Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Start at the Beginning...

And when you get to the end, stop.

Sound familiar?  I think its a line from Alice in Wonderland.

Sometimes goal setting can feel that way; like you're in a ginormous room and everything seems so big, confusing, rushed, and impossible.  Every goal you've dreamed up looks way too big to scale, too large to fit into your brain and your plans, too impossible to even seriously consider.

When you break goals down, however, they aren't as scary, or confusing as Wonderland.  It's when you try in your mind to go from Biggest Loser to Supermodel overnight that your unrealistic expectations fail you.  When you imagine that this shake, this pill, this cleanse, this one thing will FINALLY be IT and you will never struggle with your weight again, and be able to eat what you want and and and...and you wonder why your first week being healthy didn't produce such results.  And then you quit.  Why bother?  It's too hard.

But if you decide it will take you a realistic amount of time, say a few years, to go from obese to a healthy weight, and determine that there will be sweat...tears...setbacks...challenges...yet you DECIDE you will DO IT anyway, no matter how LONG it takes or how HARD it is...

Then, my friends, you will see success.  And a shrinking profile in the mirror.

How do I know this?  I'm living this.

I have been at this for 29 months.

Sound like too long?

Well, in 29 months, I've traveled this far:


And guess what?  It's still not easy.  It still takes work, planning, dedication, sweat, tears, commitment, soreness, rest, and support from my family.

While it seems to be taking forever, I honestly can't look at these two pictures and be frustrated with how long it has taken.  I can only look at them and be glad I've made my goals SMART.  Specific, Measurable, Action-Oriented, Realistic and Time-Bound.

All of that leads me to sharing with you my new fitness and health goals for 2012.  I'm very excited about these goals and hope you share in my excitement.


Goals - 2012

Weight (starting weight 192.6 after holidays)  Measure  Deadline
185 pounds - 100 pounds lost (recoup after holidays) Scale 1/31/2012
180 pounds - wedding weight (105 pounds lost) Scale 2/28/2012
175 pounds - high school grad weight (110 pounds lost) Scale 3/31/2012
170 pounds -  less than my hubby (115 pounds lost) Scale 4/30/2012
165 pounds - GOAL weight (120 pounds lost) Scale 5/31/2012
Body Fat % less than 25 24.9/Body Bugg 3/31/2012
Track food consistently Food Log Ongoing
Exercise (or do something active) 6 days/week Body Bugg Ongoing
Running

Improve 5k time to less than 30 mins 29:59 or less 6/30/2012
Improve 10k time by 5 minutes (to 1:06 or less) 1 hr 6 min or less 9/30/2012
Train for a half marathon Begin Training 6/30/2012

You will notice that my weight goals are broken down into small, manageable chunks.  Pardon the pun ...but realizing that my last 30 pounds or so are going to come of more SLOOOOWLY than the first 100 have...I needed to be realistic about it.

I am also not someone who loses 2 pounds a week.  I'm just not.  And I'm completely cool with that too.  Since I know my body so well, why would I set goals that were not possible or likely for me to achieve?

Not only are my goals weight oriented, but also my athletic pursuits have their own goals.  When I became a runner, I imagined just being able to run a 5k without stopping would be it, then I'd be satisfied.  I never dreamed I would LOVE it so much...run 6/5k races, finish my first 10k race and be contemplating half marathon training.

Gulp.  Now I said it out loud. Now it shall be so.

I'm so jazzed about this year.  I'm feeling great this week, being back on track with my food and enjoying the taste of nature's foods and eating much cleaner than I had been for awhile.  It feels awesome and I know my goals are attainable with being back on track with my exercise and my good, consistent eating habits.

If you are looking for good consistent eating habits, read my Food Guidelines post from February of last year.  I'm going to tweak it a bit later this week and repost as I've learned even more about nutrition and the like this past year.  And even more about myself and how I can be most successful.

Your journey may not look like mine; but hopefully I can inspire you to get started and be true to yourself when you set your goals.  Set yourself up for success, not for failure.  Be honest, be careful and be realistic.  Then, be successful.  Two years will fly by before you know it and trust me, it is so worth being on this side of that journey.  I feel like I'm running downhill and I have tons of energy to spare, even if this is truly one of the hardest parts of the journey.

Leave me a comment if you have a question or visit my facebook page.  I'd love to have you follow my blog as well. Knowing there are countless people out there who are reading my story really motivates me to get off my tater and achieve these goals.  I can't do it alone.  Join me!

~Clara

















6 comments:

Karen said...

I believe this post was my divine appt. for today. I just made the commitment to lose my weight today. As I sit here I just finished my popcorn and am happy I made it through the day and only went over my calories by 60. I have lost weight in the past mostly by doing low-carb, but I just cannot do it again. I just read your guidelines and cannot wait to go through your blog from the beginning. You are right about small goals. That is my plan also. I just want to be healthy again! One of my biggest vices is diet soda ~ I haven't had one in 3 days, I am thrilled that I actually did it. You have come so far and you look fabulous. Blessings! ~*Karen

ClaraB said...

Hi Karen! Congratulations on deciding to make changes! So excited for you. I absolutely believe in divine inspiration and I am so glad to have my blog be the vessel for you. Please let me know if I can help in anyway. Big hugs to you on your journey!
Clara

Kathy D said...

Hi Clara, you look beautiful! I was selected to participate in the weight loss challenge at work which starts next week and I am so looking forward to it. You have inspired me so much! It is about making changes to your lifestyle, somedays will be better than others, but my health is worth it. Kathy

Kathy D said...

Clara you look beautiful!! I was selected to participate in the weight loss challenge at work & am so looking forward to it as a big kick off for the changes I need to make. You have truly inspired me! thanks for your blog - it makes me think I will succeed. Kathy

April said...

Clara, I just got started trying to change my life. This is the end of week one and I don't know if I did perfect but I think I did well. I just found your site thanks to Jessica Foster. I loved this post. It was what I needed to hear. Thank you. And I will be praying for you as you continue your journey. April

ClaraB said...

Thanks Karen! Good luck in your competition at work; keep me posted on how you're doing! April, I'm so glad you found me - thank you SO much for the prayers, I definitely covet them. Great job for finishing out week 1! And go for "progress not perfection." I have a blog post on that from last year I think. :) Keep in touch with me! All of you, if you haven't already, please like me on Facebook so I can keep up with you! http://www.facebook.com/#!/ChangingMyBlueprint