One Step At A Time

A few posts ago I talked about not focusing on the end result and just taking it 5 pounds at a time.  Today I want to talk about how to approach losing weight in general.  At this point in my journey it doesn't feel like a daunting task.  I've already made several changes to my eating and exercise habits.  But, these changes have come with years of experience.  For someone who is facing this for the first time, it can be very overwhelming.  To think about having to change what you're eating,  add more exercise, count calories etc., it can almost be too much to take in.  So, my suggestion is to not do it all at once.

I found it very helpful to make changes one at a time.  If you can just change one thing a week, it makes it much more do-able.  I began with water.  According to mayoclinic.com, we need about 8 or 9 8 oz. cups a day.  http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/water/NU00283  (There are actually a lot of great facts about the benefits of water in that article!) So, for one week, I forced myself to drink 8 glasses of water a day.  I'll be honest, there were some days that I had to choke it down.  Some days I used coffee, iced tea, Diet Coke, anything liquid to count towards my total.  Even on those days, I made sure that at least 4 of my 8 glasses were straight water.  The second week it got a little easier.  The third even easier.  Now, it's second nature.  In fact, I drink enough water now that I stopped drinking pop all together about a year ago! 

After I got the water down, I focused on exercise.  With our busy lives, finding time to exercise can be an extremely difficult task.  So, for one week, I made myself find 20 minutes every day to exercise.  Incidentally, the more you exercise, the more water you want to drink, so it's a bonus!  Once you commit to finding the time you exercise, you'll find that you have more free time than you think.  Even if it's just doing jumping jacks during the commercial breaks of your favorite show, you can find the time.  Before joining the gym, I was the queen of the Richard Simmons videos.  Whatever works!  And just like the water challenge, eventually exercise will become second nature as well.

Instead of looking at the big picture and focusing on how far you have to go, focus on making one change at a time.  Even one change will make a difference!  And, reward yourself when you achieve a goal you've set.  If you manage to drink down 8 glasses of water a day for a week straight, treat yourself!  Go out and get a new pair of flip flops. (Only $2.50 at Old Navy!)  Go out get a new color of nail polish and paint your toes.  Do something nice for yourself.  It's amazing how far you can get on this journey if you just focus on one step at a time!