Have You Met Me?

I've been lying to myself - and to you too. I keep coming up with "action plans" that are not true to myself. I'm not feeling the focus on weight loss. Don't get me wrong - I still want the number to shrink, I'm just lacking action. You could describe my current plan as "let's try to be healthy-ish and not get any worse". How many times have I told you I was going to keep a food journal? Total lie. Okay, so maybe I MEANT it every time I said it. But I clearly am not following through.

I have tried Sparks. I have tried paper. I have tried some cool app on my phone where you take a picture of the bar code and it automatically knows all the nutrition info about that food (great app if you eat food with bar codes - I usually don't) - all of these for one reason or another do not work for me.

I also keep saying that I will take my break in the fitness center. LIE. I paid my membership a year ago and I've not been there since. I don't take my break at work - so you can see the problem here. I have "Mom Guilt" at the end of my workday and don't want to spend an additional amount of time away from the kiddo. (I know, take care of yourself so you can take care of others. Blah. Blah.)

So, I'm going to stop acting like I haven't met myself - and I'm going to stop making the plan that I THINK I should be following. And I'm going to just start doing it my own way, k?

I will write nothing down. Let's face it - with a new job, job stress, and crazy life - I'm doing good to remember to EAT at work. Much less write it down. I'm going to CONTINUE to pack good food to eat at my desk. I will be BETTER at remembering to eat it. I do pledge to be MINDFUL when I am eating so that I don't accidentally devour a small village without noticing. (This will be more challenging at home than at work.) I will also limit the number of tempting foods that come INTO my house. I'm setting myself up for failure if I have ice cream, baked lays, and bagels all at my finger tips....see the calories adding up?

I will build exercise into something that I will actually DO. Right now, this means gardening (irregular as it is), swimming, occasional walks, and when desperation strikes - I will start what I shall coin the "TV Exercise Plan". I'll get up and move (in some random kind of way) during one commercial break per show. Small stuff adds up right?

You Gotta Have A Plan

I keep thinking of that scientific approach to weight loss article...reviewed with title Fact of Crap. One of the most important steps to finding success with weight loss was knowing when you were likely to make bad choices and then - having a plan to fix this behavior.

The day is full of times that I might fall off the wagon and decide to head south for the day, week, month - it can be summed up like this....when I am hungry, when I am bored, or when I'm just not paying attention. Generally, I am aware of when I am about to jump ship - so I think what I am missing is "The Plan". Here's my attempt at making one...

There is something about brushing my teeth that simply tells my body - food time is over. I need to use this cue to my advantage. So, if I find my mind wandering over the inventory of my pantry - I'm going to go brush my teeth. If I have to "refresh" and brush my teeth a few times in the evening - so be it. I have also loaded my desk with the proper tooth brushing supplies so that I can use this technique at work.

Chew gum or eat a mint. Again, these signal the end of something for me. They also kind of perk me up - so if I was about to eat for boredom- this should spark my mind with something else to do.

Drink some water. It's good for you. Sometimes you are really thirsty and you just think you are hungry. It's calorie free. It's a lot easier to lose water than to lose fat.

Do some kind of movement. There is something about exercise that makes me not want to eat. So when possible - if I think I'm about to over-do it, I'll take some time to go walk first, then allow myself to touch food.

I'll pretend you are watching me. There is something good about peer pressure. Today I was surrounded by people ALL DAY LONG. I really, really wanted a soda - but then I thought, no, I'm trying to stop (and everyone at my table would not drink one - so by the waiting game rules - I couldn't anyway) and what if you were there? Would I want to bail on my mission? No. I'd feel bad. So I try to push through. I try to eat like someone is monitoring me - even though no one is (except my scale).

I know when I am more likely to fail. This week has been an uphill climb (stress, odd schedules, overwhelming to-do list, unexpected road blocks)- I know I'm in the danger zone. Somehow, admitting that I'm in this state makes it a little better. And if I can go through this time without using a food /soda crutch - maybe this will make it that much easier for me to do it on the good days.

There is no bad food. As I said when this all started - I know myself well enough to know that if it's a "No, No" I am going to demand "Yes, Yes". So, I am allowed to have some cheats. I just have to remember not to use all of them in the same day. By allowing myself a little wiggle room, I'm not as likely to chuck it all just so I can have a little treat. A girl has to snack sometimes - so I've loaded up my desk with some healthy choices that offer variety and chocolate (let's face it, a MUST) and some nutrition - like this.

How about you? Do you have an emergency plan? How to you keep yourself on track?