Defining Success and Day 9 - 21 Day Sugar Detox

This past Saturday I was asked to speak at the Weight Watcher meeting.  This is not an unusual request, I generally get asked to speak once or twice a year.  I enjoy doing it because I know that members have gone through, are going through, or will go through some of the same experiences as I have had.  I like to let them know that I did not lose the weight quickly, but that it took me 6 years, during which time I gained a lot of weight back before ultimately getting my goal.  For me, this my way to pay forward and to thank all the people that helped, motivated, and inspired me along my journey.

I was to speak for two to three minutes about success.  There were a set of three or four questions I was to answer in that time frame, but I asked the leader if I could just speak. 

I had thought a little about what I wanted to say.  Originally, I was just going to answer the questions and describing my "success" as reaching my goal and how I plan to maintain that, etc. 

Don't get me wrong, getting to goal is a huge success.  It's a great accomplishment and should be celebrated as such. 

But I know, from experience, that focusing on getting to goal (especially when you have a lot of weight to lose), and thinking of that as the only "success" can actually be setting yourself up to fail.

Losing weight is hard.  I believe that the little successes we have along the way should be celebrated, especially on days when we don't seem be doing well.  That is when focusing on the small success is crucial.  If I didn't follow my food plan for the day but drank my 8 cups of water, that's a success.  I didn't feel well, but I went out for a walk anyway, that's a success.  I gained weight but I show up at the WW meeting and weigh in anyway, that's a success.  

It was all the little successes along the way that got me goal.  Yes, getting to goal was a success, but for me it was the weeks (months) that I continued to go the WW meetings despite my constant weight gain that was success.  It was the hanging in there and realizing the little changes I made to be a healthier that made me successful. 

Losing a 100 pounds and going from a couch potato to a runner is success, but I couldn't have accomplished that without all the little, daily successes. 

I am taking this same mindset and applying it to the detox.  I am not looking at completing all 21 Days as success, but thinking of each day, individually, as success.  I have gone nearly 9 days without sugar.  And whether or not I complete the next 12 days, I am still successful. 

Day 8 was a success for the fact that I completed my nine mile run (a tad off program with the running foods), made healthy choices when we went out to lunch, and remained on program all day.  Success!

And Day 9 is turning into a successful day as well.