8th May 2011

What we are today comes from our thoughts of yesterday, and our present thoughts build our life of tomorrow: Our life is the creation of our mind.

Sunday morning, 8.30am and I managed a lie in, Alfie let me sleep till 7.30 bless him and check me out, I stayed out till 2am! Not only stayed out but stayed awake ;D anyone who knows me well knows I don’t do later than 11 whatever the occasion, I physically can’t keep my eyes open, but diet coke seemed to do the trick and lots of laughter helped too. It’s so good to laugh and I think sometimes people forget, we had paid to watch stand-up but to be honest I was already crying before the show even started thanks to the ladies ;D

It was an eventful day yesterday for me, I woke up realising for the first time in almost 7 years I was soon to be ‘employed’ again, rather than ‘self employed’, don’t worry I will still be a Weight Watcher leader, only our employment status changes. Then I went to have my hair done for the first time since Christmas 09! I had no idea what I was having done to it when I walked it, I put myself at the mercy of Laura and I came out a different colour and I’ve lost about 5/6 inches, and this morning it doesn’t look anything like it did last night thanks to the rain last night ;D

We were planning on a Chinese last night as we were in the Chinese quarter of Birmingham, unfortunately when we came out of the comedy club, they were all closed, so it was a balti instead (and not a very good one – I left a lot), so today I I’ve decided I’m going to make the Chicken Chow Mein I fancied last night, if you fancy having a go, here’s the link to an easy version. http://www.happyowls.co.uk/ChickenChowMein.html

So I have a new hair cut and a kind of new job but not ;D. Nearly everything in your life is there because you chose it, your work, friends, clothes, hobbies, possessions etc, even to some extent your health! They are the culmination of life choices, conscious or unconscious that you’ve made. Do you imagine your future differently; do you imagine a future where you weigh a lot less and feel a lot healthier or more confident – YES? Well to achieve this future you’ve have to set goals because without them, the future chooses YOU!

Actually deciding what you want is the hardest part of goal setting? You may be thinking no it isn’t “I just wanna be thin”, but how thin, how much do you want to lose, how much would you like to weigh, is it a number that your striving for or a level of fitness, will you be happy whatever you weigh when you can run ½ mile or run round with your kids? When setting goals you need to be specific, that’s any goal not just a weight goal. “I wanna lose weight” is vague, “I want to lose 21lb” is specific. Knowing why you want to achieve the goal helps too, “I want to lose 21lb because…

- I will be able to say I’m within a healthy BMI for my height.
- I will be able to wear all the clothes in my wardrobe that I’ve kept from 3 years ago.
- I will look amazing in my wedding dress.
- I will be able to run the race for life rather than walk.

Our reasons are always personal to us, and they’re our motivation to continue. Why not write your goals down, say them aloud every day, maybe first thing in the morning to remind yourself. Visualise achieving your goals. Where are you? What are you doing and feeling?

Once you’ve realised and decided your goal you have to work out how long you’d like it to take you to achieve and how you plan to do it. Most importantly make sure your goal is realistic and achievable. It’s no use saying I want to lose 10st in 10 weeks and grow 2 foot!

Take it one day at a time, take a small step each day and if you feel stuck, ask yourself, “What is the easiest step I can take now in the direction of what I want?”

Most important, enjoy the journey and smile xx