Health Post #1
What is my goal?
The plain and simple version of my first goal is this: I want to be and feel healthy–to attain a level of health that allows me to thrive and live a life full of energy and adventure.
To be completely open with you, when I initially set this goal, it didn’t feel attainable–like–at all. I had tried countless times to lose weight and become healthy. Over and over I had tried to establish healthy habits–to exercise regularly , cut out sugar, cut out flour, eat low carb, eat high protein, eat plant strong. But why?
Why would I try over and over again to get something that I had “failed” at so many times? Why couldn’t I simply give up? Because it mattered enough to me. Because I wanted it that much. No one said I needed to or had to get healthier, but I wanted it for me and my future. The desire inside my heart to set a healthy example for my kids and to provide a future for myself, freed from my addiction to eating, never faded, despite all of my “failed” attempts. So, year after year I set the same goal: attain a level of health I feel good about. My New Year’s resolution was worded differently every year, but the image was the same in my mind: me–healthy and free from the weight that was holding me back from living life the way I wanted to.
My Jumpstart
Those are the words I posted on my vision board March 3, 2023, along with some pictures of healthy, happy looking women. For a whole month I did nothing to make progress towards that goal, except occasionally look at my vision board. I wanted it, sure, but I didn’t do any work towards attaining it. Then, on April 2nd I was watching General Conference (a semi-annual conference my church has where we listen to the leaders of our church) with some questions in mind, hoping God would give me some guidance.
As I was listening, the thought came to my mind, “Do the Feel Good Cleanse for three months.” I wrote the thought down, but I wasn’t excited about that answer. The Feel Good Cleanse was introduced to me a few years ago by my mom whose friend created a cookbook and program designed to heal leaky guts along with a myriad of other health and mental issues. I had tried it a couple of years earlier and it had produced amazing results, but it was HARD! No sugar, dairy, or gluten for three months? No thank you!
Well, I had invited some friends over for dinner that evening and my friend had just decided to start eating healthier. As I listened to her plan, it made me think back on the thought I’d received earlier. But again, I pushed the thought to the side with a mental, “no thank you,” and finished eating my second heaping plate of Cafe Rio style salad and a gooey Nanaimo bar.
Sitting in bed later that evening, I vividly remember, suddenly, without warning or consciously changing anything in my mind or heart, my resolve increased ten-fold. I was ready! I turned to my husband and said, “I’m going to do the Feel Good Cleanse for three months.” He said, “Okay, that’s great!” I said, “I’m starting in the morning!” He looked a bit surprised, then said, “Okay, that’s great! What’s brought this on?” I shared my experiences of the day with him and was grateful for his supportive attitude.
The next morning I began.
My Health Then & Now
I made that decision six months ago now and oh, if only I could describe the difference…I’ll try. More powerful, more in control of myself and my life is how I feel–healthier and more completely me. My mind is more clear and I feel like I have a grasp on where my life is headed. But most importantly , I’ve learned that I am not strong enough to do this alone. I have discovered what the Grace of Jesus really means to me.
Whereas before I started I felt controlled by my appetite, by always wanting to eat food. I constantly thought about things I would eat next and my cravings were endless.
As I share this, I’m thinking about a friend of mine who is a dietician. She helped me a lot a few years ago with some false beliefs I had about food and eating. I can hear her voice in my mind saying that it’s not about how much you weigh. No matter what you look like, you are beautiful. And I’d like to put that out there too.
As I share my health journey with you, please know that I am not condemning or judging anyone, including myself, for where ever you are or have been in your life’s journey. I completely, 100%, absolutely know that you and I are just as valuable and worthwhile now as I was six months ago. If you’re reading this and you’re in a similar place to where I was before I started this six months ago: You are valuable! You are worthwhile! You are completely beautiful, just as you are at this moment. Nothing about you needs to change for that to be true.
As I think back to different stages of my life as I’ve struggled with feeling healthy, I can do so with love for myself because now I see the value of my journey.
Countless times throughout my life I’ve caught myself thinking, “Why can’t this be easier?! Will I always have to struggle like this?? Why can’t it be easy for me to eat healthy foods?! Why can’t I be like her?”
I think I have my answer now. And it is this: the struggles I’ve gone through with my health (and am still going through) have brought me to this point, this moment, where I am in a place, ready and willing, to share my story with you. What I’ve learned, how I rely on Jesus Christ, as well as my thoughts and feelings regarding this topic are all going to be shared with you in the following months as I continue working towards my goal of attaining a level of health that I feel is best for me, my family, and the lifestyle I am creating for myself.
I don’t know whether you noticed, but anytime I wrote the word “failed”, above, I made sure to put it in quotations. This is because all of my experiences with eating, comparing, trying new things, learning different eating styles and exercises, even giving up–have built a foundation of beliefs, habits, and resources that I can now share with you. I have not failed. I’ve been learning. And I’m still learning. My hope is that if I share what I’ve learned with you, and you’re able to glean something from the thoughts I share with you, perhaps you can cut down on the time between wanting and attaining your goal, whatever it is.
Goal Tip #1: How to set a measurable, attainable goal.
So you may be thinking, “What’s the point of me being here, reading this? My goal is completely unrelated to yours.”
Here’s my first tip, and it’s simple: set a measurable, attainable goal and put it somewhere you can see it regularly.
Measurable
What does that mean? A measurable goal is one you can eventually say, “Yeah, I’ve completed that!” It has an ending. It has a hypothetical check-box (or a literal check-box). In my goal, the measurable part is that I want to weigh 150 pounds. I feel like that’s a good healthy weight for my body and when I get to that weight, it will be because of healthier choices I’ve made.
When I first started goal setting, a problem I ran into was making my goals measurable. One of the very first goals I put on my first vision board was, “I want to be a better mom.” That’s a great goal, right? But it’s not measurable. To make a goal like that measurable, I need to alter the wording so it says something like, “I want to spend 15 one-on-one minutes a day, completely devoted to each of my children for one month.” Or I could say, “I will read [parenting book title] and apply three things I learn from the book. Then, I will record in my journal what happened when I tried those three things.” Both of those goals would help me improve as a mom, but they’re measurable. I can say I completed them and move on to the next goal.
Attainable
Attainable means that it’s possible for it to happen. For me, I prefer to set goals that I can (if all goes well) accomplish within a two years or less time period. Setting goals that aren’t too far away creates an energy within me that helps me to accomplish more than if I’m waiting and waiting to get my goals. I personally believe that if you set your mind to a a goal that is legal, moral, and ethical, it is possible to achieve it. I’ll talk more about this in another post.
Visible
Pictures and words have a lot of power. They speak to our brains and stick there. When I put a picture and phrase on my wall or mirror and look at it regularly, it gets stuck in my brain and I think about it more. It becomes a focus. SO. When you’re trying to figure out a goal you have, to create more success for yourself, print/cut out/draw a picture and write down in words what your goal is. Then post those on your wall or mirror. I put my goals on a vision board, but the point is to be intentional.
I’ve done all three of these things with this health goal of mine and I have seen great results. I do believe in the law of attraction in the sense that good things come to those who focus on good. BUT, good things come much faster when effort is put towards making good things happen. So, what is your goal? How are you putting effort towards it? What do you want to learn next about goal setting?
-Adrianne
