Singing for a smaller me

Let's get right to the point: I have a whole lotta weight to lose. Heck, some people's total weight loss goal is the amount of weight I've already lost, but I try not to think about that. Looking forward and seeing how far I have left to go is a daunting prospect. On the other hand, I'm alright with that. Sure, sometimes it doesn't feel fair, and sometimes I want to scream and stamp my feet in frustration, but that's life.

Too many times I've set myself on this path with only one objective in mind: reaching my final weight loss goal. It's like saying you're going to run a marathon then expecting the immediate ability to run 26.2 miles. Yeah, that there is called "setting yourself up for failure". Weight loss, like learning to run a marathon, is a journey. You don't immediately drop 100+ lbs that took years to put on.

With that in mind, I put some serious thought into setting a mess of mini-goals to aspire to over the course of this journey, what I'm calling my "Weight Loss Rewards Program" (It's like a credit card rewards program except I'm not paying some greedy company to take my money and make it disappear). And I make a point of never looking much further than the twenty pounds I'm working on losing right now. Taking my weight reduction program in twenty pound chunks makes it easier to handle, and I'm more likely to feel like I've accomplished something because each twenty pounds is a milestone. Still, I'm also kind of greedy and that didn't seem like it was quite enough, so I broke it down to ten pound portions my for my little incentive program.

Alright, at this point this is what I have (and I'm still tweaking it):

Weight Loss Rewards

10% Goal/30 lbs (261/262): Charm
Achieved 2/10/10

40 lbs (251): Tickets to the Theatre

50 lbs (241): Mini-Vacation

60 lbs (231): Charm

70 lbs (221): New Juicy Couture Tracksuit

80 lbs (211): Mini-Vacation

90 lbs (201): Charm

Onederland: Photo Shoot/New Headshots

100 lbs (191): New Purse

110 lbs (181): New Workout Clothes

120 lbs (171): Charm

130 lbs (161): Tickets to the Opera

140 lbs (151): Charm

GOAL - 146 lbs lost - (145): Cruise!

I'm pretty excited about my goals and it's nice to have something tangible on which to focus. It perks me up and motivates me to look at that list of goals, and - dagnabbit - I want that freaking cruise!!!!