An Anchor and a Goal

It has been 3 months since my baby boy was born and I am nowhere near where I thought I would be with my weight. I guess I underestimated how challenging it would be to get back to my goal weight after my pregnancy. I think I was looking at my weight-loss this time the way I looked at it prior to having a child. That is a HUGE No No. I forgot about the fact that my time isn't "MY" time anymore. I also forgot how important getting enough sleep each night is for weight-loss. Let's just say, I've had to make LOTS of adjustments. It's ok. I made a promise to myself that I will accept change (as hard as that is for a control freak planner like me.)

I am a mother who works outside the home so I have to make the most of MY time, when I have it. My schedule used to be a lot more flexible before becoming a mother. I could literally decide on a whim when I would exercise. Now, I have to have a Plan A, Plan B and C and they all have to be approved by my partner (husband) and my boss (my son). Very rarely does my boss approve. So how have I combatted this? I listen to my INNER SKINNY CHICK when she says to include your family in your fitness efforts. Go on walks/runs together. It's much more fun that way and the whole family is likely to approve.

Another thing that keeps me focused is the fact that I have an "anchor" and a "goal." These are two things that my INNER SKINNY CHICK will tell you is absolutely necessary for you to be successful at losing weight and keeping it off. An anchor is something that represents a time in your life that was positive. Maybe you accomplished something amazing or completed an impossible task. You may have even beaten the odds and overcame an illness. Whatever that positive experience is, find a symbol that represents that time, that's your anchor. Place your anchor somewhere that's visible to you. That way when you are challenged and times get rough, and believe me they will, you will have a reminder of just how awesome you are! My anchor is right here on this page to the right if you scroll down just a little bit. It's the picture of me in that "hot" grey dress that I wore in the commercial and print ads for Weight Watchers. The dress itself is my anchor because it represents a time for me when I was at my goal-weight and feeling FABULOUS! It also represents me sharing my story of how I was able to start somewhere and finish somewhere else. I may not have started out as healthy, but I finished as the healthiest version of me.

To make your anchor even more effective, my INNER SKINNY CHICK says to have a goal. Goals are so important. If you were to interview some of the most successful people, they all would say that they have one thing in common...they had a goal and sometimes more than one. Goals are so important because they provide a way for you to measure your success. You can say you want to be successful at living a healthier lifestyle and losing weight, but how can you do that if you have no metrics in place to measure that success? My goal just so happens to be tied to my anchor. My goal is to be able to wear my "commercial" dress again. (How "fitting!" HA HA HA) So, you know what I have done, I have hung my dress on the doorknob of my hall closet in my house. Every time I leave my bedroom, the first thing I see is my dress. This keeps my mind "anchored" to my "goal." (See what I did there?)

What's your anchor? Have you set a goal? Do it TODAY! I can't wait until I can share a photo of myself in that dress holding my baby boy on my hip. I think I will feel even more accomplished than I did the first time around.