Yesterday I was talking to a friend who jumped on the scale earlier in the day. She'd lost seven pounds since November. She wasn't dieting, but was eating a lot cleaner and trying to be more conscious about what she put in her mouth. "Great!" I said. "That's almost a gallon of milk."
A gallon of milk is eight and a half pounds. Imagine carrying that around all day. Better yet, strap it around your waist and live with it. It's a lot of weight! Imagine having to carry around two or three gallons every day...you get the picture.
Nearly all the clients I've worked with have either wanted to maintain a healthy weight or lose unneeded weight. I've always tried to convey some food equivalent to the weight loss (or gain in some cases) they've experienced. The food equivalent is not meant to motivate them, but give them an easy perspective and validate that even one pound of weight loss (bag of carrots, a couple chicken breasts) is less of a burden your body has to bear.
So the next time you're a little hard on yourself because you've only lost 10 pounds, with 10 more to go - remind yourself that the 10 you already lost is a sack of potatoes your butt or belly doesn't have to deal with.
Regardless of what your weight loss goal is, give yourself reminders of how much you've actually lost. If you happen to plateau or even gain back a couple pounds, give thought to where things may be off track, set it straight and keep going.
