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Healthy Helper

Health. Happiness. Helping Others.

Real Tiny Wins

A discussion on redefining what counts as a ‘win’ in life instead of focusing on aesthetics, physical achievements, weight loss goals, or food restriction. There is so much to celebrate in your daily life…focus on the things that matter and make a difference!

Sometimes commercials really bug me. As if we’re not bombarded enough on the daily basis with diet products, weight loss stories, and news coverage about how to slim-down, tone-up, ‘whittle our middles’…but to have to be hit with it during the middle of enjoying one of our favorite shows? That’s just wrong.

I’ve shared my view on diet food and diet product commercials in the past and I hope that by building awareness about the potentially harmful messages, we can stop people from reading too far into them and being negatively influenced by them.

One commercial series that really gets my makes me angry is the ‘Tiny Wins’ promotion by a popular low-cal beverage company. I’ll link to the commercial but I won’t post it here in case it triggers anyone.

The basic premise of the commercial is that leaving food on your plate at a meal (and other restrictive behaviors) is a ‘tiny win’ in your day that you should be proud of and celebrate!

Not finishing your meal is a ‘win’? Since when! We need to eat people. Of course, if you’re too full that’s one thing, but purposely trying to restrict your food is unhealthy and dangerous. For all the impressionable minds out there I think it is irresponsible of a large, popular company to be promoting such behavior.

I think it’s time we celebrate some REAL ‘Tiny Wins’ like….

Real Tiny Wins | Healthy Helper @Healthy_Helper A discussion on redefining what counts as a 'win' in life instead of focusing on aesthetics, physical achievements, weight loss goals, or food restriction. There is so much to celebrate in your daily life...focus on the things that matter and make a difference!

Making a special memory over the course of the day.

Being able to lift a little more weight than you could the day before.

Walking out of a meeting feeling like you owned it. | Kaylin

Doing well on a project you worked really hard on.

Taking the first sip of your perfectly brewed morning cup of coffee out of your Dixie®To Go cup.

Dixie ToGo

Fully immersing yourself in recovery. | Julia

Getting acknowledged for the extra effort you put in at work.

Having something to be thankful for after a tough day.

Inspiring someone to adopt healthier habits. | Kerri

Being able to smile at the person you see reflected in the mirror.

Satisfying a craving and not depriving yourself of the joy food can bring.

Being told by someone who you’ve helped them in some way.

Having a positive body image day.

Taking your lunch break to get some fresh air. | Jess

Making it inside from your run right before a huge downpour.

Having a heart to heart conversation with a good friend.

Baking a batch of cupcakes COMPLETELY from scratch. | Catherine

Finding a new outfit that makes you feel confident and fabulous.

Getting a good night’s sleep.

Practicing gratitude and journaling daily. | Nicole

Scoring the perfect parking spot.

Not spilling your drink on your way to work thanks to Dixie®To Go cups.

Dixie ToGo

Disconnecting from technology for a few hours and realizing how great it feels.

Making someone else’s day.

Sending a care package to someone in need.

Being able to receive a compliment instead of just denying it.

Filling your body with foods that make you feel good.

Brightening someone’s day with a smile.

Taking time to rest and listen to what your body really needs.

Spending time with a loved one.

Acing your morning routine thanks to your Dixie®To Go cup.

Dixie ToGo

[Tweet “Let’s celebrate REAL #tinywins!]

These are things that truly fill life with ‘tiny wins’. Moments like these are what make life rich. Not eating only half a meal or trying to trick your hunger cues with a sugary, artificial beverage. Life isn’t about depriving yourself…of food, of love, of hope, of ANYTHING. It’s about filling your heart, filling your soul, and filling your body with things that nourish it!

I am so sick of seeing things in the media promoting deprivation, restriction, shrinking, and ultimately fading away from the person you’re meant to be! How about advocating growing, thriving, and taking up as much space in the world as you deserve? Life is not about rigid diet habits. It’s not about perfecting an outward appearance or perfecting ANY part of your life. There is beauty in imperfections. They’re what make us human, make us relatable, and make us WHO WE ARE. So start celebrating the REAL tiny wins in your life. Anytime you’re being authentically you….YOU’RE WINNING.
Dixie ToGo

I am so happy companies like Dixie® support this message and use their promotional campaigns to promote ACTUAL GOOD in the world. Their new Dixie®To Go cups are the Official Cup for crushing those ‘tiny wins’ in your life. They’re leak-resistant lid and have insulated layer to give you the best on-the-go beverage experience you could ask for. No effort, no clean up, no worries. So you’re left with more time to focus on things that matter. Sure ‘tiny wins’ may seem small to the outside world, but when you’re celebrating little accomplishments throughout your day, you’re setting yourself up to CRUSH IT.

