Episode 179: Small Wins, Big Success: How Celebrating Every Step Fuels Your Journey

[00:00:00] Welcome back to the Back on Track Achieving Healthy Weight Loss, where I help you get on track and stay on track with your weight loss journey. I'm your host, Dr. Alicia Shelly. So let's get started.

[00:00:28] Welcome to the Back on Track Achieving Healthy Weight Loss podcast. I'm your host, Dr. Alicia Shelly. Now we all know that weight loss is a journey. It is a marathon and not a sprint.

[00:00:43] You'll have good days and you'll have bad days. And not every day feels like a win. And some days feels like a total failure.

[00:00:53] However, when it comes to weight loss and just achieving healthy weight, you got to know that it's going to be ups and downs.

[00:01:02] And so today we're going to explore how celebrating small victories can actually help you stay motivated, even on your tough days.

[00:01:12] When you're in the valley where things just don't seem to be going well, nothing's going well. There are ways where you can get yourself back on track with that.

[00:01:51] You can always lean over and not necessarily touch that person beside me. But I remember that one time I was in the middle seat and I'm like, oh my gosh, I'm finally not touching somebody.

[00:02:01] And it sounds so minuscule. It sounds so small, but it meant a lot. I had maybe just one bad experience on a plane.

[00:02:10] When I was in college, I was trying to go back home and I was on standby. And so I finally got in a seat. They called my name. They said, here's your seat.

[00:02:21] And so I go down on the seat. And so I go down on the plane. And I go to my seat. And there's this lady. I had an aisle seat. And the lady in the window seat, she looked at me and she was like, can you find another seat?

[00:02:32] Is what she said to me. And I was devastated. I was so devastated because I was like, oh my gosh, first of all, I wasn't sure if I'm going to get on this flight.

[00:02:43] I got a ticket to get on this flight. I don't want to get kicked off. I need to get home. And now you're asking me to sit in a different seat?

[00:02:52] I felt so, so uncomfortable. It was by the grace of God. There was this man. He actually was part of a Christian group, singing group. And he's like, you can sit next to me.

[00:03:04] And I was so grateful. I was so grateful because I felt so uncomfortable about that situation.

[00:03:11] And so sometimes after that experience, I've, you know, sometimes felt uncomfortable sitting next to people because you just never know what they're thinking and you don't want to touch them.

[00:03:21] You don't want to mess with their space. And so it was a big thing for me to be able to not touch somebody.

[00:03:28] And so, and you may have a small win too as well that made a huge difference to you.

[00:03:34] But there's a lot of psychology behind the small wins.

[00:03:39] Number one, small wins can activate the reward pathway in the brain.

[00:03:45] When you have a small win, it can release dopamine, the feel-good neurotransmitter.

[00:03:51] And that makes you feel good.

[00:03:53] And this creates a positive feedback loop, meaning that you have a small win, you feel good, you want to do another small win so you can feel good.

[00:04:01] And so it's just this cycle or feedback loop.

[00:04:04] Also, small wins can boost confidence and motivation.

[00:04:08] By achieving small goals, it can help build self-efficiency, the belief in your ability to succeed.

[00:04:15] I've met with a lot of patients and sometimes they've shared with me that sometimes they're not very confident that they're going to be able to lose weight.

[00:04:23] And understandably so.

[00:04:25] In the past, they tried to lose weight and they didn't lose weight.

[00:04:28] So coming to me, sometimes they just don't believe it.

[00:04:31] They're like, I don't think it's going to happen.

[00:04:33] But when you are focusing on the small goals, not just focusing on, hey, I want to lose weight,

[00:04:39] but focusing on the small goals to get there, such as, hey, I want to drink more water.

[00:04:44] Oh, I want to cut out more soda.

[00:04:46] Oh, I want to exercise more.

[00:04:48] The small wins can actually build up on bigger wins and get you to your goal.

[00:04:53] And then also, as you keep improving those small wins and keep achieving those small wins,

[00:04:59] you feel like, hey, yes, I can do this.

