Yesterday was fun. I raffled off the Meal Measure portion control tool after having tested it and determined it’s not extremely helpful in the Hot Mess household. But there were plenty of you who did think you could use it and I was very happy to raffle it off to a good home where it will be used and loved appropriately. Congratulations, Emily!
The raffle got me to thinking, though: what a great way to have fun! I’ve always loved raffles. There’s nothing like the excitement of winning something, is there? Who doesn’t love winning stuff! I think this is the perfect way to celebrate my weight loss milestones with everyone who reads my blog and supports me. Here are the milestones that are victories along the way to my goal weight:
331 lbs – Vindication! I lost 50 lbs in 2010, only to get cocky and “take a break” for my nephew’s wedding. I completely derailed myself and gained all 50 lbs back. Hitting 331 will exorcise that demon for good!
299 lbs – Holy crap! I’ll be in the 200’s. I will completely say goodbye to the 300’s forever. I will have lost 82 lbs at this point. I’d say hitting 299 on the scale is worthy of quite a celebration!
281 lbs – I will have lost 100 lbs! Go me!!!
265 lbs – This is what I weighed when I met my husband. Enough said, right?
225 lbs – A long time ago, I went from my (then) top weight of 295 pounds to 225 pounds. It was an amazing achievement, even if I lost it in a very unhealthy way. I hit a wall at 225 lbs and couldn’t lose another pound. I also started dating again and it didn’t take long for my fragile self-confidence to be shaken away. I gave up and started eating again and before I knew it….301 lbs. Seeing 225 on the scale will exorcise this mental demon and really give me something to smile about.
199 lbs – Today, at 354 lbs this seems like a dream. I can’t think about it for too long or I’ll get discouraged. Clearly, being in the 100’s will be an amazing victory for me. I haven’t been there since I was 20 years old. We’re going to have to seriously party for this one.
181 lbs – OMG, I will have lost 200 lbs! Freak’in AWESOME!!
155 lbs – GOAL WEIGHT! Let me just say that it’s been a long time since I’ve been under 200 lbs…so if I look absolutely fabulous at 165 lbs or…whatever weight, I will adjust my goal weight accordingly. It’s not about the final number for me, it’s about being healthy and looking great at the end of all this.
Eight milestones. When I look back on this list, it makes me smile. I feel excited…and a little scared. Mostly excited. After 3 months, I still feel like my head is in the right place and my feet are firmly on the right path. I feel good.
I may decide to add in some NSV’s (Non Scale Victories) at some point. For example, dropping a size or finally leaving the glamorous world of elastic waists behind me. Those things should be celebrated as well, don’t you think?
For now, the scale is holding firmly at 354 and that is actually a very good thing. Why? Because the 7 Dwarfs of the Apocalypse are very close -in fact, Bloaty has already come for his visit…the little bastard.
COURTESY WARNING FOR MY MALE READERS: Read at your own risk from this point forward. There’s girl talk come’in!
Bloaty the evil dwarf is here. Cranky arrived a few days ago. That means that Starsky & Hutch are hurt’in big time. I probably need to explain that one, don’t I?
Yeah, well…when I was a teenager it was cool to name your boobies. It never occurred to me to name them after GIRLS. Hello, Dianne? Anyone home??? No, I decided to name them after the two coolest, grooviest detectives in California: Starsky & Hutch. Shut up…I was just a kid. Anyway, I told that story to the Hot Mess Hubby once and he hasn’t stopped teasing me since.
But I digress…Starsky & Hutch are hurt’in. You girls know what that means: I’m taking on water like a sponge. In fact, I’m not wearing my wedding ring today because my fingers are a little swollen. So if the scale says 354 and I’m holding water….muahahahaha!!! That sucker’s going down when the Dwarfs pack their bags next week, right? Right!
My goal is still 349 by the end of the month. 5 more pounds to go. I’ve got this!! Every day that I’m motivated and focused is like a gift to me and you are all part of that. You keep me honest and you keep me talking about it instead of eating over it. Thank you!
What milestones and victories are you looking forward to in your own weight loss efforts?
Source: google.com via Sarah on Pinterest
You are doing so well and listing those milestones is a really good idea ! Holland is good i am not so…did you read my blog http://www.thediettrail.wordpress.com
I ate all of Yvano´s Easter eggs and feel bad about it. I know now why 🙂 want me to share this huge piece of wisdom ?
Jacquie!!! Hey, I’m trying to get a hold of an article that I think would help you…and I’m having trouble finding it. I went and read your blog (and subsribed!) and I’ve been where you are many times…I hope not to be again, but there are no guarantees – and I have a LONG way to go.
The article talked about the 7 stages of weight loss and how sometimes you may WANT to eat right and lose weight but there’s something else holding you back. It helped me to get in touch with where I was in terms of really being ready to make changes…and as it turned out at that time, I wasn’t in the action stage. I was in the “sit on your ass, don’t make changes, but think about how you’re going to make the changes” stage. LOL.
Anyway, that’s what I was reminded of when I read the part about the Easter eggs. 🙂 We’ve all been there, sweetie. I feel ya.
I’ll let you know if I find that article!
