My Baby Steps to Better Health: My First Step

How many times have you set a New Year's Resolution to lose weight? For the last few years, mine has been to lose 40 pounds. Wow--talk about lofty goals! No wonder I am still overweight. My goal was too mind-boggling for me to contemplate in everyday moments of temptation.

I think a better solution is to scrap the New Year’s Resolutions completely and concentrate on setting short-term, achievable goals. By taking things one day at a time and making small changes, I hope to form the healthy habits I need to alter my lifestyle and not only lose the weight, but keep it off.

So let’s get this straight. I am on a journey to lose those 40 pounds, but as Confucius said, “The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.” And my first step is to set two short-term goals. I'll re-evaluate these goals in two weeks. If I've done well, I'll set new ones. If not, I'll try again. I'll also keep a running total of my weight loss (in percentages) and track it every week.

I'm hoping that by setting achievable goals, being held accountable, and taking things slowly I will see lasting results this time. Hard work and patience are the key to weight loss. In the words Benjamin Franklin, “He that can have patience can have what he will.”

So here goes!

Here are my "before" photos: