Little Steps

I read with amusement this article at MSN.com, about how Starbucks is increasing prices on their drinks to reflect the amount of steps each barista needs to put in when creating the beverage.  I was amused because every so often an article on saving money pops up with advice like “cutting out a premium beverage a day will save you x amount of dollars over the course of a year.”  The first thing that popped into my mind was “Wow, now I can save even more every year!”

Of course I’d have to buy that premium drink to save that money. 

This principle is also brought up when someone is writing about diet and lifestyle changes.  “Eliminate a pat of butter a day and you’ll save 30,000 calories during the course of a year” (exaggeration purely mine, I do not have time to do the math for you; here are the numbers to use if you’re so inclined:  pat of butter = 100 calories x 1 year/365 days).  Great idea, wonderful plan.  But what if you don’t eat butter at all?  Shouldn’t you already be that much thinner? I wish it worked that way. :)

The key is to analyze what you do eat, and to gradually introduce little changes that lead to big results.  I learned this during my weight loss journey. 

Instead of white bread, I started buying whole wheat breads. 

Instead of white flour, I began using white whole wheat flour.

Instead of pasta or rice as a base for sauces, I began using a large bowl of salad.  This is also a great way to increase your fruit/vegetable count, and there are a variety of greens out there to choose from.  Right now I have been enjoying kale greens as my base.  Adding the filler of the salad also satisfies my need to chew, and fills my tummy.  I don’t feel deprived when eating this way, and I am getting needed fiber and vitamins so my body will be healthy.

I didn’t make all of these changes overnight, but unlike all of the other times I would start a diet at the beginning of the week , beginning of the year, beginning of the day, they became habit, and the pounds came off and stayed off. 

And just think of all the art supplies new clothes you can buy with the money you save on the premium drinks! 

Before and After

A lot of people on the web and beyond are talking about the changes we have seen in our world and ourselves since the calendar rolled over to the year 2000.  I have been surprised as I take stock of the changes in my own life, and pleased to see the progress I have made in many areas, including fulfilling a 20 year dream to have a work included in the prestigious Quilt National exhibit, to win a major award with my artwork, and to become a Lark designer.

However, looking at the many things which have happened in my life during the past ten years, the most profound is the change in my physical body.

This is me in 1998, working on a piece at Susan Shie’s Turtle Art Camp.  I weighed around 240 pounds, down a little from my peak of 249 pounds on a 5’1” frame.

And this is me in November of 2009, from the photo shoot for the Athens News Annual Manual, approximately 100 pounds lighter.

I didn’t have surgery, and didn’t do the grueling program I see contestants go through on The Biggest Loser. I did begin in the summer of 2001 because I had a contract to teach at ArtFest in Seattle, and wanted to comfortably fit into the airplane seat, but other than that, I did it for me.  It  took a combination of learning to eat better, learning to move more, and great determination to shop at fun places like Old Navy.  It took me four years to lose that much weight, and it was hard won, but like all things worth the having, it was worth the wait.  I couldn’t have done it without the constant support of my family, who listened when I cried because it was taking so long, and cheered me as I moved down the scale.

It was easy for me  to discount the accomplishment because it did take so long that it never really felt like a huge dramatic change.  I’d spend months in the same ten pound range, but slowly my body changed. I think the process provides a great example of how even small steps can lead to a long journey, as long as you keep putting one foot in front of the other. 

If I did it, you can too.  In later posts, I will write more about the process, but for now I just wanted to emphasize that many resolutions are made at this time of year, and many are broken because maybe progress isn’t immediately obvious, and it is easy to become discouraged. It doesn’t have to be losing weight, it could be starting your own business, writing a novel, quitting smoking, going back to school.  Find a friend, a support group, make a determination that the change you want will happen, and then keep at it.  You can do it.  What you need is in you, and you will be surprised at what you find in yourself during the process.

In the words of Winston Churchill, “Never give in. Never give in. Never, never, never, never--in nothing, great or small, large or petty--never give in,” and you will see results.