FAT Snowball

Finished Session 2 of Made to Crave. It was a good class except that I talked too much as usual.  We had good discussion about some of the challenges we face, and I loved it when some of the ladies were willing to share some of their victories.

I'm all about acknowledging when I've messed up and then celebrating what I've done right.

One of the Jesus Girls talked about how she and her husband have attended Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University and they have started budgeting, using the envelope system and are becoming debt free. She was frustrated because she and her husband were able to work through their financial issues, yet she struggles to put a food plan together and stick with it.

First off, I think she's being too hard on herself, but I understand her frustration.

You don't get out of debt or lose weight over night.  It takes the "want to" to make it happen, it takes a plan and the willingness to sacrifice and suffer some discomfort, it takes goals and the patience to reach them and it takes small victories along the way to keep you motivated and moving toward success.

Part of Dave Ramsey's plan involves what he calls the debt snowball.  Identify your debt, pay off the smallest debt first and roll that payment into the next debt until it's paid, and so on.  He acknowledges that this plan helps the bottom line, but more importantly those small victories keep you motivated to tackle the next debt.

For me to be able to lose weight I had the find the 'want to'.  I needed a plan, and the willingness to sacrifice and 'suffer' some discomfort. I needed goals and the patience to reach them.  I NEED the small victories along the way to keep me motivated and moving toward success.

I'm trying NOT to visualize that each time I lose a pound of fat that it's snowballing into a big round ball somewhere.  That's just gross!  (Here's where I make a pun about my bottom line.) But the small victory of that first pound, eventually five, then ten and now 20 is keeping me focused on succeeding.

I've had setbacks and challenges and weeks where I've actually gained weight.  Working through money issues are similar.  There will always be cars that breakdown, a large utility bill or emergencies. There will always be long hours at work, a family celebration or boredom, loneliness and grief. But having the 'want to', the plan and the willingness to sacrifice and 'suffer' will get you through the rough patches, so why not celebrate the victories and keep working on that snowball.

Being $20,000 in debt and being 20 pounds over weight have a lot in common working towards the bottom line. (Sorry, I couldn't help myself!)