Monday, November 15, 2010

Planning For Success, Ahead of the Holidays

I've been looking at goals.  The longer the journey, the more important motivation becomes, and for as hard as I've worked, I've only completed 25% of my journey (so far).

My first goal was to lose 10% of me.  I reached that goal.  (See the Progress or Goal tabs)
This current (second) goal is to lose 30 lbs (or to reach 247 lbs), to leave the morbid obesity category.

I am halfway to reaching that goal, with just 15 more lbs to go!  Allan (SDDDY Challenge originator/coordinator) says I should be able to reach that by mid-December.  How awesome would that be?!! 

Assuming I stick with the challenge (oh, I'm sticking with it, believe me!), I will need to set upon the path to my next goal in about a month.  But, what will that next goal be?  I don't want to make them so big that it takes a long time to get there. Another 30-lb goal would drop me from the (then) "Severe Obese" category into the plain old "obese" category, but that is a big chunk to lose - for the third time, as both goal 1 & 2 were 30-pounders. 

I think I'll want a slightly shorter-term goal, going into the Christmas-to-New Year's Eve bridge.  I need something to keep me moving forward, while being achievable and realistic. 

Losing 10% would be roughly 25 lbs.  Less than 30, but still more than I want to tackle outright.  So, I have decided to make goal # 3 a specific weight.  After reaching goal # 2, I am going to embark on goal # 3 ... 230 lbs. 

That is 17 lbs. to lose for the next goal.

I looked.  The last time I weighed 230 lbs was in 1990, twenty years ago! 

So, I now have to think of my reward for reaching that weight of 230 - not that the health benefits alone aren't reward enough.

Goal 1 reward was the Ralph Lauren loafers
Goal 2 reward will be a Kate Spade tote bag
Goal 3 reward will be ??

Well, it isn't as big as the first goal.  And it isn't as momentous as the second goal.  I think I will make my Goal Three reward a single Lunt sterling silver teaspoon, in the Bel Chateau pattern.  It is something lasting, and something I could use every single day - a reminder of my accomplishment, reversing a 20-year trend.

Task done!  Now, I can move seemlessly from this goal onto the next one, when that time comes (hoping, of course, it will come in December)!!

Onward and downward ...

5 comments:

  1. Good luck!! Just found your blog and am so happy to see you make such amazing progress. I think you should focus on goal #2 and then see how you feel about #3. So far so good though. Keep going!!! :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. I love that your rewards aren't food and are much more awesome than I could ever imagine for myself. I guess I should put in for an upgrade in the reward department, huh? :D

    :so jealous about the Kate Spade bag:

    ReplyDelete
  3. Awesome!
    I gave myself this recent trip to see wicked!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thanks, Jessica - whatever the reward is for an individual, it has to hold appeal to them, to be effective. Do we have similar taste?

    Elina, welcome! No worries here! The current mini-goal has my undivided attention, but I always make it a point to have the next goal in place, so I can move seemlessly to the next when the time comes. No down time for this gal! I want to keep my momentum up.

    Kimberly, if I made food a reward, it would be all about the cheese! LOL I dangle good carrots (for myself). It really keeps me motivated. I'm not greedy, or shallow, but I buy so LITTLE for myself, it is a real treat to have anything special - and each of these rewards are just that - special! Put in for an upgrade in the reward department, if (like me) you plan on making this a permanent move to improved health! Such effort deserves a good motivational reward. Have you seen the Kate Spade Anabel Tote?! I love it and can't wait to earn it!!

    Anne, that trip to see wicked was really neat! I love the trip idea. My husband is fluent in German (lived in Austria for a while). So, when I reach goal weight, my reward is going to be a trip to Germany/Austria/Switzerland! I'm bringing along my own translator. hehehe

    ReplyDelete