Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Not Waiting for Tomorrow

I've been in a rut as of late. My highs have turned to lows, my eating has been crap and my motivation, lacking. Temptations are given into at every turn and I'm starting to feel the effects. I feel heavy and sluggish and just not right. I loved the feeling of being more active, light on my feet and an have an overall peace with myself.

I think this all started with Halloween. In past years, Halloween was never a big deal. Just one more day on the calendar, another reason for stores to make us believe we really need ghost, black cat and witch merchandise. We live on a street with no street light so we only got the bravest of the brave trick or treaters and didn't keep much candy in the house.

But this year, all was different. The Little Miss got it. We had some friends come over, they dressed up and hit the neighborhood. They eagerly went house to house with hundreds of other smartly dressed kids filling their plastic orange pumpkins with more treat than they could imagine. The race was on, would The Little Miss tire out before her pumpkin was filled or could she fill it before tiring out? Regardless of the outcome, she came home with a more candy than a 2 year old should eat in a year. We learned that Lafy Taffy is too sticky for her and she doesn't like the Almond Joy. On the other hand, she loves Reece's Peanut Butter Cups and Twix. I pretty much love them all and am acting like I've hit the jack pot whenever I peer at her loot.

This whole thing made me realize I need to have a plan for the holidays. I can't do this without being really focused and have some solid goals in mind. So here's what I'm doing. I'm going back to what has worked for me in the past. Plain and simple, moderation. Here are my guidelines:

1. Drink lot of water. It seems like the more I drink the better I feel. Grab a glass of water before grabbing food.

2. Up the exercise. Very important. Calories out have to be more than calories in. Pretty simple equation.

3. Eat in moderation. I'll eat whatever I want, I just have to watch the portions. Meaning I have to watch the portions get smaller, not bigger. Once again, calories in have to be smaller than calories out.

4. Don't drink as much wine/cocktails. I admit. I have a glass or two of wine, every. single. night. It's a rarity if I don't. If I cut back to weekends only, that would not only work wonders for my goals here, but also my financial goals as well. I might not be going to Starbucks and getting those fancy coffee drinks every day but cracking a bottle of wine ever other day pretty much equals the same thing financially.

5. Stay focused on the where you want to be in a couple of months.

6. Stay focused on the small victories because they add up. It's ok to say good job to yourself when you pass that box of doughnuts in the kitchen. Or when you exercise that extra 5 minutes. It's all good and we need to recognize ourselves for it.

7. Think long term.

Wish me luck. I started this today because I didn't want to wait and start it "tomorrow."

7 comments:

Hanlie said...

Great strategies! I am also stepping things up for the remainder of the year, so that I have plenty of momentum for the New Year. Good luck!

Aleta said...

I think having a blog for motivation is a great idea. I might try this idea as well. I'm trying to stick to exercising every night at 8:30. I need something to get me moving, as I have a "desk job" and don't want a secty's behind!

Cammy@TippyToeDiet said...

Every single one of these strategies will lead you to success. Focus and a plan will get you through the holidays in great form! (I'll be here to say I told you so after the new year. *G*)

Lyn said...

Oh I totally used to eat my kids' Halloween loot... at night while they were asleep. Ugh!

Now I just try and avoid it altogether.

It's always good to start NOW... not later :)

Anonymous said...

and it is already tomorrow and youve done one good day!

great plan, ABG, and if you need a hand...a cheeringyouon...ANYTHING you know where I am.

Anonymous said...

Planning is key.
It sounds like you have some good plans, I really like tracking my food. Well I don't really like doing it but it does keep me on plan and I do like being able to see the exact effect what I put in my mouth has on the scale. I use calorieking.com but fitday.com is free and works really well too.

Keep up the good work.
You can do it!!

Diana Swallow said...

Great post! Having a plan and sticking to it is half the battle! You can do this!