Its getting colder. We are all feeling winter coming and not wanting to really exercise. Seeking comfort foods. But think of the spring!

I like to imagine the first day that feels like spring. This spring is going to be different. I will have been in too big and bulky clothes for the winter but this spring I could possibly greet that first warm day closer to onederland!

I have found myself over the last few years always regretting not changing my diet and losing weight. Especially when my Grandmother passed away and I went to the funeral. I hadn't seen my extended family in years and here I was fat. I was embarrased and my poor grandfather, I really don't think he knew who I was.
If I had just kept to that change in diet 6 months before it wouldn't have been so bad. I remind myself of that when I feel like I'm failing.

I am losing weight and that is step 1 for me. I am more active walking and riding my bike which is a benefit of step 1. There will be no more regrets. I am who I am and I'm doing something to make my life healthier and more enjoyable. My only goal this time was to lose 30 lbs and then I'd start planning from there. Well my 10% goal was shockingly close to 30lbs and I'm almost there. I needed a new goal and plan on doing the 10 lb increments but needed something to motivate me. Something to look forward too once I shed some fat! So here's my plan:

When you start getting down about winter or get the winter blues. If you feel like you don't want to exercise anymore because its too cold. Remember its only until Mar 20th! Thats 4 months away. You can hide in your big clothes, tie them up with rope if you have to, wear big bulky sweaters all winter long. Then in spring you can have you own big reveal!

Do little things each month during the winter, if you set a monthly goal or if you reach a mini goal. Get your hair lightened or cut, get a massage or facial. Give yourself a manicure or pedicure. I love buying new bras and panties - even the size I am now- it makes you feel pretty inside. Get ready for your big reveal! So if you don't have a wedding to goto this spring or aren't planning a vacation, feel free to circle the first day of spring on your calendar. Its your day!!


Anyone else want to plan their own big reveal in the spring?

Hi... Sounds like a great idea to me...my birthday is mid-April, and i am aiming to be down as much as i can be by then. I am losing pretty slowly, so i am not going to set a number goal..just strive to do the best i can thru eating and exercise..i have been slacking on the exercise a bit lately...thanks for the reminder that spring won't be too far away..i'd like to step out into it in shorts this year!!

Liz, I love the idea. My visualization will be able to buy a pair of rain pants from my favourite outfitter's store by the spring. Unfortunately, right now, I can not fit into them comfortably, (even the XXL men's ), so by the spring I am aiming to fit into women's sizes.

I want to wear shorts this year and tank tops!! My upper arms are just blech! Maybe the tank top would be best for summer!


I am so tired of always wearing capris when everyone is wearing shorts!!

CLL - Thats great that you have an item with your sights on. I'll have to keep my eye out!

Well, here in the South we don't really have spring, summer, winter, or fall - just hot and not so hot. But, late March is the time that we start hitting the beach and pool. I know that I will have gotten close to my goal weight and maybe even reached it by then. So, what I plan on concentrating on is the shape of my body rather than the size of it. I imagine wearing sleeveless tops and having much better definition to my upper arms come March. I want to hit the pool with fewer jiggles this spring. I've worked with weights since I started losing weight and I can see a big difference already. But, now is the time to step up my routines. Now is my chance to really concentrate on how I want my body to look.

This was a great idea, goalnorolls. Thanks for sharing it!

I like your thinking, Liz!

I'm planning to emerge from winter during the first week of May when I'm hoping to fly to the UK to visit my sister. The cold here (Alberta) lasts way beyond 20 March, brrr..., and the Orkney Islands in springtime are, in reality, none too spring-like either! I'm determined not to be obese when I hit forty, so I'm hoping that will spur me on through the cold winter months.

I have some size 20 shorts and capris (and jeans) that have been in my closet for 2 years and have never been worn. That's my visualization, for now! To finally fit into those clothes that have been taking space!

It sounds like you have a great plan going there. Thanks for sharing it with us.

goalnorolls, I love it! Thank you for reminding me/us of how, six months down the line, if we don't follow through we will have that moment where we think to ourselves, "Well, I *was* losing weight ... what ever happened to that plan, anyway?"

My sister's wedding is in September 2006, and I (as the maid of honor) will probably end up wearing a sleeveless gown for that. Oh, the horror! Anyway, that's a longer-term goal than spring. My spring goal is to fit into the first wave of "skinny clothes" that I have ... size 18s ... I'm currently a 22, sometimes a 24.

Isn't that the truth! I have a love hate relationship with Southern weather.

I think this is a great idea as well. My goal is to be into my "skinny" clothes taking up space in my closet. They are all a size 14, I'm in an 18 now. Sounds quite feasible. I have skirts, dresses, and shorts I was wearing last year (believe it or not) in a 14, that I can't even pull all the way up now !

I'm in oklahoma but work in a cold building so I wear warmer clothes to work!
but we do have cold days!

I've been over 230 for over 5 years.
so I have nothing smaller in my closet!

I would like to fit comfortably in my airplane seat when I travel to England this spring with my boyfriend....

I love the idea of having a "reveal" when the winter clothes come off. The only problem is that I live in San Diego--and our winter clothes are jeans instead of shorts, and long-sleeved shirts instead of t-shirts! Everything's already revealed, baby!

It's hard to visualize spring with winter only just approaching but it sort of always in the back of my mind. We're going on a cruise at the end of April and I would like to be at my goal weight by then. I haven't set it as a definate because sometimes the scales and you're body just doesn't cooperate with what you want. I'm looking forward to buying a new bathing suit and finally being able to walk around in the hot weather without my thighs chaffing so much that they start to bleed .

~Dee

This is a great idea! I have a few things I would like to accomplish this winter.
First off, I have another TKD tournament I am going to go to in April. Plan to compete again, and I would like to totally ROCK in the sparring competition! (The tournament I went to last weekend I took 4th in sparring, and didn't place in forms.) So I need to continue with my running and even challenge myself more, so I am in super condition for sparring!
Also, I would like to be at 189 by March. I started my weightloss journey in March 2005 and to be at 189 by March 2006 means I will have lost 100 lbs over the year. I've lost 63 lbs so far, so I only need to lose 37 lbs more! Plus, I cannot remember the last time I weighed under 190 lbs! I'm thinking I may have been about 15 years old, but not 100% positive.