On track. . .

This picture hangs in my sitting room and is there as a reminder for lots of things in my life.

I set myself a goal, which was to be back in my healthy BMI range, by this week. We won't go into discussing BMI ranges at the moment, as I have my own thoughts on that! A couple of weeks ago I did not think that it was possible as my weight loss was slow and steady but I have lost 5lbs in the last two weeks and have achieved it! In the first seven weeks of 2016 I have lost a total of 10lbs.

It is my birthday in six weeks time and if I can lose half that amount again I will be happy. The goal that I will actually set myself is 7lbs or half a stone. Let's see!

I'm back on the track, on the correct path, doing what you ask? Something that I believe wholeheartedly in . . . TRACKING everything that I eat and drink. It really does work. 

I went out with the girls from work, for something to eat, on Tuesday. I intended to be really good. I'd researched the menu online and chosen what I was having; all good. Problem?! Yes, on the specials board was a Winter Berries Eton Mess! Well, of course, I HAD to have it; who wouldn't?!? So the next dilemma is do you acknowledge that you have had it. Pre being back on track the honest answer to that would have been no! Good me, said 'yes, of course you do!' There then lies a problem. Trying to search through the Weightwatchers app to find something 'similar' gave a wide range of SmartPoint values. From as little as 9sp to a whopping 45sp! I decided to plump for a middle one being 23sp. That meant that I was -12sp across the week. I have set my app up to not take from my FitPoints so that I am not tempted to do this; I earned 81 FitPoints this week. I could have just left it at that but decided that I needed to look at the remainder of the week and make some adjustments. I managed to claw back 6sp's which left me on -6sp; hardly anything over just by changing a couple of things.

To be on the correct track I believe that you need to decide what it is that you want to achieve, even if it is just a little thing, then set that as the goal. To be honest, the smaller the goal actually is then the more likely that you are to achieve it. Small steps on the journey. The destination may be too far away; think about each goal as a station or stop along the way. Reward yourself at each stop. This can help with the motivation; it doesn't need to be a lot just a little something to acknowledge the journey that you are on. A trip to the cinema? A walk around the shops? Meeting a friend for a coffee? How about a reward chart set up with each of the stops along the way.

At the Weightwatchers meeting that I go to, for every half pound we lose we get given a marble to put in a jar on the front table. The clinks as they are put in are very satisfying to hear. This week we were given a Lego brick for each half pound and asked to build a wall. The visual of that solid wall is in my head from all the weight lost in the meeting. If I think about my own weight loss that would be 22 bricks and really is something to be proud of. How are you doing? How about building your own wall and seeing how far you have come?

The answer is; keep doing what you are doing. TRACK. . . TRACK. . . TRACK. This is where success starts. . .