Kasey Makes Brave Changes - making weight loss a reality while living the mom life

All the Ways to Be Intentional About Your Weight Loss Goals

February 8, 2019 // by Kasey Clarke// Leave a Comment

Losing those 20 pounds that have crept up over the last 10 years in a way that gets you back into that bikini you wore on your honeymoon isn’t something that just happens. Your second honeymoon is fast approaching, and those two pieces of strawberry red fabric are the key to reliving waves around your ankles and the rough palm of your new husband’s hand holding yours. So how do you get from the one piece mom suit to the bikini? Be intentional about your weight loss.

Intentional weight loss isn’t something that just comes in a bottle or a smoothie. There is a lot of tracking and awareness of how many McDonald’s fries are creeping into your food choices. There is so much water you feel like you could float across the Atlantic to England. There is also the scale. It sits on your bathroom floor staring at you like that furnace in Home Alone. You can feel the tension in the air as it invites you to step on. You put one foot in front of the other on the cool glass, stand up straight, and stare right at the towel rack, trying not to breathe. You stand for what feels like half your morning before you here that beep. “Beep, beep,” it says. “Let me show you the number,” it says. You take a deep breath before looking between your feet at the glowing red numbers.

What the number is, be it higher or lower than last time, is the tool you need to lose that baby weight we never seem to have time to banish in the midst of changing dirty diapers, packing lunches, looking for lost shoes, and realizing you only have one sock on yourself as you usher kids out the door. The number itself isn’t relevant. It is the change in the number from one day to the next that matters. If the scale goes up, it shows that stop at Baskin Robbins last night. If it goes down, it validates the zoodles you ate with your pasta sauce while everyone else is eating pasta. It’s the small successes or indulgences every day that add up to long term sustainable weight loss. Here are the best ways to be intentional with your weight loss.

Write it down!

Numero Uno will always be tracking. It’s similar to the charting I do as a nurse. If you don’t chart it, it didn’t happen in the medical world. In eating, it did happen, and it added to your daily energy intake (i.e. calorie consumption), but you may not remember it, so it is a silent weight that is holding you back.

I’m not saying you shouldn’t eat that biscotti you got with your morning coffee. Just record it. Change can’t happen if you don’t see the strong and the weak points in your day, and tracking it is the only way to see that.

Use the Scale

The scale is your second form of intentionality. We talked about it a little bit above, but its a really important tool for intentionality. You can track until you are so tired of calories and that darn notebook and that one pen that seems the only one you can ever find, but if you don’t have a way to measure what’s working and what isn’t, it doesn’t do a lot of good.

Now, you are standing in front of your scale, shivering in your undies, wondering how much this piece of metal and plastic and glass is going to invade your life. It’s up to you. So many people have their opinions, but I find I get the most use out of weighing myself daily. It sets the tone for my day. If you are more comfortable with weekly, go for it. See what works for you and your life. This is a tool, not a prison term.

Water, Water, and More Water

Every weight loss resource you have ever read has harped on drinking water, am I right? So here I am, harping on it too. Know why? Because it works. Water intake effects every system we have, and best yet, it helps shed pounds. Our bodies are super amazing at holding on to resources in case the BIG FAMINE hits the world. To get it to release its death grip on water weight, you have to talk it out of the famine mentality. Water goes a long way in that direction. It tells your body “hey, I’m here now.” Let go of that old stuff and let me in!” Your body will sigh in relief and the water retention that has been hanging out and vexing your scale will begin to receed.

Food and the BIG FAMINE

Water isnt the only thing your body hangs on to. Fat cells are the favorite target of the reptile part of your brain. To convince it to shrink that cellulite on our butts, we have to eat. Good food in decent proportions is the “no famine here” sign you need. If you don’t consume enough calories, your body won’t give up any weight.

You probably know all of this, but the other side of the sign is less well known. Fast food will not prevent the famine settin on your metabolism. Yes, it is food, and plenty of calories. It is also plenty of fat and grease and salt. It tastes great but it is conterproductive because every fat cell that shrinks is refilled with the burger you just ate. Even worse, the salt keeps the water hanging out. That double patty burger is a double whammy on your waistline.

Don’t Beat Yourself Up

The thing about life is it has a way of messing up your plans. The minute you think you have given up fast food forever, you are running late for soccer practice, the two year old is screaming because he thinks he is starving, and that drive thru is the quickest option. You get a burger because who can eat a salad and drive? It’s okay. Not every day will be amazing. Love yourself anyway. Accept that it happened and move on. Yes, it might end up showing up as a pound or two on the scale, but unless you are eating that every meal, one fast food stop won’t ruin all your progress. The next morning, make your oatmeal with fruit and keep heading where you want to go.

Conclusion

Intentional weight loss is such a work in progress. Every day will bring new challenges and new opportunities. Pre-game your meals and try to avoid the pitfalls, but understand it will never be perfect. That’s okay. If you focus on perfection, you will fall short. That’s life. Aim for doing your best and then doing everything you can to be your best self, and you will make it where you want to go faster than you thought you could.

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The 1 Reason to Love Yourself Now

February 1, 2019 // by Kasey Clarke// Leave a Comment

I started this post out as 25 reasons to love yourself now. I sat down, numbered a list, closed my eyes, and came up with 25 reasons. They looked like this:

1. You are unique.

2. No one has the same perspective as you.

3. You bring your family and friends joy.

4. You are a million in one to the world but one in a million to those who love you.

5. You are enough.

See the trend here? Each one of the above reasons is the same reason. You should love yourself right where you are in your life because there is no one else like you. In a world with seemingly endless people, you are the best version of you.

Yes, this is a blog about weight loss. It is a blog about lifestyle changes and improving yourself. That is still the same, much in the same way that as your body shrinks and your food habits change, you won’t lose your personality or your uniqueness.

You are your best version of you right now because of this uniqueness and because of what you offer to everyone around you. I want you to stop and think about all the people in your corner. All the friends who love your wit or your sauciness or your quiet thoughtfulness. Your family who makes a point to call to wish you happy birthday or who celebrates every victory. Your kids who see you walk through the front door and dance in excitement or the teenager who hasn’t said anything but who chooses to sit next to you on the couch and text instead of in her room, behind a closed door. Your coworkers who bring a fruit tray instead of a cake to a party because they know how much it matters. We don’t all have all these things and scenarios in our lives, but we have at least one. Use your minute to recall these happy moments and think about how these people are here in your life because you, as you are now, bring them joy.

Let yourself feel this joy too. For so many years, we have been taught that not only should our needs be last as women and as mothers, but also that we are not enough. Guess what, jerks? We are more than enough. This is what we must teach ourselves. Embrace your unique qualities. You know what you are good at and what to do to make those most important to you smile. Do that. See how good it feels? See how you forget about your pant size or that your neighbor looks “better” in her yoga pants than you do? Give yourself that. Once you are happier with yourself, putting effort into making yourself into the version of you that you are striving for will be like a nice Sunday stroll. Well, there will be some parts of the path strewn with goose dropping and cracked sidewalks, but the Sunday stroll feeling will be there more often and will keep you on track.

Love Yourself. You deserve it. You are Enough.

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7 More Things No One Tells You About Weight Loss

January 25, 2019 // by Kasey Clarke// Leave a Comment

So many things to learn to lose weight, and so little time to learn it, am I right? I have spent the last year learning, experimenting, and failing. Yes, failing. This journey we have undertaken will not be without its flaws, but each failure will help us learn and grow. I want to share 7 more things no one told me about weight loss. I learned every one on my own, and I want to share them with you. If you haven’t read the first installment of this list, you can go back and read it here.

1. You Will Wear Leggings

Ah, leggings. The pants that aren’t really pants. They are stretchy and comfy and don’t carry the same stigma as hose or sweat pants. They are about to become your best friend. As your weight loss progresses, your pants will lose their ability to not fall off your butt. That’s a great thing! Celebrate it. You can buy new pants every time you go down a size, but I prefer to not buy enough new stuff to cover all the days pf the week. That would get expensive as your journey continues. We are going to lose enough weight that rebuying your wardrobe will stress your wallet. Just break out the leggings and keep on changing your life without the expense of new clothes several times.

2. You Will Need Those Leggings Before You See a Visible Change in Your Body

When I first started this journey, I thought it would take a long time to change clothing sizes. It took fifteen pounds. I couldn’t see that change thanks to how high my weight was, but I could feel it in my clothes. Shirts that fit a month before became almost baggy. My pants were barely hanging in there without a belt. I went and looked in the mirror, expecting to see a difference in my body. Nope. Nothing. It wasn’t until I lost another 5 pounds that my face started looking thinner and my calves had a tiny bit of definition.

3. Not Everyone Will Notice

There are some people that even after you lose 100 pounds won’t say a word. It isn’t always clear whether they are just oblivious or are just not saying anything. We are built to want recognition for our good work so it can be a hit to your confidence if they don’t say anything. This is another good place to remember not only all the things you’ve noticed, but also the good things everyone else has said.

4. Not Everyone Will Be Happy For You

Jealously is a green-eyed beast, and that beast can overtake people you won’t expect. It could be your best friend, your coworker, or even your neighbor. It takes two different forms too. One is the person who has obvious distain for everything you are doing to better your life. The second, more common one, is the secret saboteur. This is the person that offers you cookies or makes veiled comments about your eating habits. They are the more dangerous of the two types since they are more likely to talk you in to “just one cookie” or “just one slice of pizza”. They are also more likely to bring the birthday cake to your office birthday party even though you’ve requested a fruit or veggie tray.

5. Exercise Can Cause a Weight Loss Stall-Out

Have you ever spent a lot of time lifting weights or doing other activities that build muscle? As you put on muscle, your weight will most likely stall as far as the scale goes. In college I spent some time with a physical trainer. I only lost two pounds, but I also lost inches and increased my endurance and stamina. Even now, if I spend a little time working out, my weight loss slows down. This is where NSV (non-scale victories) come in to play. The scale can be a useful tool, but it is not the last word in improving your health and your life. Celebrating other small moments that prove your changes are making a difference (needing to wear leggings or buy new pants are big ones) can help you step away from the scale not feeling like it kicked you just by not moving.

6. You Will Try Several Different Methods

People are more interested in variety than in the repetitive. Our generation has the added need for instant gratification. Thanks, Google and Amazon. Once we have the initial rush of a quick weight loss and things slow down, we start looking for the next rush. I bet you’ve tried every quick weight loss plan out there, am I right? So have I. I have tried no bread, Weight Watchers, just tracking calories, fat burning exercise programs, and no processed sugar. I’ve also tried intermittent fasting, not eating anything after 7 pm, diet pills, weight loss shakes, and just eating smaller portions. All have their varied successes and failures. Trying different plans can help you whittle down what works with your time, personality, and tastes. Cutting portion sizes and drinking water before every meal have been much more successful for me than other plans. You will find the one or combo of more than one that works best for you as you experiment.

The other thing that I do want to talk about is yo-yo dieting. We’ve all done that too I’m sure. Yo-Yo dieting isn’t the same as trying different plans for changing your habits. Yo-Yo diets are the ultimate instant gratification version of dieting. Like a lot of other instant gratification experiences, the novelty quickly fades, you give up on the all juice diet or the diet pills, and you are right back where you started. A lot of times you end up worse off than before as your body starts hoarding the calories again in case another “famine” (i.e. yo-yo diet) comes along.

7. It Will Never Be Easy

You are starting out on a lifelong journey. Every journey has pot holes and pit falls and hard spots. The birthday cake will always be around to temp you. The concession snacks at your son’s basketball game will be right in your line of sight. We can’t move ourselves into a vacuum of healthy food and lack of bad choices. Complacency will be your worse enemy. That doesn’t mean you won’t win the war. You can. Just be ready to fight the battles along the way and to give yourself grace when you hit one of those pot holes.

Conclusion

There are so many things to thing about when managing weight loss. I like to say that there are a lot of moving parts. You will feel overwhelmed at times, but you can totally do this! The key to making it is to just not stop. I love this Rodney Atkins song that reminds us to just keep going and you might just make it out before the devil even knows you are there. That is an image that sticks, and one I come back to in the dark moments where a donut is calling my name and the scale isn’t moving and dammit, I just do not want to go to the gym again. Please keep going. I’m here to help you get through to that other side.

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6 Things No One Tells You About Weight Loss

January 18, 2019 // by Kasey Clarke// 1 Comment

I want to let you know that there is an affiliate link in this post. I get a small commission if you buy anything after clicking this link, but it will not cost you anything extra.

