Here We Go Again- 2013 Version

I finished 2012 with only my one trip to McDonalds--and since that was a breakfast visit and did not involve any of my most-loved golden fries - I will mark this in my memory as a success!  

I could reflect on how my weight went up and not down this year, but I did not set any goals to make it go down.  I could point out my lack of exercising - but I didn't have a goal to do any amount of exercising.  So I think it would be pointless.  

For some time (you'd have to dig back years to see the evidence) I was fighting with myself about logging my food.  I have had good results in the past using this technique, but for whatever reason I simply could NOT get myself to do it.  

Well, for unknown reasons, in November I started DOING something.  I know that pre-holiday is not the best time to begin new food habits - but I say go with the inspiration.  I found an app called - MyFitnessPal.  I've tried online food tracking before and I hated it.  So I just wanted to TRY this.  I just wanted to SEE what was happening - in black and white.  

And, I'm loving it.  In the beginning I would log the food and I then could see how this would immediately change my eating habits.  If I knew I only had 360 calories left for dinner, I would be much more mindful of what I chose for snack, how much I put on my plate for dinner, and what I suggested the dinner menu be.  

I have gone over my calorie count SEVERAL days.  It was the holidays.  But I was much more AWARE that a slice of coconut cream pie was the same calories as a healthy meal, so I didn't eat 2 slices in a day.  (Baby steps people.)  

I did lose some weight right away.  I did regain this weight over the holiday.  I only allowed myself to feel bad about this for a micro-second.  If I had not been logging my food, I could have easily come out of the holidays with 5 more pounds of me to love.  And that would have been new levels of BAD.  

So here's why I like MyFitnessPal in a nutshell.  If you are searching for a tool, it might be for you- if not, it was free so no loss!  You can scan barcodes, and it imports all the nutritional info!!!  It is for iphone and ANDROID people - no discrimination.  It is accessible from your phone and your laptop (you could opt to only use the laptop if you don't do the smartphone thing).  You can enter your own RECIPES and it calculates nutrition (so you don't have to feel "left out" if you are eating home cooking).  You can look at your nutrition for the day. (I would have told you that I have a low sugar diet - I would have been WRONG.)   You can track exercise, water, weight, measurements, and notes daily.  You can search from a huge database of foods - home cooked, restaurants, and off the shelf- it keeps your recent choices close- all of this makes entry a breeze.  It is really easy to use and it gives you praise--even when it would be hard to find something nice to say.  (Think:  You logged on 12 days in a row!!!)  You can connect to friends to motivate each other or compete if that is your thing.  

So here are the goals for 2013:

1.  Pull out my pedometer again and try to increase the number.  ( I am kind of lusting for a fitbit one, but until they play nice with DROID - they will not get my money.)

2.  Just say no to the golden arches- zero visits in 2013.  

3.  Log with MyFitnessPal- use info to improve eating choices.

4.  Activity 3 times a week- for 15 minutes.  

Tomorrow Just Like Today

I'm reading a book that I'll soon be reviewing on my other blog, but I had to post an idea from it here.  The book is The Willpower Instinct: How Self-Control Works, Why It Matters, and What You Can Do To Get More of It.  The new year is a good time to be learning about willpower, and I'm actually getting a lot out of the book.  I'm really interested in brain research and the biological and psychological reasons we do what we do.

Anyway, one concept from the book is the idea of "tomorrow just like today."  We tend to think that we'll start the new diet, exercise program, project, whatever tomorrow.  It's easy to talk yourself into not taking the steps today if you convince yourself you'll do it tomorrow.

If you go into it with the idea that tomorrow will be just like today, it seems more important to do the right thing today.  It's easy to say I'll skip my walk today, because I'll take a longer one tomorrow.  But if I have the idea in my head that whatever I do today is exactly what I'll do tomorrow, then it seems more critical to make today the best it can be.

So, even though I'm fighting a little cold (both in my head and outside in the weather), I've made myself take at least a short walk every day this week.  "Tomorrow, just like today."  Better walk today then!