The one in which we try something new...

As you readers may recall, the original intention of this here tube in the internets was to document my efforts to drop 40 pounds.   Well, I've only got 45 pounds to go!  WTF?!?  I was reading my buddy Big Slick Nuts' new blog, Hundred Day Head Start, and I had a minor revelation.  Large goals are great from a "showy" perspective.   Oooh, I'm going to drop 40 pounds, and then I'm going to run a marathon, and then I'm going to make a million dollars, and then…  The problem is that with a goal that is so far off, making the little steps that you obviously need to doesn't show that much of an immediate return.   So I'm going to apply the baby steps method and set much smaller interim goals.  A little bit every day, and eventually it will add up.   And it presumably (hopefully) will be easier to stick to, because small gains and losses will be that much more obvious when measured against the goal.  For example: Woo hoo (extreme sarcasm dripping from voice).   I lost a half pound, only 39.5 pounds to go.  And the opposite side of that is true.  Oh.   I gained a half pound.  Well, that's not too bad.  No worries.  No need to alter my behavior.   Now look at the same scenarios under the baby steps method.  Hey!  I lost a half pound!  I've only got 1.5 more pounds to lose this week!  And, oh crap.  I gained a half pound.  Ok, if I avoid having chips in the afternoon and make sure to make the dog walk tonight at least 45 minutes I should be able to undo that damage.   I'm so close to my goal this week, I don't want to backslide.  See, it all sounds so much more urgent and serious.

 

So my goal is to get my weight below 240 lbs this year, which I've been dutifully writing down in my affirmations.   That means I've got 48 pounds to lose.  So my baby steps goal is going to be 2 pounds per week.  As I've documented here, I'm quite the yoyo-er, and a half-pound drop in a day is nothing new.   By starting to measure myself against that particular yardstick, I'm hoping that I'll be more motivated to keep on it.  When you weigh 288 and you're trying to get to 240, a weigh-in of 288.5 doesn't seem to be that big of a deal.  When you weigh 288 and you're trying to get to 286 by Monday morning, that half pound becomes a pretty big farking deal.   Hopefully I will be able to mainly get on track with eating and take better advantage of exercise opportunities.  So wish me luck.  Maybe this will be the method that allows me to avoid backsliding.   Wish me luck.