How I am changing what I know to what I do.

I recently read a quote that really had me thinking.  "Happy people plan actions, they do not plan results".  I know where I want to be but I have to be realistic about it.  You don't go from the very bottom to the top with one leap.  People say keep your eye on the prize and keep looking to your goal, but when it comes to weight loss and health management sometimes this is insurmountable.  Sometimes it seems too far off.  What I have learned is that for me, I need to take the things I know and use them to make the actions that will get me to where I want to be, but looking at each and every one of these actions as an accomplishment, Constantly keeping my eye on each individual battle until I have won the war.
I started last week discussing the things I know I need to change and using new philosophy I have set a plan for myself to use these to create a system to make these the things that I do.
I started with eating right. When we first started this journey we went headfirst in to healthy eating with unreal expectations, I think, that we would not miss the junk food.  WRONG!   And to make matters worse, with the holidays and their time constraints, grabbing that burger was so much easier.  With a hard fall off the wagon, we started this time with a new approach.  We need to not deprive but limit ourselves when it comes to the not so healthy foods.  Allowing ourselves a little indulgence each week just strengthens our resolve in the diet.  I am also an awful late night snacker.  NO MORE!  KITCHEN CLOSES AT 8:00PM!  This will be hard for me but I know it is a must.  These with an overall healthier weekly menu, I believe this will put us back on track.  I am using these concepts of changing the "I know I eat unhealthy" to the "I do eat healthier."
The next thing was exercise.  This one is the hardest for me.  Not because of desire but because of time constraints.  I know that I need to move and one cannot consider Rapid Eye Movement during my nap as exercise.  I know that if I stay at home I will find excuses.  So we took the money and joined the YMCA.  We can make it a family event with daycare available.  So now my number one time restraint will be with me jumping on the mats at the gym. I am gradually increasing my time on the elliptical machine and rowing machine and will be working in weight training slowly.  I guess the tortoise was right, slow and steady is winning the race.  A plan is in place to change the "know" to the "do". In the words of a national sneaker company, just do it.

The final thing was being motivated.  If you ask me, staying there is the hardest part.  It is easy when you first start to be ready to try anything.  But, slowly it diminishes and you find yourself repeating the same bad habits over and over and over and over and over again.   For me the cause of the slip in to the old habits is the overwhelming sense of failure that I was sure I was going fail (even though I had done nothing to fail at)  I knew in the bottom of my heart that there was no way I would make it to the race.  What I now know is that I need to look at the smaller accomplishment that will get me to the physical strength and readiness to finish the race.  I know that there will be times where it feels like it is impossible. I know I will make mistakes and have set backs but knowing that I can pick myself up, dust off and start at the place where I fell.   This will be the constant reminder in my head telling me never to stop.
I am ready, not for the race but for the challenge of getting there.  I know that I can do this, now I just need to DO IT!