Consistency is Key!! You don't have to wait until GOAL to start celebrating!

Angel_Grove_

There are a lot of much more dramatic success stories here, but I wanted to take a minute to celebrate the small successes that keep us motivated to continue moving toward our ultimate goal. It's easy (for me at least) to lose sight of all the progress we're making along the way.

I'm three months in and 18 lbs down. This is the longest solid stretch during which I have ever been able to consistently follow a diet/exercise plan. I did take a break from logging the last month or so, but during that time, I have pretty much been able to maintain my weight, which is a success story in itself! I still have another 20-30 lbs to go, but I'm feeling great about the progress I have made both on and off the scale!



In January, I was excited to run for One. Whole. Minute. on the flat treadmill at 4 mph. My record now, outside in a mildly hilly neighborhood, is 1.75 miles at 5.26 mph! In a row! I never thought of myself as a runner before, but as I pushed harder and harder on the treadmill, I realized that it was something I enjoyed. Once I hit the street, I found that I really loved it! I just signed up for my first 5k!

Mostly, I'm just happy that I've found something I enjoy enough to stick with day after day, week after week, month after month.

What are some of your mini-victories that you might have forgotten to celebrate?

aquamarina_182

thats awesome! and it's true, we tend to be so caught up on the initial goal that we forget to step back and look at how far we've already come. My mini victory is being able to say no to pepsi and cigarettes!

Angel_Grove_

aquamarina_182 wrote: »

thats awesome! and it's true, we tend to be so caught up on the initial goal that we forget to step back and look at how far we've already come. My mini victory is being able to say no to pepsi and cigarettes!

Way go to on the cigarettes! I've quit recently too, and I think that has drastically improved my running ability as well!

mpeters1965

Great work! I started on MFP the day after Christmas and am down 8.4 pounds. I would say I need to lose around another 10-15. It's been extremely slow but the graph, like yours, is on a steady downward trend. I think I could make it go faster but I have found I'm just not willing to eat at a substantial enough deficit to speed it up. So I celebrate that the trend is downward and not upward.

And way to go on your running! Old foot injuries prevent me from doing so but I walk 2 days and swim 2 days each week. I've been a swimmer for years but also picked up some strength training too so to up my calories burned.

So yay for small successes!! They will add up to one big one at the end.

aquamarina_182

Angel_Grove_ wrote: »

aquamarina_182 wrote: »

thats awesome! and it's true, we tend to be so caught up on the initial goal that we forget to step back and look at how far we've already come. My mini victory is being able to say no to pepsi and cigarettes!

Way go to on the cigarettes! I've quit recently too, and I think that has drastically improved my running ability as well!

Thanks! and you're right, I've noticed a great difference when working out and going for long walks. I can breathe so much better. Congrats for quitting too!