My Goals

Am kind of pleased with myself because I got up and hit the gym this morning right after breakfast even though I had to be somewhere around 11 o'clock in the morning.

Normally I'd have told myself I didn't have time to workout before my meeting, and then made a half-hearted attempt to squeeze it in later.

This morning I zipped right over -- kind of did it automatically. Didn't need to think much. Always better when you don't need to think -- gives you less of a chance to back out.

So. Goals. What do I have in mind?

Well, there are some really nifty things floating around in my head in terms of physical fitness and body challenges and stuff like that. But at the risk of sounding coy, I'm going to hold back on posting those until I get back from my mini-vacation next week. More on that later.

I want to be able to really focus on my physical goals for the coming year and be clear about them before I put them down on (blog)paper and commit to them.

But I've got other goals in mind too. One of them comes directly from the post I put up yesterday. It's my challenge to myself, but other people are welcome to jump on the bandwagon.

My goal is to find a way to celebrate my healthy lifestyle every day --- even the days that don't go well (especially the days that don't go well).

What do I mean by that, exactly? Well, it's very cheesy and self-helpy, but here it is:

There are things I do now around food that I would never have done before. And these are not diet tools. These are life tools. These are changes that I want to be permanent.

I started this weight loss journey for two reasons: I wanted to be fit and healthy and happy, and I wanted to break the stranglehold that food had over me.

It felt like I was always eating, or wanting to eat, or regretting what I just ate. And I couldn't stay at any weight -- I really just gained, and gained, and gained.

I blogged a few days ago about reframing -- that's one of the food control tools I use (reframing is a way of changing your mental perception of something to a more positive outlook).

I also use delaying tactics. For example, last week when I got caught on a long phone call and couldn't leave to get my lunch at my normal time and ended up absolutely STARVING when I did go, I started having all sorts of urges.

A little voice was saying, "Don't just get the soup -- you're so hungry that won't be enough. Get the soy chips too." Luckily another voice piped up and said, "No, get the soup. Eat it slowly, sitting down, like you always do. If you are still hungry 20 minutes after you've had the soup, you can get the chips."

Naturally, once I'd eaten the soup (slowly) I was no longer hungry. If I had been, I really would have gotten myself the soy chips. But if I'd gotten them earlier -- filling soup or not -- I'd have eaten them, no doubt about it.

Even on the days I have "blown" my diet, I have done many positive things. Even the days I've skipped the gym, I've still made other good choices.

And even on my worst, most insane day ever, I'm still a fairly decent human being who genuinely tries her best. My negativity is my own worst enemy.

Let's be crazy optimists! Let's assume that it's all going to work out. Let's believe in ourselves, and in our bodies. Let's have some faith. Let's embrace our fantastic achievements, and cheer ourselves for effort, and forgive ourselves our human moments.

Let's celebrate our health, each and every day.

That my friends, is my philosophical goal for 2010.