Plan It to Get It

The other day I was looking at the Biggest Loser site and somehow got on Jillian Michael's email list. She's one of the "tough" trainers on the show. Anyways, I often put the articles in my junk email file, but I thought the one today was interesting so I thought I'd share it with you all.

It kind of helped me with some of the things I'm struggling with right now - being overwhelmed with how much weight I have to lose. And also being overwhelmed by just not knowing where to start. What's really sad is that somehow I was able to do this before (in 2000 I lost 50 lbs in 6 months), so I know it can be done! But my circumstances are much different now (like I can't spend 2 hours at the gym anymore and eat just tuna fish and vegetables! and I'm 8 years older! smiles!) so I need to find a new way to get it done!

Anyways, this article was encouraging to me and I thought I'd post it in case it helped someone else.

Plan It to Get It - by Jillian Michaels - Big Loser

You want to lose 50 pounds, and you want it bad! You can even envision your inner, svelte self wearing impossibly hip clothes. Yet, year after year, the pounds stick around. What's going to be different this time? You're going to have a plan!

Without a plan, reaching long-term goals may seem overwhelming or too distant. Setting smaller short-term goals will help you stay on track. Do this right now — identify and write down small goals to achieve on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis that will help you meet your long- term goal. Examples include preparing healthy snacks to take to work each day, working out three times a week, and learning five new healthy recipes a month.

While setting and reaching a goal in itself is rewarding, sometimes a little external motivation is needed. So, as you write down short-term goals think of incentives to keep you going and list them right next to each goal.

However, it is important that the incentives you come up with don't revolve around food. There's no sense in pushing yourself through that extra set of lunges (the one exercise you just can't learn to love) or ten more minutes of jogging if you're going to reward yourself with more calories than you burned off. Start learning how to pamper and treat yourself in healthy life- and self-affirming ways that have nothing to do with food. Get a manicure once a month. Go to a movie every week. Treat yourself to some new music to listen to at the gym. Yadda, yadda, yadda — you get the idea.