Have you ever gone down Alice’s rabbit hole during a Pinterest search about weight loss? There is so much stuff! It seems like it is endless. It is endless, but the more you read, the more you realize it’s the same old stuff all dressed up in different princess costumes. Each one is pretty the first time, but the more you run across the same dress over and over, the more the dress loses its sparkle. The same happens with weight loss info. You need new help, not the same ole stuff again and again. Well, here it is. 6 new things about weight loss no one has told you before, and how to deal with them. No point in leaving you hanging, right? Let’s go!

1. You Will Lose Hair

Losing weight changes so many things in your body. One that can leave you gripping the shower rod in terror is what seems like all your hair swirling down the drain. You committed to losing fat cells, not hair. What the heck!?!

Here is the good news. It’s only temporary. It’s cleaning up your diet by tossing cheeseburgers and carb loaded protein bars that is behind the loss of your hair thickness. When you cut some of those sugar-laden or grease ridden foods you used to eat, your protein intake decreases right along with them. To help keep your hair where you want it, increase the protein to your daily recommended level. Every person requires a different amount of protein, and finding that number can seem intimidating, but this calculator makes it easier than finding your car keys when you are already 10 minutes late for work. I just popped in my current weight and answered all the other questions like age, gender, pregnancy status, height, and activity level to find out that mine is 100 grams a day. I know that seems like a lot, but if you are like me and are in the 275 lb range, your body uses every one of those protein grams like building blocks to sculpt your new self.

The other thing you can do to hold on to your hair is to get yourself some hair, nails, and skin supplements or a prenatal. Both have nutrients that help your body build and keep the hair it has. These Nature’s Bounty Gummies are my favorite hair, nail, and skin vitamins because the little bit of flavor feels like a treat and I’ve also because I’ve had excellent hair regrowth with them. Before I started taking them, I was getting to the scalp showing through the hair phase. It was terrifying. After a month of taking these vitamins, my scalp is back under my hair where it belongs.

2. Your Self-Esteem Will Become a Roller Coaster

I bet one of your favorite parts of losing weight is zipping up those jeans you never thought would close around your belly again. I know it’s one of mine. It makes you almost happy enough to post it on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and blow up your best friend’s phone. That euphoria is the best high.

Now, imagine two days later when your cat threw up in your purse, your toddler son is dancing naked right past your grasp when he needs to get dressed right this second or you will all be late, and you just spilled coffee on those same jeans. You run to the bedroom and catch sight of yourself as you pass the mirror and dear lord, is that a whale? Sigh. The jeans had to go anyway (thanks, coffee) but now you never want to see them again. How could they betray you like that?

I’m betting your self-esteem had its ups and downs in your life before, but now that you are doing such hard work to change yourself for the better, the emotions feel so much sharper. Before I started my journey, I was resigned to the whale feeling. Now, since I have made progress towards my goals, it feels so much more like I’m doing something wrong if I’m not feeling great about myself.

The best way to deal with the highs is yo enjoy them. That boost of happiness and endorphins will take you through the next part of the journey. The lows are harder to navigate. I prefer a two-prong process here. 1. Tell yourself you are pretty, worthy, reliable, and 30 lbs closer to your goal, whale feeling be darned. You aren’t a whale. You are a woman encountering change. Your mind sometimes is frightened by change. It needs you to keep going to learn that there was nothing to fear to begin with. 2. Remind yourself of all the positive changes you’ve seen. There will be more than just jeans that zip. You will get less winded trying your shoes or just bending over. You will be able to paint your toenails. You will be able to see your cheekbones again. All these things are great things, and they blow the whale thoughts right out of the water.

3. You Will Plateau

Who invented weight loss plateaus? Seriously. They are the worst. You are going right along with your tracker and your fast food ban or carb cut back, and bam, right out of nowhere, a scary scale number slaps you in the face. Sometimes its a stuck name for weeks. Sometimes it’s a couple of pounds that seems to leave. Then they return. Then they leave. Then they return. Do you recall calling them back? I don’t. They are like that kid in college you let couch surf for one night, and four months later he has turned up four more times with his dirty feet and scary sleeping bag.

Whichever form a plateau takes, there are some things you can do to send it on its way.

One is to start tracking again. You stopped, right? Thinking you knew what you needed to do so accountability wasn’t a big deal anymore? Uh huh. I’ve been there too. Thanks to not tracking, I fluctuated between 277 and 280 for months. Months. I don’t want you to go through that yourself, so if the tracker has fallen down the crack between your car console and your seat, dig it out and get going again.