[00:05:02] Yes, I can achieve weight loss.

[00:05:05] Also, you're more motivated.

[00:05:07] It increases as your progress is more visible and celebrated.

[00:05:11] You feel more motivated to do things.

[00:05:13] You're like, yes, because it's working.

[00:05:14] I'm losing weight.

[00:05:16] Also, small wins can make large, daunting goals feel more manageable.

[00:05:21] They provide a sense of accomplishment even before the ultimate goal is released, is reached.

[00:05:28] And so, like I said, if you're overall arching goals to lose weight,

[00:05:32] the question is what are the small wins that are going to get you there to your overarching goal?

[00:05:39] Also, small wins have a momentum effect.

[00:05:42] Each small win creates momentum, encouraging you to tackle the next task or the next goal.

[00:05:48] There is this principle called the progress principle, which emphasizes the importance of making consistent, meaningful progress in your work or personal goals.

[00:05:58] And it helps to foster happiness, motivation and productivity.

[00:06:03] So when you are thinking, when you are actually meeting those small goals and making progress,

[00:06:09] you're more apt to stay motivated and achieve more small goals so that you can move forward in your weight loss journey.

[00:06:16] So let's talk about what are some practical tips for celebrating small wins.

[00:06:20] Number one, recognize all achievements, no matter how minor they may seem.

[00:06:26] Like I said, I was happy not to touch people in the seat.

[00:06:30] I was happy not to need a seat extender.

[00:06:33] So it's just the small things that make a difference.

[00:06:37] I don't know about you.

[00:06:38] Sometimes I'll get in a dress and I'm like, I can't believe I got in this dress because it was a size smaller than what I'm used to.

[00:06:44] So there are lots of ways.

[00:06:46] You need to recognize all achievements.

[00:06:48] Also, one way how you can recognize that is that you can journal.

[00:06:52] You can write things down.

[00:06:54] You can log your progress in order to track your wins.

[00:06:58] The funny thing is I'm not the biggest journaler, so I'll just leave that out there.

[00:07:03] But when I do journal, it does feel good to be like, hey, that's right.

[00:07:08] This did happen today.

[00:07:10] I can't believe it happened.

[00:07:11] This is a win.

[00:07:12] This is a non-scale victory.

[00:07:14] And so sometimes you have to write it down because in our minds, I don't know about you, but sometimes I can be very critical.

[00:07:20] And I can be like, you're not doing this.

[00:07:22] You're not doing that.

[00:07:23] But when I write things down, I can see that I'm making progress.

[00:07:27] It may not see it on the scale just yet, but I could see that I'm getting there.

[00:07:31] And if I could just continue doing what I'm doing, I'll see the end result of losing weight.

[00:07:36] Also, it's important to have a supportive community, whether a friend, some type of Facebook group or online community where you can just share your wins, where you can just say, hey, this happened to me today and I'm so excited.

[00:07:51] I've been struggling with the sodas or pops and now I've cut them out completely and I'm so excited.

[00:07:58] So it's important to share those wins.

[00:08:01] Also, once you have a win, treat yourself to a non-food related reward, whether it's extra relaxation time, new workout gear, a new dress, whatever it is, make sure you treat yourself for achieving the small wins.

[00:08:17] So let's talk about some real life examples of small wins in our weight loss journey.

[00:08:22] Number one, losing one to two pounds a week.

[00:08:25] Sometimes people bypass that.

[00:08:27] They're like, oh, I haven't lost anyway.

[00:08:29] But when you look back, you're like, man, you've been very consistent losing one to two pounds per week.

[00:08:33] You're doing great.

[00:08:34] We got to just keep going.

[00:08:36] I remember I had one patient.

[00:08:38] She had come back to me.

[00:08:40] I'd seen her after a month and she had lost 10 pounds.

[00:08:43] And she was so upset.

[00:08:45] She was like, I should have lost more weight and blah, blah, blah, blah.

