So last week I finally hit -5 stone in weight loss.

The first 4 stone were gone in 8 months. It has taken almost 6 months to lose that 5th one. My first big goal is to lose 6 stone so I’m still working towards that. But to finally hit another one down gave me a real sense of triumph.

At the moment I’m taking part in NaNoWriMo’s (National Novel Writing Month, usually in November) mid-year Camp NaNo. You can choose your own word count and tap tap tap away each day for the whole of July, tying to reach that target by the 31st. There’s a daily milestone to reach and I love when I get that wordcount done!

One thing I’ve learned about the journey I’ve been on this last year is that I need to celebrate the small victories. Reaching my first big goal of -6 will be fantastic, but it’s taking some time to get to.  Along the way there have been be disappointments and discouragements – mainly due to my own inconsistency. I’ve taken to cheering myself on to stay motivated. If something stopped working I changed it. If I got bored with a certain food or exercise I swapped it out for something else. Now I could challenge myself to ‘stick with stuff,’ ‘push through,’ ‘go the distance’ etc. My problem is, if I lose the battle in my head it’s game over for me. So I’m doing anything and everything to keep going. Including, celebrating the small triumphs. Down a pound, not being up a pound, walking a little further, walking a little faster, clothes fitting more comfortably, some being too big.

Whatever  counts as a win – I’m taking my place on the podium and I’m gonna cheer.

In 10 days time, please God, I will be taking part in the Cancer Research UK, Relay for Life as part of a team from work. For the whole 24 hours someone from our team has to be walking. This is another huge milestone for me. To be both willing and able to walk long distances is another miracle. It’s the first time I’ve ever done a walk for charity. I’m really excited about it.

I highly recommend celebrating every milestone. Every battle survived, even if not won. Every moment of strength, even if not a complete success. Let’s cheer ourselves on, let’s cheer EACH OTHER on. Celebrate the milestones. Let’s journey on to full victory, one tiny triumph at a time. 🙂

Oh and if you’d like to sponsor me for the Cancer Research Relay for Life, please click here. Thanks xx

photo credit: Shemsu.Hor Former times Milestone via photopin (license)