Little Things

Weight loss is an exceptionally slow process with virtually no instant gratification. I think that’s one of the myriad reasons it’s so difficult to sustain.

I can work very hard every day for an entire month, and lets face it – I still won’t be a size eight at the end of that month. If I want to be a size eight I have to work hard every day for more like a year.

It’s really difficult to sustain that level of hard work for so long when you can’t see the difference you’re making on a day to day basis.

So I’ve been thinking about what little things I can do for myself to help my self esteem right now instead of solely focusing on results that may still be years ahead of me.

Right now for me it’s skin care.

It doesn’t take long, just five minutes or so in the morning to smooth on the three (yes I have three) different kinds of skin care lotion I use on various parts of my body every day. It makes me smell good, makes me feel good, and gives me a chance to perform a sort of daily visualization exercise.

I rub my hands over my limbs and visualize the fat and cellulite smoothing away beneath my hands, shedding off the unwanted part of me like my snake casts off his old skin every few months. I admire the smooth softness of my skin and it helps me to see something pretty about myself, even as I am right now.

It helps.

For different people this is going to be different things, but for every person there’s something you can focus on about yourself right now that’s good. Be it your hair, your face, your legs, your boobs – whatever.

Focus on that thing and give it some love and attention. It gets us a little bit closer to loving ourselves today no matter how long the road ahead may be.