CHEW GUM WHEN PREPARING MEALS AND WILL NOT NIBBLE.
Exercise (Keep a journal of exercise that I do every day)
Me: 1. Do three of Rick’s routines (Rick is my trainer) each week. Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.
Jackie: AT WHAT TIME? IF YOU DO THE SAME ROUTINE OVER AND OVER, YOU WON’T CONTINUE TO PROGRESS – REMEMBER, THE WORKOUTS NEED TO GET PROGRESSIVELY DIFFICULT. 3 MONTHS OF THE SAME THING IS NOT PROGRESSIVELY MORE DIFFICULT.
Me: 2. Do three water aerobic workouts each week Monday, Wednesday and Friday?
Jackie: DITTO FOR ABOVE COMMENTS
3. Five days of 10,000 steps per day.
Jackie: WHICH DAYS WILL YOU TAKE OFF?
Me: When the weather is good and I can go on my bike ride then cut the steps to 5,000.
Jackie: HOW MUCH ARE YOU GOING TO RIDE? REMEMBER, BE SPECIFIC.
There are times when we “fall off the wagon” and put on a few pounds as I have this year. But the scales are not the real measuring stick; it is how healthy you are. Sometimes I beat myself up for small items when in the big picture I am really doing well. No one is perfect 100% of the time. When you face challenges stop and think about what you can do to get where you want to be. That is just what I did. Then take Jackie’s idea of writing down goals and make them SMART goals: Specific, Measurable, Action, Realist, and Timed.
Remember it’s the small steps that make a big difference in your health, your weight, and your happiness. The real key is, are you on the path to a healthy life.