Water is number two. Increase it. If your water doesn’t have enough water to perform its functions, it holds on to what it does have like a toddler with a “prize” he knows he shouldn’t have (scissors anyone?). Take more water in, and more water will come out. That water that is hanging out with no exit plan is most likely the pounds you can’t shake.

Number three is the hardest yet most important. Be patient. OMG right? Patience? How does that help? It helps by letting your body readjust to its new form. You just lost part of it, and your biology doesn’t like that. Remember the hunter-gatherer days when food was scarce? Weight loss meant famine which meant no next meal. Patience is needed to let your body do its freak out thing. Once it gets through it, your weight loss should begin again like Michael Finnegan’s beard.

4. You Will Have a Saggy Middle

Saggy middle? What? Don’t I know talking about flabby skin is uncomfortable? Do I ever. I’m not talking about belly fat here though. I’m talking about the boring middle part of weight loss where you have lost your enthusiasm, and it feels like yet another chore to add to your over-full to do list. Unless you have two pounds to lose that a good trip to the bathroom can accomplish, you will lose that initial excitement that weight loss starts with. It’s like any long term relationship. It gets stale after a while if you don’t work to keep the stale away. Keeping life exciting during the weight loss journey isn’t quite like it is in marriage, but is just as vital to keeping the relationship viable. Here are some ways to keep the saggy middle from becoming an upward trend on your scale.

Nonscale victories are the roses your spouse brings home from work on a random Tuesday. That scale doesn’t know everything. Focus on the other positive benefits you see, like going down a dress size or catching the eye of the cute waiter that is probably ten years younger than our 30 something years. I know that the second one is a shallow example, but sometimes just that little thrill is enough to bump your motivation in the right direction.

Forget the roses from your spouse. Buy yourself your favorite tulips to celebrate reaching your next mini goal. Maybe its another five pounds gone. Maybe it’s not stopping at that ice cream parlor across from your daughter’s daycare for a week. Setting and celebrating mini goals will keep your positive associations with weight loss going.

Talk your friend into buying herself tulips too after she joins you at the gym (it’s her mini-goal). An accountability buddy can keep you motivated and also can guilt (erm, encourage) you into going to the gym of the motivation is hard to find. You can do the same for her.

5. Your Hormones and Water Weight and Period Will Increase Your Weight (Temporarily)

Aunt Flo. No matter how nonchalant we are about the hormone shifts and bleeding monthly, we pretend to be, its a darn nuisance in so many ways. The biggest ones for weight loss are the bloating and weight gain that start setting in about a week before the bleeding starts. Unsnapped jeans on an empty stomach anyone? Then, as if that’s not enough, you get the joy of watching the numbers on the scale either stall or climb. Its torture, isn’t it?

Water weight and hormones have linked arms to bring this lovely increase to your life. You are craving chips and chocolate and all the food. The last thing you want to do is stick to all the changes you’ve made. You want to go back to old habits for comfort. The issue is that all those comforting things make it worse. The chips are especially guilty. All that wonderful salt that makes you want to lick the inside of the bag will add to the bloating and water weight. If you can stick to healthier habits especially during this week, the scale won’t be as likely to climb.

The good news here is that the day the bleeding starts, your weight will drop back into comfort zones. Not fifty pounds or anything, but that pesky 3 or 4 or 5 you gained last week will disappear like the last hairbrush in the house when your toddler is around.

6. You Will Have Loose Skin

Newsflash: we aren’t 20 anymore. Did that happen way faster than you thought it would? I did for me. Some days I feel like I’ve been whiplashed by the years flying by. So many things are different from when I was 15 years younger. One of the biggest one for us 30s ladies isn’t wrinkles. It’s skin elasticity. Our skin is an amazing organ that can adjust to many situations, but as we get older, its ability to shrink slows more than our ability to banish fat cells does. Can you say bat wings? Mine are more pronounced after removing 30 pounds from my frame. Don’t be surprised if your skin takes longer to adjust than it did ten years ago. It’s not that it won’t shrink ever, but it is a slower process. This process is a time to grant yourself grace and focus on the positives. My bat wings have elongated, but the definition in my calves is unlike anything I’ve seen since my teen years. That definition appeared without any exercise other than walking. Focusing on that change makes me so happy most days that the bat wings receed from my mind even as they hang around on my body.