[00:08:49] But then when I showed her, I'm like, ma'am, the realistic weight is one to two pounds per week.

[00:08:55] And you superseded that.

[00:08:57] In that four weeks, you were able to lose at least two pounds per week.

[00:09:02] So you're actually hitting the goal.

[00:09:05] But she couldn't see it because in her mind, she had a certain number that she wanted to lose.

[00:09:11] But it is important to have realistic goals so that when you do have small wins or when you may not necessarily get to your goal, at least you get close to it and it still counts.

[00:09:22] So another real life example is choosing a healthy meal over a tempting option.

[00:09:28] So I don't know about you, sometimes they'll have like different foods from different pharmacy reps for lunch.

[00:09:35] And sometimes it's like, oh, do I eat the more fatty, greasy food or do I eat the salad?

[00:09:42] And then I'll go back and forth and they'll be like, ha, let me go and eat this salad.

[00:09:46] And sometimes you just feel good that, hey, I was able to overcome that temptation because I wanted all the other stuff that they had on that plate.

[00:09:55] Also, another real life small goals is completing a workout despite a busy schedule or drinking an extra glass of water, saying no to dessert, which is hard, walking an extra 10 minutes or getting seven hours of sleep.

[00:10:08] These are just examples of small wins that we can use.

[00:10:12] Now, like I said before, it is so important to track your progress.

[00:10:17] Make sure you're writing things down so that you can come back and just see what you've been able to do.

[00:10:22] Next, make sure you celebrate your milestones, treat yourself to non-food rewards to celebrate what you have accomplished.

[00:10:30] And then third thing, make sure you share your wins with your friends, family and online communities because you've worked hard for this.

[00:10:37] And you definitely want people to know what you've been doing.

[00:10:42] Now, some other things you can do is definitely reflect on past wins to remind yourself of your progress.

[00:10:49] That's one way how we can stay motivated on the hard days.

[00:10:53] Also, focus on what you can do today, even if it's small, even if it's like, hey, I'm about to go to bed, but I got 10 minutes so I can walk up these stairs for 10 minutes or I can walk around for 10 minutes so that I can get what I need before I go to bed.

[00:11:06] Also, make sure you surround yourself with supportive people or resources and revisit your why for trying to lose weight.

[00:11:14] That will help you with motivation.

[00:11:17] Now, there are some common misconceptions about small wins.

[00:11:21] Some people like to downplay it and make it that it doesn't matter, but it does.

[00:11:27] And the reason being, while people may underplay it, they have their own reasons.

[00:11:31] But the one reason that I think is that sometimes people just get tired and they just feel very pessimistic and they feel very negative that, hey, I'm never going to lose weight.

[00:11:42] And they aren't in their heads.

[00:11:44] And sometimes the small wins may downplay it as them being effective.

[00:11:49] So it's definitely important that we reframe our minds and remind ourselves that small wins are the building box of big victories.

[00:11:58] So in order to lose X amount of weight, you have to do the small wins first so that you can be able to appreciate what they've been doing.

[00:12:06] So let's take a moment and have some action items.

[00:12:10] So if you're driving, then don't worry about this.

[00:12:14] But if you are at a table or somewhere else, take us a little small sheet of paper and kind of write down what are some small achievable goals that you can do today.

[00:12:23] And then put on there, celebrate one win from your past week.

[00:12:28] So think about what win you had last week and make sure you put that on that paper.

[00:12:32] And then I hope that you can be able to share this with other people about your actionable items that you've taken.

[00:12:38] Well, I thank you so much for joining us on the Back on Track Achieving Healthy Weight Loss podcast.

[00:12:44] We would love to hear from you.

[00:12:47] So please like this episode, share with others, and don't forget to subscribe to the channel.

[00:12:53] Also, don't forget to leave a five-star review.

[00:12:57] And if you have a small win that you want to share, make sure you tag us on social media so that we can see what you've done.

[00:13:07] Well, once again, thank you so much for everything and have a great day.