I just wanna celebrate!

When we think about losing weight or taking steps to become healthier, we tend to think in terms of big goals.  Like me: just once I want to compete as a bodybuilder.  I not only want to be that fit, but also want to go through all the complete and total dedication it takes to get ready for a competition.  To appear on that stage after being a size 20 and weighing nearly 240 lbs, that would feel like my "booyah!' to the world.

But when we focus on only our gigantic goals, our progress diminishes in our minds because we can only see how far we have yet to go. That's especially true when we begin to fixate on what a seemingly fickle scale says.

Over the last two years, I've learned to celebrate the small things.  Here are the things that have mattered most to me about not only losing weight, but about getting healthy.

• Boots! No seriously, every fall I'd traipse through the shoe sections (all the shoe sections!) in hopes that I could finally find a pair that would fit over my calves.  This year, every pair I have tried on has fit! The only problem is that now I want to be able to buy all. the. boots.
• Being able to take swimming lessons: I learned to swim as a kid, but that was mostly just enough not to drown. I felt like (and probably looked like) a flailing walrus-- and was completely inefficient. For years, I've wanted to be able to swim for exercise and knew I needed to take swim lessons to do it. But it was the bathing suit thing.  I sure didn't want to not only make a fool of myself, but to do it in a bathing suit.  But today, I smiled when I was on the deck, finally learning to dive without holding my nose-- and my thoughts weren't on how my body looked.
• Shopping: For years, I could only shop in the plus size section or in Lane Bryant.  And even then, the thought was always "I don't think that would look good on me" or the (completely awful) "Fat people shouldn't wear patterns that attract attention." Yeah, the mind isn't always terribly helpful either. But it's pretty awesome to be able to walk into any store and try on whatever I like. 
• Being able to run: One of the consequences of being so heavy was that I had messed up a lot of body parts, most specifically my knees.  But I've always wanted to run.  When I started working with a trainer two years ago, he made me promise I wouldn't run until he said I could so that I could heal from the injuries and balance my body.  I still don't run a lot because I lift weights instead (a point in which I am a firm believer-- but I'll write on that another time!) but the fact is I can.  I ran four--admittedly slow-- miles the other day, but I felt spectacular. It was one of those glorious days when things just clicked and I felt right in my body and nothing hurt. I felt like all the blissful people I see in magazine.  

I haven't achieved this yet, but when I do it will be a celebration for me.  I've always wanted to be able to do a chin up, and have never ever been able to do even one.  But I'm working on it at every opportunity!

Those are the things I've loved that have kept me focused on my progress when the scale says things I don't want to hear.  I could tell you other things like I sleep better and my allergies and asthma are better.  I could tell you that my back and knees hurt a lot less and that I have fewer headaches than I did.  I know some people who have gone to the doctor and learned that their cholestorol has gone down 9 points, or that they didn't have to special order their clothes.

Whatever it is for you, celebrate the small things!