Conclusion

Losing weight is hard work that rivals getting grape juice out of your mother-in-law’s new white sofa. These 6 things are here to make that a little bit more like getting grape juice out of your well-loved flowered sofa that hides stains. Easier, right? Less scary too? Let me know. I’m here to help make things as unscary as possible.

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How to Set Your Most Effective SMART Goals

January 11, 2019 // by Kasey Clarke// Leave a Comment

I want to let you know that there is an affiliate link in this post. I get a small commission if you buy anything after clicking this link, but it will not cost you anything extra.

The beginning of a new year is when you break out the promises to lose weight, balance your budget, and wear makeup every day. Dreams seem within your reach that last month felt like a long shot. New routines are established with the best of intentions. Lists are made. Planners are started. Life is good.

Then, a month or so in, your daughter starts ballet three days a week, your son has tutor appointments on the other two evenings, and the morning carpool takes precedence over the gym. You look at that list of goals you happily jotted down in a brand-new spiral notebook with an inspirational saying on the cover. Not one is checked off. You wonder why you bother even bothered.

The reason you haven’t made any progress is because your goals aren’t goals. They are dreams masquerading as goals. Without a plan to achieve your goals, they remain just out of reach. What you need now is a plan. SMART goals are the most effective way to make that plan and to achieve your goals.

SMART Goals

I’m sure this isn’t your first introduction to SMART goals. They seem to be everywhere right now. Every motivational email will talk about them. At first, I thought they were just an overrated fad. I scoffed and went about making my tried and true (yet never finished) to do lists.

Then, one day, I got tired of staring at my unfinished to do lists and decided to apply the SMART formula to my most cherished goal. The one that has been at the top of my list since I was a teenager. My weight loss goal.

I figured it couldn’t hurt. Nothing else had worked, so what did I have to lose?

In case you never really understood what SMART stands for, here is a quickie cheat sheet:

Specific – Make it something more defined than to “lose weight.” Mine isn’t just to “lose weight” anymore. It is to lose 140 pounds.

Measurable – This is where you set your finish line. You will know you’ve met your goal when you break that yellow and black tape you set up way back at the start. My measurable is to reach 170 pounds.

Achievable or Attainable – Setting a goal that isn’t feasible will just lead you to ball up the paper and throw it in the trash. It will also keep your finish line so far away that you will need binoculars to see it. Make sure you leave the binoculars at home and set a goal you can see from the starting line. My achievable piece is the 140 pounds because my starting weight was 310 pounds.

Relevant – This is where your why comes into play. Knowing why this goal matters will keep you focused and moving forward. The relevant part of my goal is my son. I want to be a part of his life as long as possible. Weighing over 300 pounds could disrupt that sooner than I would like.

Time Bound – This piece is for the procrastinator in you. She can’t get fired up unless you set a time limit for her. Make it a goal that is achievable so she doesn’t loose interest right away, but make it one that is also a little bit challenging to keep enticing her to move forward. The time bound part of my goal is 2 years.

So, now that you know a little more about SMART goals in general and my weight loss SMART goal specifically, I’ll show you how to make it a little more yours.

First

Handwrite out each letter vertically like we used to do in grade school. I like to use a ruled piece of paper because my ability to write in a straight line is not great. It looks a little like this:

S
M
A
R
T

Second

Use a pencil or an excellent erasable pen like these awesome Pilot Frixion pens for the first draft. This lets you make changes until what you write mirrors your dream.

Third

Rewrite your goal in permanent ink. Make it concrete so that your mind takes it seriously. It’s a contract you make with yourself that way.

Fourth

Make it into a single sentence you can get to know intimately. You are making a commitment to your goal. In one sentence, my goal looks like this: I am going to lose 140 pounds in two years to reach 170 pounds so that I can improve my longevity and my time with my son.

Fifth

Put it somewhere you can’t ignore. Post it on your bathroom mirror or at your desk. Tape it to the front of your planner. Keep a card in your wallet. It doesn’t matter where as long as it makes you think about it regularly. You don’t want it to be easily ignored, or it won’t hold the weight it needs to help you make the changes you need to make to reach that finish line.

Conclusion

Writing a to-do or a resolution list will get you nowhere near achieving what you want to achieve. You need to make a plan. Setting a SMART goal is the outline of that plan. Your goal needs to be specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound to have any chance of making it past the initial burst of inspiration that made you decide to set that goal in the first place.

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