Dixie ToGo

Crush those small goals you set for yourself everyday!

Click To Tweet

What’s a REAL tiny win you’ve had in your life lately?

 
 
 
 
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82 responses to “Real Tiny Wins”

  1. Woot! Thank you for talking about this subject matter! Loved the tiny wins you shared. Here’s a recent one of my own: Sending a thank-you letter to a jewelry small business I love and respect just to thank them for being an awesome business! And getting a fantastic thank-you email back to me because they said I made them smile! Making someone’s day: that’s a tiny win

    Reply

  2. AWESOME! I love the REAL tiny wins.
    This mornings tiny win was getting up (4am) and getting out the door and getting that run in, despite wanting to stay cozy in bed. I felt amazing afterward and that feeling is more than a tiny win 🙂
    Thank you for posting about this, it’s so important. I have similar sentiments about body image and was glad when Dove finally took a stand against the airbrush mafia that is put in front of our face and our daughters faces constantly! Small steps in the right direction will eventually move mountains!

    Reply

  3. LOVE your tiny wins! mine is fueling my body enough to breastfeed baby william -it makes me hungry all the time which is awesome cuz it means i can eat all the time haha

    Reply

  4. Agree: WAY too much focus on weightloss and the number on the scale. My tiny win is getting to spend time with friends this weekend.

    Reply

  6. Women are constantly expected to act a certain way (and always be on a diet!). I can’t stand that feminism is with “skinny”…these are two separate entities, and this post demonstrates that beautifully. Thank you for promoting positive feminism in a non-judgmental way 🙂

    Reply

  8. I love all your ideas for REAL Tiny Wins! We should all follow them. My son had a terrific “tiny win” by passing all his college courses. It was not an easy semester and he worked hard so we are thrilled!

    Reply

  11. This commercial makes me sick to my stomach! EATING LESS makes you hold ONTO fat! Eat more to be lean and gain muscle 🙂 Sigh, when will society stop poisoning our minds?
    My tiny win? Being able to do a headstand on my first attempt ever!

    Reply

  12. I think out interpretations of that commercial are totally different. To me, it doesn’t appear as though crystal light is trying to get women or men to restrict their eating habits. There are many times where I bring home half of my meal. I am not restricting myself, I know that I do not need to eat ALL of that food at once. Since America is such a gluttonous society, I think the message that is being broadcasted is that you do not have to finish all of the food in front of you at once. I don’t even think they’re advertising to use crystal light as a replacement or anything like that. While I do not purchase crystal light or most artificial “good for you” products, I don’t see them as being HORRIBLE for a person who is just starting out and beginning to make small changes. After a certain time, however, I do think its important to cut out those artificial products, but I don’t think that crystal light has advertised any negative practices in this ad.

    Reply

    • I can totally see where you’re coming from. I guess I just don’t like the message that not finishing a meal should be a source of pride or empowerment for someone. If you listened to your body and stopped when you’re full, that’s one thing. But just stopping half way through because that’s what you ‘should’ do seems to be sending the wrong message! I appreciate you sharing your perspective! 🙂

      Reply

  13. Absolutely LOVE this post. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and your tiny wins :). Such an encouraging post. Two tiny wins for the week would be getting PR on my deadlift and enjoying a few bowls of my favorite cereal 🙂

    Reply

  14. YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Love this post! I tweeted about how much I hated the new Crystal Light commercials after I saw that sandwich one a couple weeks ago! IT’S JUST PLAIN DUMB!!!!!!

    Tiny win for me: Making the little 10 month old I nanny LAUGH HYSTERICALLY! His laugh just brightens my day!!! 🙂

    Reply

  16. I agree Kaila, a lot of the ads we see today are just shoving unhealthy practices down our throats, even if the product being sold has nothing to do with food or fitness. This one actually isn’t as bad as some that I’ve seen but it’s definitely not rainbows and sunshine that’s for sure!

