Can you even believe the first quarter of the new year is almost gone? You may have been among the millions motivated to make some positive changes in your health for 2024. In fact, a whopping 82% of people surveyed declared weight loss and/or improving their fitness as their #1 priority for the year. Well, here we are, three months in…how’s it going with all that?

By this point on the calendar, those lofty goals set at the new year have probably faded far from sight like a mile marker disappearing in the rearview mirror. But life keeps rolling along and we’re all here for the long game, right? So now what? Both weight loss and fitness goals are very much worth pursuing for your now and for your future, so why are they so easily discarded? I’ll answer for you…it’s the illusion that you’re not making progress. In my experience with clients, the one thing that kills their drive and momentum the most is their unhealthy relationship with the scale.

Allow me to encourage you to think different…

Instead of letting those three numbers on the scale make you feel some kinda way about yourself, how about we put things in their proper place.

While body weight is certainly an important marker of overall health, let’s agree to NOT give the scale the power to mess with our heads, okay? Okay!

Maybe this year is the first time you’ve considered giving your health an upgrade. Or maybe you’ve gone around that mountain and have come face to face with frustration more than a few times. While a resolution to “lose weight,” is a good place to start, when it comes to improving our day to day health there’s so much more than meets the eye.

How about from this point forward we look beyond those three numbers and really evaluate our health by other, more important, metrics?

If you consider the weight loss journey as your personal mountain to climb, with all of the ups and downs along the way, the metrics below provide a much more complete picture of your health in relation to how you actually live and function in your day to day life. After all, I believe that is what we all really want, regardless of what the scale tells us. Living better for longer is the BIG idea, or keeping death at a respectable distance as I like to say.

No doubt there’s countless approaches to successfully losing weight and improving one’s health. No matter which strategy you choose, the important thing is to stay locked in to your plan and give yourself lots of grace along the way.

As you go, I encourage you to acknowledge that body weight is but only one marker to measure in this Deep Health game. Instead, as we commit to making our wellness a priority this year, how about being mindful of our progress in the terms of how we function at the day to day tasks of life?

Ask yourself:

😋 Do I feel satisfied after eating?

💪 Do I notice an increase in strength and stamina?

😃 Do I feel more energized throughout my day?

😴 Do I experience better quality sleep?

💩 Did I poop today?

😎 Do I feel less anxious?

😊 Do I feel happier?

It’s a big shift in thinking, but the point is to be present to these types of daily victories that help mark important progress, keep us motivated and give cause to celebrate WHILE on the journey!

Let me remind you that you can do more than you think you can. Be encouraged and keep going! (And throw your scale out the window if that helps…no, seriously, go ahead and toss it, you have my permission 😉)