Celebrating Success

You've worked hard.  You ate clean every day and hit your nutritional targets.  You gave your all every workout and never missed a day.  You're down to your goal weight.  You have abs of steel and the glutes of a statue.  You had to buy a whole new wardrobe because all of your old clothes were too big.  Congratulations you are an infomercial-worthy success story.  Have a piece of vegan cheesecake and some sparkling water to celebrate.

Is that not you???

For the other 99.9% of us out there, when you have success, however small, you need to celebrate that as well.  Did you lose a couple pounds?  Celebrate.  Did you finally get to 15 reps on each move in Ab Ripper X?  Celebrate.  Did you make it through the Insanity warm-up without having to stop?  Celebrate.  Can you fit into those pants? Celebrate.


What I mean by celebrate is to recognize that you are making progress toward your ultimate goal and give yourself a pat on the back.  The bigger the milestone, the bigger your reward can be.

Don't go overboard

Now when I say celebrate, I don't mean to go out and have a cheeseburger, fries, and a brownie sundae.  What you don't want to do is get sidetracked from reaching your goals and counteract what you're celebrating.  You have to know yourself, what your limits are, what your triggers are, and what is in your best overall interest.  If you are going to celebrate by having a cookie, don't let that send you down a path of having a cookie every day or maybe a whole box of cookies.  If you're going to celebrate with a beverage, take it easy.  If you're going to celebrate with a meal at a favorite restaurant, don't go for the deep fried foods and the chocolate lava cake.  It's not going to be worth it.

5 Celebration Ideas

1. Write what you're proud of on your Facebook status
2. Buy a new, better fitting piece of clothing
3. Do an extra workout
4. Have a cheat meal (but count it and own up to it and get back at it tomorrow)
5. Sit back, reflect on what you've done, and smile

If you set realistic goals and put max effort into the diet and exercise routine, you will make progress.  It might be slow at first.  It might seem like nothing is really happening.  Take some time each week to reflect on where you were and where you're at now.  You may be pleasantly surprised that you have some reasons to CELEBRATE!!!