So, I like goals. I add every little thing I can think of to my to-do list so that I can feel more accomplished when I cross them off. And sometimes I make big goals for myself, like running a marathon, or doing a half-ironman. But the thing I like about these kind of goals is that you finish them and then you get to cross them off the list. No matter how out of shape I might get in the future, my marathons are done and can't be taken away (Oh God, I hope they can't take the finisher's medals away!)

The kind of goals I don't like are the more open ended ones. I used to make goals about weight loss, like lose ten pounds. I can't even tell you how many times I've lost those same ten pounds. And gained them. And lost them. Recently I've tried not to think too much about my weight. I can get myself into these cycles where I count every calorie and then when I count too many I stop counting and instead eat everything in sight, decide to start counting again in the morning, positive that in the morning I'll be able to start again for the last time. But I'm also an all or nothing kind of girl -- either I'm obsessed with my weight or I purposely overeat to show how not obsessed I am.

But instead of giving up on the bigger goal of actually losing weight and keeping it off in a healthy way for a lifetime, I think I have been inspired to make that my goal again. I spent the morning reading posts from Duane and I was inspired by the long haul approach he took to getting "ironfit." I don't even have that much weight to lose so I think if I take a long term approach to making little changes I can live with year after year then I can also be successful. And I've decided to put down "eat healthfully" on my daily to-do list as motivation, because it really is the day to day stuff, not the end results, that matters the most.