Tip #20: Aim for more than skinny

Everyone knows someone like this...the skinny chic that drinks nothing but Dr. Pepper, eats whatever she wants, and never exercises. You may hate her, but she is simply blessed with something called, genes. Don't envy her too much though, skinny chic may look the part, but if you could look a little deeper, you'd find one unhealthy gal.

Skinny cannot be your ultimate goal; healthy must be. Sure it's great to lose weight, and to fit into clothes you wore long ago; but if "skinny" is your only goal, you could be on a dangerous path. Why? Because people can get skinny by starving themselves, throwing up their food, eating foods that are terrible for them in small amounts, replacing meals with an addiction like smoking...and the list goes on. Skinny people have heart attacks, skinny people have major health problems. Skinny cannot be the goal. Frequently as one endeavors to make "healthy" their new lifestyle, shedding some pounds along the way is a glorious by-product, but becoming skinny mustn't be the ultimate goal.

If you make thin your ultimate goal, you'll often become frustrated, give up, not recognize all of the positive changes that ARE happening, and never be satisfied with where you are at. If you adjust your perspective and make healthy your goal, you can acknowledge and celebrate the little changes you are making day by day. Maybe you can't quite fit into the pants you want to fit into yet, but you have more energy, you are sleeping better, you feel better, you are preventing future diseases and health problems, and you are positively affecting and influencing your loved ones around you. And that right there? Priceless. Stick with it, and eventually those pounds will come off; those inches will dwindle. In the mean time...celebrate the little changes, the healthy choice you made today, the progress you are making, and press on my friend. There is SO much more to life than skinny.