Goals

             Have you seen that commercial for AARP? You know the one that says “Michelle just finished her first marathon at forty. Proof that not everyone peaks in their twenties.” Something like that, I can’t remember the exact wording. Well, this got me thinking about my brother-in-law. See last year, Aaron decided that he was going to run a marathon. At first I thought he was crazy, I even thought he was crazy when he was visiting and had my sister drop him off ten miles from my house and he ran back. I really thought he was crazy when he arrived and his toes were bleeding. I mean, for the longest time if I hurt, I’d stop. So his actions had me confused, why would he do something that hurts his body? But now I understand, he was determined and wasn’t going to let anything prevent him from reaching his goal. I remember this every time I work out.

             Goals are great, but what if you don’t reach them? Like say you have a goal of a weight loss of 2 pounds per week, but you don’t meet that goal? Well, don’t give up! Just try again. You know that saying “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.” Well, that’s exactly what you need to do. Don’t get down on yourself because you didn’t meet that goal and give up. Do the work, and get out of your head. I can’t say this enough, GET OUT OF YOUR HEAD!! Here’s what I do, Every month I set a goal of 2-6 inches lost. I don’t really worry about the number on the scale, after all it is just a number and that number DOES NOT define me. I do get on once a week to make sure that I haven’t over done it. But that’s it. Sometimes I meet my goal, and sometimes I fall short. But after I pick myself up and brush the dirt off my shoulder I get back to work. I focus on each rep, or the intensity of my workout. Then I track all of my food. Sometimes I forget, I mean we all do every now and then, but I try.

                  Setting goals are important, and there are a times when you can sabotage yourself when you set a goal. There are a few rules, that I try to follow when setting my goals. I think that you will find they are very helpful.

- Set a realistic goal

      Know what you can do. If you know that you have a hard time losing weight, don’t say “I’m losing 40 pounds in three months.” First off, that isn’t safe. Secondly, it’s only going to upset you when you don’t meet that goal.

  - have a visual / tangible goal

      By doing this, you can see how far you have to go. This will also be a constant reminder. This past march I bought myself a swimsuit and I hung it up on the wall in my room. I saw this suit when I woke up and went to sleep. I would see it and think, how much work I had to do and then push for that.

-divide and conquer

   I have found that focusing on my long term goal, makes me a little nervous sometimes. I mean it’s going to take A LOT of work to get where I want to be.  Divide your long term goal into smaller achievable goals. Then celebrate, but not with food, YOU ARE NOT A DOG.  You’ll feel accomplished and this will push you to continue.

- Give yourself a deadline

   I’ll be honest, I’m not really good about this one. I have however, decided that by March I will have lost a total of 45 inches. I’ve already lost 29.5 inches so I’m not far off. If I reach a total of 45 inches before then, I will have to reset my goal.  By setting a deadline, you are forcing yourself to be accountable.  But again, be realistic in setting your deadline.

- Take it one day at a time

      Every day, I make sure that I get all my water, have two juices, drink two protein shakes, and that I don’t eat after seven o’clock. Some days, I do  this perfectly, and others I don’t. But, I try  to focus on this each day, because by doing this I’m not worrying about the result, but more about the work. Once I get focused on the work, I will see results. I talked about “the circle” before.

Now I want to share my goal with you. It may seem like an unrealistic one, and some may poke fun at me or tell me I can’t do it. For those of you, go ahead, because your ridicule will only fuel my fire. In a year, maybe a little less, but by my birthday next year, I would like to be in shape to compete like my inspiration Cody Lawyer at the protein princess. I won’t compete, but I’d like to be in the shape to do so. I have a buddy, My dear sweet sister, Emily has so kindly agreed to join me on this journey. We will keep each other on track.

What is your goal? If you don’t have one, set one. Make yourself accountable, and then achieve it. You can do it, I believe in you.