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."