Getting Serious

I have been tinkering with my meal/activity plan for several days now but TODAY was the day to get serious and start following my plan. Each week day has a target of about 1450 calories plus some physical activity most days. My chart listed “AM Run” so that’s just what I did. I will not claim that I was gung-ho in any way about this. But I did it. I mean, it was on the chart – no choice!

It was great to just look at the plan and see my bolded items that I needed to take along for snacks/lunch. No thought! That is the key for me. I need to do the thinking/decision making in advance because if left to my own devices, I tend to punk out. And then, I need to make sure not to give myself any sort of “out”. If it says I have to run, I have to run. I played little mind games with myself: “If you get your clothes on and head outside, you don’t have to run very fast. You can run as slow as you want. Just as long as some sort of jogging is happening when the watch tells you so.” It worked and a got a decent run in.

I also really like knowing what is available for me to eat ahead of time. I swear I have some weird anxiety thing where I make poor choices just because of the uncertainty of the situation. I’ve deliberately loaded the meal plan with things I actually LIKE so this is no hardship at all. I’m thinking of a co-worker who showed me her sad little bowl of cottage cheese last week. She said she really didn’t like the stuff but “had” to eat it because she was trying to lose weight. Talk about your recipe for failure! I tried to explain but I don’t think I got through. Meanwhile, I’m looking forward to my chunks of real extra sharp cheddar cheese and apple snack. Yum! No fake food. No foods I don’t like. Just stuff properly portioned out and balanced to create a calorie deficit. Knowing that I have some fun foods lined up for Friday and Sat (calorie targets of 1750 each) gives me added incentive to stay on track during the week.

So, Day One is off to a good start. I didn’t weigh myself (not sure if I’m going to do that consistently or not) but I’m sure my (now tighter than I like them) pants will tell me if I’m headed in the right direction soon enough.