Today I shall mostly be thinking SMALL!

14^th October 2012

The real great man is the man who makes everyone feel great!

There’s nothing AYCE about an All You Can Eat!  I read that in a book this week and how true is it!  Beside the fact it is more than likely going to make you overeat, there is so much food you can’t make your mind up what to have and instead of going up three times and getting three courses, I’ve watched people pile food on top of each other, so they’ve got Chinese on Indian on Pizza – YAK!  Sometimes their plates look like something that would be used as pigswill, what with all the different stuff on one plate!  Nah not for me the AYCE restaurant, I for one don’t like having to carry my bag up to the counters with me because it isn’t safe to leave it on the table if there’s no one there!

Anyways, just thought I’d share my thoughts on that AYCE acronym which I thought was a good line especially as we looked at eating out this week. 

Went to my meeting again yesterday morning and I helped by doing the raffle, then I won so I bought bars and shared them out, just in case they thought it was fixed!  Those new double chocolate chip cereal bars are a bit tasty.

So I have to say I’m getting as much from listening to the members as I am from the leader!  What I came away with this week was “THINK SMALL!”

REALLY, yeah that’s what I said – stop with the “BIG GRAND GESTURES”, one lady who had lost 1lb was disappointed because she lost 3lb the week before, I’d have been thrilled with that loss but no I could tell from her face she was very disappointed, she's not looking at the longer term. 

So what am I talking about well, it the unrealistic ideas that we place in our minds, for example, “I’m going to lose 2lb every week until I get to my goal”, erm nice thought but what about the weekend you are out every night because it’s your birthday, wedding anniversary or just because you’re having a night together with your pals because life’s full of stress!   Are you still going to lose 2lb that week!  Or are you going to be disappointed when you get on the scales. 

The BIGGEST MISTAKE is thinking that the SMALL STEPS aren’t important and won’t make a difference!  For example, it won’t matter if I miss my daily walk today because I’m a bit tired - it’s not going to ruin my diet if I have that biscuit and don’t track it, it’s only 1pp surely – It won’t be any different if I use full fat cheese in this dish instead of half fat. 

These small changes are what make the difference between success and failure, those ting things that you do when no one is watching make a huge difference to you overall long term success at the scales.

It’s really not the big things that you do once in a while, it’s the small things you do consistently that make the difference.

You might think it won’t make a difference in that moment, but it is the series of moments that lead to your future success on the scales.. or not. The more consistent action you take the luckier you might seem to get. Luck favours those that are consistent.  If someone is losing more weight than you, maybe they are consistently making those important correct small choices that matter!

Rather than hoping for a quick fix, Which ain’t gonna arrive anytime soon!

Think small.  YEP SMALL!

Weight loss can feel very overwhelming, especially if you have lots of bad habits, so break it down, approach one aspect at a time, nail that then move on to the next.  The key is to take ONE action step in the direction of your long term success no matter how small it is. The first step is often the hardest step to take but the most powerful. And many of us do not take it.

So go get a big black bin bag and throw away your elaborate plans.  Okay I mean that metaphorically but you get where I’m coming from.

One small action step in the direction of your goal is more powerful than any big plan with no action. The first step may not be earth shattering (it better not be cos if it is you’ve kind of missed the point!), it could be getting back to your meeting, going to the gym, walking a mile, planning your days meals, tracking everything even if you go over, adapting your favourite recipe, buy a single pack of your favourite crisps instead of a multipack.

It is the first step which leads to the next step, and the momentum builds and before you know it you’ve taken 1,000 steps. In the achievement of your goal there’s not 10,000 steps, there’s just ONE step… then another, and another and another.

Many people sit around and wait. Waiting for the perfect sign, the perfect moment… waiting is a waste of precious time now. Waiting will get you nowhere unless waiting is the necessary step in front of you now i.e. waiting until your hungry to eat again ;-). All the time you are waiting you could be taking action and moving towards reaching your target and getting to your goal.

Stop waiting till your calendars free.  Stop waiting to do it perfectly. Stop waiting for stars to align. Stop waiting until you know everything you think you need to know.  Instead, start where you are, exactly as you are. Take the small action in front of you now and before you know it, you will be heading towards your target that you were dreaming about. And the dream will no longer be a dream but reality.

Size does matter.

Think small.