game plans – The Shrinking Jeans of Thea

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October 1, 2009 By thea

Today is October 1st and things must change.

I’m struggling.

No.  Wait.  That’s not true.

strug·gle (\ˈstrə-gəl\)
1 : to make strenuous or violent efforts in the face of difficulties or opposition 2 : to proceed with difficulty or with great effort

Both of those definitions make use of the word “effort”.

ef·fort (\ˈe-fərt, -ˌfȯrt\)
1: conscious exertion of power : hard work
2: a serious attempt

I have not been struggling.  You cannot have struggle without effort.  I have not been efforting.

I just made that up.

I have been doing this “weight loss” thing a long time.  And every once in a while I go through a rut.  The ruts seem to be coming much more often lately.  Which means I need to shake things up.  I need to come up with a new game plan.  There’s lots of things that need to be addressed so I am going to tackle them one by one.

  1. Am I still trying to lose or am I trying to maintain? It seems like a simple question, but I am stuck between the two mentalities.  Also, I need to adjust my points accordingly (23 points vs. 27 points)
  2. Tracking – I have been tracking online, but I’m thinking that I need to keep a paper journal as well as the online tracking.  There are times when I can’t get to the computer so hopefully keeping a paper journal in my purse will help me when I’m…say…staring at the candy selections in line at Target.
  3. Breakfast – I eat over 1/3 of my points at breakfast.  My typical breakfast is 8.5 points.  That’s a lot of points, but it’s the healthiest meal I eat all day (oatmeal, oil, fruit, dairy, coffee).  I need to figure out how to reduce my breakfast, but still include oil.
  4. Food choices – I eat a lot of carbs and processed foods. I don’t really like to cook, so I tend to look for foods that can be heated up in the microwave or eaten straight out of the package. I like FAST. I need to prepare more food and eat a little “cleaner”. I took advantage of Christy’s links and ordered a few magazines to help me spruce things up.
  5. Desserts  – Oh, desserts. I need to find low points desserts that actually satisfy me. And I REALLY need to stop ordering desserts every time we go out to eat.
  6. Eating out  – I need to break up with chicken tenders and all things breaded. I’ve broken up with food before.  I know I can do it.  And I know, in time, I won’t even miss the food. (Who ever would’ve thought I would not miss donuts?)
  7. Activity – I have been so much better with working out, but I dismiss it much too easily.  I have discovered that I am much more motivated when I have a goal (signing up for a 5k or completing a 30 day challenge for example) but finding new goals is what I need to investigate more.
  8. Rewards – I used to be so much better with this.  Heather’s post today just reminded me that I need to set myself goals AND rewards.  I’ve moved my personal progress page here and this time I’ve included rewards.  In keeping with #2, I’ve also created a sticker chart for myself that I will hang right next to my son’s sticker chart.  Everyone loves stickers!!

I need your feedback on this one!  What are your go to meals?  Do you have quick recipes you rely on for lunch?  How do you choose fitness goals??