Weight Loss Tips #13: Scheduling and Consistency

I woke up today with the strangest memory.  I had this memory of going down to the Alabama River with my parents when I was a kid, sitting on the big steps and eating a huge Wendy's cheeseburger. (This is probably because my husband left Wendy's coupons in the kitchen for some unknown reason!)  My parents used to take the four of us down to the river on Sundays a lot.  It was one of the only times we would be allowed to have fast food and SODA!  We would picnic, watch the boats on the river, and then play on the long-since gone wooden playground near the Silos.  Some of my best memories are from those Sundays spent with my family. 

Of course the portion sizes back then, even at Wendy's, were smaller than they are today.  So my huge Wendy's cheeseburger was (maybe) an appropriate size for a seven or eight year old girl wearing turquoise overalls covered in butterflies.  Oh the 80's! 

Anyway--I'll get to the point of this blog, because apparently I just love to change subjects.  One of my co-workers yesterday said this to me, "I don't know how you do everything, Lauren."  That little statement got me thinking, because you know, I just love to spin the wheels in my brain. 

What does it take to lose weight?  It takes a REALISTIC schedule and CONSISTENCY!  I have a little bit of an obsessive compulsive personality, and when I started out I wanted to workout every single night.  I wanted to go to Taekwondo no matter what else was going on in my life.  This was not REALISTIC!!!  For one thing, I was missing out on my children's lives.  Another, I was not giving my body the time it needed to rest.

So, when you're starting a workout routine you need to ask yourself: How many days can I feasibly workout?  What times can I go?  When can I fit this into my schedule?  You need to do this and still make sure you have time for yourself, time for your spouse, time for your kids, and time to rest.  So, if the only times you have to work out are at 5 AM, then I suggest finding a morning Boot Camp, or finding a really good video that you know you'll stick to.  I, for one, really like a class because of the accountability factor, but classes are not for everyone and will not fit into everyone's lives as easy as they have into mine. 

And now for the big one: BE CONSISTENT!!!  Once you start eating well and exercising right make it a part of your life.  You know how they always say the key to disciplining a child is consistency.  Well the key to disciplining yourself is exactly the SAME.  Once you've committed to going to the gym three days a week: GO!  Stop making EXCUSES!!!  It will take weeks and weeks before you actually want to do it, so just drag yourself out of the house with the negative talk going in your head, until one day you just get in your car and drive there and realize this is now a part of your life. 

The same goes for eating well.  Yes, eating a big Wendy's burger every once in a while, will not derail you, but once you've changed the way you eat you need to try to stick with it.  Go to the grocery store and make the right food choices.  Read labels, and see if you're eating actual food or just STUFF with salt added.  Gravitate towards natural foods and try to eat whole foods more often.  Soon, you'll notice that instead of that candy bar for snack you'll want some carrots, a banana, or some nuts. 

 

If you missed last week's edition: HERE IT IS!

 

*Artwork found on Google

 

 



Weight Loss Tips #7: Plan Ahead

Plan Ahead

It's that crazy time of year again: Holiday Season.  Time to go to tons of Christmas parties, drink and eat and be merry to your heart's content.  Hubby and I have about twenty Christmas parties to attend in the next few weeks...OK, not really, just 6! 

With regular life it can be hard to make good food decisions on limited time.  With Christmas thrown in, a couple of kids, gymnastics competitions...it makes it nearly impossible!  That's why it's so important to plan ahead when making your food and exercise commitments for a week.  This is also one reason I do the Goals post weekly, because it helps give me a guide to follow when life gets crazy (as it always does!).

• Plan Weekly Meals: Pick a day, and sit down and plan your meals for the week.  If you plan your meals, and you stick to this plan then you're less likely to make poor choices or just raid the fridge for fatty comfort foods when it's meal time! Also, eat sitting down with your family.  This encourages conversation, which makes you eat more slowly.  Eating slowly helps you not to overeat.

• Write a List: Before you go grocery shopping, write a list.  Stick to this list.  If you want to pick up some extra fruits and veggies, have at it, but stick to your list that has all the ingredients for your planned meals (above) and your healthy snacks.  This not only will help you in the food department, but it will help you budget too.

• Plan Your Lunches: If you're a working mother like me, then you're tempted with going out to lunch every day and getting chips and salsa and cheese dip (Mexican food is my biggest temptation!).  If you pack your lunch every day, then you're less likely to go out and make poor decisions.  Pack healthy foods and also prepare snacks too (like I wrote about here). 

• Traveling: This weekend, we went up to Pelham for Son Number One's first gymnastics' meet (a blog post will be coming soon about this!).  Hubby and I packed sandwiches and snacks, so we would not be tempted to stop and buy lunch or make poor choices when we reached the tournament. 

Plan Your Exercise for the Week: If you schedule your exercise in, then you are more likely to achieve your exercise goals, as well. Set an appointment on your smart phone to exercise, and ask it to remind you.  If you have the visual reminder, then you are more likely to put on your running shoes and go!  Every week, Hubby and I sit down on Sunday and discuss what days I'm going to Taekwondo, and what days he's going to cycle.  This way, I know on my off TKD days that I need to don my running shoes. 

Having a plan makes you feel like you have a commitment, and committing to be a healthier person for yourself and your family is one of the most important goals in life.  Living a healthy lifestyle will influence those around you to live a healthier lifestyle, including your children.  Make a change for the better today!