Small Victories Add Up

My son came home from the gym the other night, and he was very proud of himself. It turns out that he had set a personal record in something called the push-press, lifting more weight than he ever had before in that particular exercise. This made my parental heart swell at the thought of my string bean of a teenager pushing metal plates over his head. So I asked how much more weight he had lifted than his previous personal best.

“Two pounds,” he beamed.

Now, two pounds may not sound like much. If you’re a fan of the metric system, you know that it isn’t even quite a kilo. But when you’re looking for improvements, any gain, no matter how small, is important to take note of. You may not be pumping iron at the gym, but chances are you’re looking for gains in your journey to achieving a healthy weight. So rather than constantly focusing on the number on the scale, as so many of us do, consider some of these small victories as markers of success in your weight loss program:

• Your clothes fit you differently—pants are looser or baggier, shirts and blouses drape differently.
• Chasing around after your kids doesn’t leave you winded or exhausted.
• Neither does walking up a flight of stairs.
• You have more energy when you wake up.
• You sleep better.
• Someone you haven’t seen in a while says you look different and asks what you’ve been doing.
• You’re suddenly interested in doing things you previously had no interest in. A yoga class? Sure!
• You have a craving. For fruit, not snack food.
• The thought of going on vacation to a beach or a hotel with a pool no longer fills you with dread.