When done honestly and gently, an end-of-the-month progress reflection can be a great way to find success on your weight management journey. All of us have goals we want to achieve in the future, but how many of us actually take the time to see how far we’ve come?
Why Progress Reflection Makes a Difference in Your Health
The journey with weight is filled with ups and downs as well as triumphs and challenges. Sometimes we get lost in the shuffle where it’s hard to determine just how far we’ve come and what we need to do in order to go even further. We often get caught in our long-term goals and forget to reflect on all the short-term goals we’ve achieved along the way.
Taking time to reflect on your progress is a powerful way to stay motivated. It’s also a great way to stay accountable! Let’s say you started the month with a goal to exercise an extra 10 minutes each day because you wanted to increase your endurance. Maybe you met your goal and have unwavering confidence that you’re on the fast track to weight-loss and improved fitness. But perhaps you stumbled here and there and you’re not quite sure where you went wrong. And maybe, just maybe, you have doubts about your progress and how you’ll perform the next month if you strive to meet the same (or similar) health and fitness goal.
This is one example where reflecting on your progress can really come in handy. By taking a nice chunk of time and devoting it to examining your challenges, recalling your barriers, recording your successes and so on, you’ll have a better understanding of where you are at on your journey. This increases the likelihood of achieving both your short-term and long-term goals.
Tips for Writing a Helpful and Motivational Progress Reflection
Not all of us are writers or deeply in-touch with our life journeys. It’s easy to get lost while going through the motions of daily life. These simple tips can help you reflect on your progress and map your blueprint to health and wellness success:
Invest in a Journal that Inspires.
You might consider spending a couple of bucks on a sturdy, inspiring journal that ignites your creativity and fuels your motivation to work hard at achieving your goals. On the inside cover, write your name and maybe a few personal words to yourself.
Schedule Enough Time to Write.
Use a calendar to schedule 20 – 30 minutes (at minimum) at the end of each month to journal your reflections. Treat this time commitment the way you would a work assignment or a school function. Your health is just as much of a priority!
Write about Food and Fitness.
Nutrition and exercise are two important parts of the weight management equation, though they’re not the only ones. Take a moment to journal about your favorite healthy meals you’ve made this month and some of your most successful workouts. Or, talk about some of your nutrition and exercise challenges and don’t be afraid to get honest with yourself. Maybe you found yourself emotionally eating at times, or too tired or unmotivated to squeeze-in a workout. Include all of these components in your reflection to help you assess any “next steps” you need to take. Next month, you can see if you did any better.
Write about Your Lifestyle.
Other factors affect your weight in addition to food and exercise. How was your sleep this past month – too little? Too much? Were you able to manage stress productively and navigate any challenges on your way to your goals? In this part of your reflection, talk about everything that you felt affected your journey. From your schedule and time commitments to your water intake, health challenges and more, journal about all the factors which impacted your weight management journey this month.
Have a Section Just for Success.
Don’t let your reflection be all negatives with no positives. Write about your triumphs too, even if there doesn’t seem to be a lot. Maybe you took a day to focus on self-care or re-organized your kitchen to help you meet your nutrition goals. Perhaps you tried a new workout or even made a delicious new recipe! All positives make a difference.
Make a Section for Improvements.
This section is your catalyst toward all future successes. After whatever challenged you this month, explore different ways that you can make improvements and write these strategies down. Maybe some will work and maybe some won’t. That’s okay. This section should be a positive write-up that brainstorms ways for you to succeed.
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