Monday, February 9, 2009

Reminding me of me

Yesterday, while I was working on my paper (the draft is complete! just need to work in the tables, bibliography, and some citations), I had a thought. I was mindlessly eating my way through a bag of pita chips when I realized that I have this cycle: work hard during the week, go to the gym, eat right... and on the weekend, forget about it. Grr. So I wrote down five things that I think will help me:

1) I will not allow myself to throw away all my hard work on the weekend. I get one "cheat" day a week... that's it.

2) I will hit the gym five or six days a week (at least one of those days on the weekend).

3) When I go out, I will dress up. Dressing up helps me feel better about myself. A sweater and jeans just makes me feel sloppy and not in control of my weight.

4) I will focus on eating right and not snacking (read: eating another meal) before bed.

5) I will focus on being the best me and the rest will come.

As we move into the sixth week of the year, is there anything that you need to remind yourself of? Anything you notice that isn't working and that you need to change to see some success?

10 comments:

Kelly said...

OMG I can't believe we are 6 weeks into the New Year. Time is freaking flying by. Can't we make it slow down?

This weekend I was reading a magazine that talked about how, when people get busy, the first thing they give up is healthy pursuits. That's so what I've done since the beginning of the semester. It went on to talk about how you need to keep focusing on yourself and your health because it's the cornerstone to how you react to everything else.

It also had the quote: "health has no finish line. Every moment is another chance to make a better choice." I needed to hear that.

Kristina said...

My days off from work are hardest for me because I don't feel like I have a time table to plan my eating to. Something that helps me is to time my eating and drinking water. I say, 'I have to drink 12 oz of water by 10am,' and then I have a goal that I can stick to.
It also helps me to write out everything I can/should eat before the day really begins, that way if I'm hungry, I know that I can eat something off of my list and then cross it off. When my list is all crossed off, I'm done! No more snacking! It really helps when I have structure on my weekends, because for me, no structure means LAZY DO NOTHING AND EAT THE WHOLE REFRIGERATOR WHILE WATCHING FIFTEEN EPISODES OF HOUSE.
Definitely not conducive to losing weight / making healthy choices. =)

Good luck!

Jason said...

Hey, I was thinking the other day, how about you, E, and the other Jason go for a run sometime soon. It would be our own little dept. thing :)

ptg said...

It's funny that you wrote this post because I have a draft of almost the exact same thing!!! You must be a mind reader!

I definitely have the same problem you do - I work my tailbone off during the week and then the weekend comes and it's like I throw it all into the wind. It's not an attitude or behavior that got me to where I am right now, so I'm not sure what happened or when it happened or even how it happened, but the truth is, it definitely has and i need to get OUT OF IT.

Wanna team up to stay true on the weekends??

RooBabs said...

Those are great reminders. I love the one about dressing up. That totally makes a difference for me, but with winter, and all that, I just have no motivation to try and look nice when I feel like I have to get so bundled up. So, you work it, girl!

I'm still working on getting my 5 fruits and veggies a day. I originally hoped to have it down by now, and to move up to 6-a-day for February, but it's definitely not a habit yet. I've learned that planning ahead is the key, though, as is making better snack choices.

BTW, I love that quote from Kelly. I think I'll add that to my collection in my planner.

K @ Running Through Life said...

I will remind myself that I DON'T need the jelly bellies or the candies sitting around the office. I will remind myself that it is okay that I am in a plateau (going on THREE MONTHS!!!) and that I WILL GET THROUGH IT!

Angie Eats Peace said...

I just love #5! I need to start doing that, too, rather than worrying about the # on the scale, or the speed of my mile.
Thank-you.

Cammy@TippyToeDiet said...

I had a giggle. Sweater and jeans on the weekend IS dressed up for me. :)

Your focus for the week looks well-balanced and entirely do-able. I predict success!

(Congrats on that draft!)

Marcie said...

I, too, had a problem with your #1. I would do great all week and then go crazy on Saturday and Sunday. I never realized it but you're right about dressing up...I always feel thinner (not so much these days!) and more confident in general.

Charlie Hills said...

The right number of cheat days per week for me is: zero.

Even if the math works out and allows a cheat day, psychologically (and maybe even physiologically) I don't respond well to them. Invariably it begins a downward spiral and (invariably) I kick myself for it later!