    Reply

  19. 100% agree with you hear! That commercial is just so ridiculous. All of those tiny wins you listed are a million times better and more important. A recent tiny win that I had is getting back into lifting after a month off and working my way back up to the weights I was lifting before!

    Reply

  20. Oh my gosh seriously?! Not finishing a meal!? I have not seen this commercial (probably because most the time if I am watching TV, it’s DVRed and I fast forward everything haha), but seriously. This is NOT okay. I always finish a meal. Sometimes go for seconds if I’m still hungry, and LISTENING to your body is the real win here. Thank you so much for sharing and celebrating what is more important and the REAL wins in life.

    Reply

    • Thanks for the comment Morganne! I totally agree, listening to your body is what’s best! Not just eating half a meal because some dumb commercial tells you to!

      Reply

  21. I love your REAL tiny wins — they’re so much more satisfying! One of my tiny wins is keeping up with a regular workout schedule while working the overnight/early morning shift. I’ve actually enjoyed exercising around everyone’s normal lunch time because it’s not as crowded and I’ve been able to start easing in to a running routine which is actually a HUGE win for me because I never could get into running before!

    Reply

  22. I saw that Crystal Light commercial and I was seriously annoyed. Especially about not finishing a meal… since when is that a win?! Crazy! Thanks for posting about this!!

    Reply

  23. I hadn’t seen this commercial yet but it really, really rubs me the wrong way.

    Thank you for addressing the topic and for all of your fabulous little “wins”. Love them all.

    Reply

  24. I definitely got a weird vibe from that commercial! Not cool! My little win today was getting to eat my lunch outside in the sunshine. Best way to take a lunch break!

    Reply

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  29. I’m so glad you’re bringing this up!! I saw the commercial the other day and was so disappointed in it. Crystal Light in general can have some pretty shallow commercials but this one is baddd. They shouldn’t focus on an eating habit (that could trigger someone recovering from an ED), they should focus on a true healthy choice! Thanks for this post!

    Reply

  32. Love all of these wins! I think life is so much greater when we stop to appreciate the little things in life like a quick walk outside, call to a friend, or helping someone live healthier! Thanks so much for including my win 🙂

    Reply

  34. I love this post!! You are such an inspiration! Thank you for sharing this 🙂 It really is so important to celebrate that tiny wins because they are the reason we make the big wins!! Have a wonderful Friday 🙂

    Reply

  35. This list is amazing Kaila, I love the whole concept! My favorite is “Being able to receive a compliment instead of just denying it.” Denying compliments is something so many people do, as if we are supposed to, but just being able to say thank you is so much more brave and beautiful. One of my favorite tiny wins is getting the perfect shot in a photo shoot. Always a sweet moment 🙂

    Reply

    • OMG I can so relate to your tiny win!!!! There is nothing NOTHING more wonderful that getting the right shot that you’ve been aiming for with a new recipe! So satisfying. 🙂

      Reply

  39. There’s enough pressure in life already without having to feel guilty about not restricting yourself enough. Thanks for this post! My little win yesterday was baking a pie that actually turned out well. That’s kind of a huge feat for me, so maybe it doesn’t quite fit the “little wins” category.

    Reply

  40. Hi,
    My first time reading your blog, but it looks nice from the start!
    You’re totally right about this! I’m sure to visit your blog again..
    (Saw your link on the ‘Tuesday Pinspiration Party’)
    Wishing you a very happy week, sending happy thoughts from Belgium,
    Sigrid

    Reply

  41. LOL…I hadn’t seen that commercial but when I was growing up, it was a big no-no to leave any food on your plate. It’s funny how things change. Thanks so much for sharing with us at Share The Wealth Sunday!

    Reply

  42. Great list…and great reminder. WE’re such a goal oriented society that sometimes we forget how many little things are truly important. And how all the little wins really add up to a big success!

    Reply

  44. Kaila, this deserves an ovation, I’m clapping over here, so hard. We are so tough on ourselves. We may study and accomplish something, but instead of giving ourselves a moment to revel in it, we brush it off and on to the next. Where is the enjoyment in a job well done! No matter what we do, big or small, we deserve a moment to feel it! So many things above that I love, but especially these:

    Doing well on a project you worked really hard on.

    Making someone else’s day.

    Being able to receive a compliment instead of just denying it.

    Filling your body with foods that make you feel good.

    So many others that I love too, thanks so much for the reminder!!!

    Reply

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