Be The Weight You Want | Weight Loss Journey

Do you know what a touchstone is?  I thought I did.  I thought that a touchstone was a smooth pebble, marble, or other small object that you carried to remind you of something – like a worry stone, or a cross in my pocket – So, I carry a cross in my pocket reminding no one but me – much like tying a string on your finger to remind you of something.

The dictionary says a touchstone is a black siliceous stone related to flint and formerly used to test the purity of gold and silver by the streak left on the stone when rubbed by the metal.  Another source says it is  a black siliceous stone used to ascertain the purity of gold and silver. Assaying by touch was one of the earliest methods employed to assess the quality of precious metals.   Yet another source says it is a yardstick or an informal substitute for criterion and that a touchstone suggests a simple test of the authenticity or value of something intangible.

One thing common to all the articles I read, the touchstone evolved into a smooth polished stone, either a gem or regular pebble, in the shape of a flat oval, usually carried in one’s pocket.  The touchstone is used as a reminder of something that indicates a standard or criteria.

How do touchstones pertain to weight loss?

I will start the answer to this with another question:  Why do you deviate from your eating program or diet?

For me it is forgetting that I am on an eating program or diet; forgetting that I have a goal to lose weight and become healthier.  It is forgetting that I desire to reach my goal.  It is forgetting to pay attention to what I eat while I am eating it.

I have four touchstones that I have to carry in my pocket.  I will tell you about one of them today.  This one is to remind me and make me accountable to myself to live up to:

• I deserve to be healthier and slimmer.
• My weight loss and exercise to better health is my priority.
• If I do not take care of myself first, I can not take care of others.
• If I were at the bottom of a swimming pool, I would not stop half way up for a rest, I would struggle up to the surface to get a breath which would be obtaining my goal.

Would this help you obtain your goal?  You can use any small object as a touchstone – a cat’s eye marble perhaps, a different color for each touchstone.  Or name the touchstone – maybe priorities.  There is a site online where you can order touchstones engraved with whatever word you wish.  Or find a smooth stone and write a letter on the stone with a permanent marker such as P for priorities.

What other touchstones would help you?  Remember, it is a standard to help you make choices which help you reach your goal.

Read the rest of this series to learn about the touchstones M A G I C  H E L P.