Life Happens

So here comes the reality of diets…life.  This past weekend we went camping for the Labor Day holiday. Healthy eating was minimal, but this proves why I refuse to diet.  Had I been on a diet and not a lifelong journey I would have looked at the past weekend as a failure.  I would have been disgusted with myself because I didn’t have more self-control and before I knew it I would be looking at weeks of overeating and self-pity.  I am not on a diet and I am not beating myself up.  There are always going to be times in our lives that we are going to slip.  Life’s temptations are relentless and they will always be there the trick is finding a balance that allows us some lenience as well as structure.  Sounds easy enough, right?  I survived a birthday with cake and ice cream I will survive this too.  Last weeks quote “Accept it and move on” rings true once again.  So I had a few cookies and some potato chips, the next 3 days I just have to really mind my p’s & q’s or fruits and veggies.  Don’t forget that lenience is balanced with structure and don’t get too lenient.

Last week I lost another 2.2 pounds! Yeah me that puts me at a total of 5.8 pounds.  So far I am right on target of my goal for the end of 12 weeks.  How about you? Have you set a goal yet?  If not here are a couple of tips.  Always make your goal measurable.  Instead of just saying that I want to loose weight, say I want to loose 20 pounds and set a reasonable deadline.  Most of us are not lucky enough to be able to devote weeks of just focusing on our weight like they do on Biggest Loser.  Don’t expect to loose 5-10 pounds a week.  If you have 20 pounds to loose 10-12 weeks is a reasonable amount of time.  That is 2 pounds or less per week which is a healthy amount.  Remember it didn’t appear overnight and it is not going to disappear overnight.  Give yourself short-term goals that keep you moving to reach your ultimate goal.  It is very motivating to reach goals; it gives you a sense of achievement.  Reward yourself when you reach a goal (and I don’t mean with an ice cream sundae).  Treat yourself to a movie, a massage, a haircut or color, that fishing lure you have had your eye on or an hour to yourself to read a good book.  I think you get my point.  After you set goals make a plan of what you need to do to reach that goal.  Maybe you need to add an extra workout or eliminate a certain type of snack.

After you get your goals set be sure to write them down somewhere that you will see them often.

This week I am going to work on turning more of my favorite foods to a healthier version and I am going to try something new!  I am trying to find a way that I like fish that is not deep fat fried or fish sticks.  I will share next week the results.  What are you going to do this week?