That is exactly what i mean….you are so cool like that 🙂
Okay, Jacquie, I ended up getting in touch with the writer who wrote the article (I friended her on Facebook when I read it, that’s how much it helped me)…and I asked her if she planned to publish the article again. Guess what? She HAS!!! 🙂
You can find her article here: http://www.sheknows.com/health-and-wellness/articles/850575/5-steps-to-make-your-fitness-resolutions-stick
I’m going to post this on my blog tomorrow as well, but basically…I think you’re in the same stage I was: stage 3. You’re not ready to “GO!” yet, but you’re making preparations and taking the first steps. It doesn’t have to be perfect. Look at the opening line of the article: Trying to do too much before you’re psychologically prepared to take the next step may cause you to backslide and, eventually, give up altogether.
So many of us have been there before, right? 🙂
I hope this helps you as much as it did me…reading this article was the turning point that made me stop trying to force myself and just go with what my gut said. I used this article for a sort of thermostat to tell where in the process I really was.
Hugs!
Dianne
You are a darling 🙂 I will read it ASAP 🙂 Thank you so much !!
I have a goal chart too – LOVE, love, love looking at it. It was fun reading yours because I realized mine are very focused on numbers while many of your goals are centered around memories/times in your life – I’ve never really looked at it like that. I had a 5%, a 10% (12.5 lbs away), 30lbs, because it puts me right under 200, 20% etc. I’m like you in that my “goal” is not set in stone. If I get to a point along the way that I feel really comfie with, I’m sticking to it. I just would LOVE to be normal in the stupid BMI charts they use for insurance, which I feel are WAY off, but still… 🙂
Oooh, Monica, I like yours too though! I love the idea of a 30% milestone…since the experts say that just reducing your weight by 30% significantly lowers your risk of heart attack/stroke, etc. I may add that one!
I went to my weigh in last night after being SUPER CRANKY – and I hit my first big goal of 5%. I firmly believe that it is because of you and your blog and reading it from beginning to end instead of plowing down chocolate all day. You are my freaking hero.
I know isnt she just awesome !! Please read my blog too and let me know what you think ?
Holy crap, girl, check you out!!! Congratulations on hitting your first goal!!! We can totally do this, we just have to yell “BULLSHIT!” at the top of our lungs when we try to screw ourselves up. LOL. What cracks me up is that it’s not brain surgery by any means…but we get so overwhelmed by it that it controls us. We got this!
I am a rewards motivated person so beside each of my eight goals is a reward. As my goals get bigger my rewards get better!! Starsky and Hutch aren’t bad names for the girls! Mine are Hansel and Gretel. Haha.
LOL!!! Okay, the Hansel and Gretel think made me laugh so hard I snorted. I do have some rewards attached to some goals…for example, a sterling silver bracelet from Tiffany’s. 🙂
Love that reward!! I need to come up with some really good ones. 🙂
I went through the tedious task of figuring out what weight I’d need to be at for every BMI point lost – and made a chart of those. 🙂 Those are great milestones (and about 5-6lbs for each one). I know BMI is horrible and outdated and incorrect when it comes to simple terms of body shape and structure, but.. alas, it is still a great goal setting tool!
I’m also going to have to give myself something awesome at 200lbs, which is still 20-30 from my goal, but that means I’ve lost over 60.. so… that is HUGE!
I wish I had set goals like this for myself when I started! What I really want to do is buy a pair of blue skinny jeans and hang them up so they are the first thing i see every morning! I need motivation to work out and maybe these will help. I still have 30-40 lbs to go because I have been at both 160 and 170 so I am good with either. I have 5 lbs to go before I get to 200 and I am getting impatient lol!
Oh thanks for this. I needed a little motivation at the end of this day! I have been craving FOOD all day. And all the bad kind of food…popcorn loaded up with butter & chocolate (Girl Scout Cookies…those damn Thin Mints!) I have not caved, but it’s been difficult. But after reading your blog, I feel like I can stay strong!
I’ve been hovering between 180-185 for a year now. Just fluctuating in that 5 lb. range. I cannot seem to break back into the 170’s. But I am BOUND & DETERMINED to do it THIS MONTH. I’ve been hovering at 181/182 for a week now….I know I can do it.
And my reward once I do…get in the 170’s and STAY there for at least 2 weeks…a new bag/purse or new pair of shoes is in my future! (possibly both if I can really start dropping again!)
It’s YOU that’s given me this resolve to make the big push…eat healthy & MOVE my ass!
You keep up your good work, your wonderful writing, & your sense of humor!!! I’m looking forward to the raffles that come with your goals =)
Those are all great goals. When I started losing weight my goals were pretty blah, nothing significant about the actual numbers. I found I was at my highest, oh-shit-when-did-that-happen-?-!-?-! weight at the doctors office and my first goal was to be down 50-60 lbs by the time I saw my doc again in 6 months. (I made the goal, 58 lbs down!). Next goal was was to by down another 50-60 for my next 6 month appt. (after a frustrating 2 month plateau I made it, another 58 lbs gone.) Last month the doc was so happy with my progress I don’t have to see her for a year (yay) so my long term goal is to lose the last 76-80 lbs by that time. Now I’m more able to look at the short term goals. I’m at 224 or I was a few days ago before my very own set of dwarfs arrived. (I’ve learned to stop weighing myself 3-4 days before and not to start again until 2-3 days after. My dwarfs are real little f’ers!) I’m planning on a new tattoo when I get into the one hundreds. Not sure what my next goal/reward will be but I’m sure I’ll come up with something. 🙂