Maintaining Healthy Goals and Expectations

well said dragonchilde, i have learned from experience there is no room for perfection in a weigh lose journey.. One day at a time....

I focus on fitness success's . I picture myself, able to do moves i can't right now. Once it was a JM move that was just elluding me, now I can do it. side plank with a leg raise. Once it was non modified pushups, now I rock those.
I picture so many things I can't do and just focus on being able to do them in the future.

How sad that most, if not all, have issues with at least one portion of their body.
Whether it's shape, or whatever, for reasons known only to themselves (and sometimes not even that) - most are unhappy about something.

It's a sad statement on the culture we've grown to accept as normal, I guess.
Everything is about comparison, rather than just becoming healthy and well on your own, for its own sake.

Not even saying I don't fall into the trap.
However, I am beginning to be able to stand in front of a full length mirror in my underwear, on occasion, and not cringe. To me, that's an accomplishment. I realize my age, the fact that I've had children, and a number of other factors mean that my body will never resemble those airbrushed magazine photos - but as long as I'm satisfied, and my hubby definitely is - well, that should be sufficient (and most days, it is)

That happens when you are just starting the lifestyle change journey. If you get close to where you want to be, you tend to be more satisfied, even though it is not a complete satisfaction. So you feel more relaxed, and try not to go back to your old self at least.

I absolutely have this issue.. I catch myself dreaming about my body-to-be, and often losing sight of my short term goals.

Hermmmm....

No one does anything perfectly. :) The most important lesson you will learn is that there is no room for perfection in the weight loss journey. You will have ups and downs, good days and bad days. Your end result may not be an airbrushed model in a magazine.

Will you one day be able to wear a bikini? Maybe. But I think that you should focus on setting goals you can control. It's one thing to daydream... I'll admit it, I do the same, although it's REALLY unlikely I'll ever have a bikini-perfect body. I've had two kids, and pregnancy was not kind to my body.

But you know a secret? Very few people DO have a bikini perfect body. I went to the beach last week, and was there for oh, 5-7 hours?

You know how many bikini-perfect bodies I saw?

Zero. Out of the hundreds of people I saw there, not one would qualify as perfect. There were slender women, fat women, tall and short. No perfection. Even the slenderest had a pooch, or a saggy butt, or scars, or stretch marks, or any number of "flaws."

Know why? They're human. Even the models you see in magazines aren't perfect. They're photoshopped and airbrushed within an inch of their lives.

Keep dreaming. That's totally fine, and healthy. But don't place the burden of succes on something you can't control.

no I don't have that issue. I like eating a clean healthy diet. I love working out. I love seeing the changes in my body. I also have body image issues and still see myself as fat even tho I am the smallest I have ever been as an adult.

I know that in theory this should be a healthy, gradual journey where I combine exercise and eating right with attainable goals that aren't necessarily dependent on numbers on a scale. That makes perfect sense to me.

But can anyone actually do that perfectly? I keep catching myself thinking of looking super skinny in a bikini and weighing 110lbs and how people will think of me. I wish I would day dream about feeling healthy, having more energy, not worrying about the scale, and being really proud of myself.

I also recognize that my 'day dreams' of being skinny in a bikini probably make me more likely to fail so my question for everyone is do you have to force yourself to think about being 'healthy' rather than being 'skinny' like I do?