Planning and Plotting

I have been spending a lot of time thinking about where I am in this journey.  I have spent quite a bit of time pondering how I have been stuck.  I have been thinking a LOT about how I have been not losing weight and how I even gained 13-15 pounds since the Coronavirus reared it's ugly head in my life (late March).

A few things that I do know.  

1. I track my food...but I have allowed more snacks to creep into my food budget.  Those snacks account for the extra calories that throw me over my self set budget.   

2,  My sleep has been messed up for months and has gotten really bad in the last few months.  I sleep for maybe 4 hours and then I am awake...wide awake!   I am constantly in a state of tiredness.

3.  Exercise has been spotty at best.

So how am I going to fix this?  What is my plan?  How am I going to proceed?

Lets tackle the food issue.  I have a caloric budget.  I have been at this journey for many years.  I know that I SHOULD lose weight at 1500 -1700 calories.  But I also know that my body doesn't seem to agree with the theories and numbers.  I lose weight at 1200-1300 calories.  Yet, I continue to add snacks to my daily food intake....because it 'only puts me at 1500 calories...that's still in losing range!".   That has to stop.  My budget is 1300....that has to be a set in stone budget!   I will allow a cheat day/meal.  I think that is a healthy (mentally and physically) aspect of this journey.   But I am going to be serious....no extras.  When the budget is empty...so is my mouth!

Sleep.  I have been so messed up with my sleep lately.  It has been totally tiresome.  We think we may have solved that problem.  Jason has been plying me with Hemp/CBD pills...and unless it's a coincidence, I have been sleeping much better!  SO I am crossing my fingers and hoping and praying that the pills do the trick long term!

Exercise.  I have not been exercising.  I have that exercise bike and I have used it on my lunch breaks.  I was determined that September I was going to use it 3 days a week....if not more.  Yet the training that I was asked to lead really took my time and I ended up working through breaks and lunches.  I think I got 3 rides in.  That is coming to an end.  My health is very important and I need to act as such.  So the bike is a great option for me!   Furthermore, I have been itching to get out and run again.  My plantars fasciitis is still kicking but I am so tired of waiting for that to magically get better. I"m going to attempt to run.  I will ice my foot and stretch and roll it and do all the good things for it.  But I"m going to try it!!!!!

That is my plan.  Just focus.   I am not promising myself perfection.  If I promise myself perfection, then when life gets in the way and I have a less than perfect day, I will feel like a failure.  SO I am promising myself that I will try my hardest!  That's all I can do!   

I am not giving up.  Part of my plan is that I will be going to the doctor later in the year.  I want to go with the stats of a few weeks of really good behavior.....1200 calorie days and the results and the 1400 calorie days and the results and talk to her about the stats.  So if this little 'good behavior' works awesome...and if it doesn't, it will arm with me the necessary information to share with my doctor to get the help that I desperately need!!!

I've got this!

Planning

Planning is the key.  I was somewhat worried about this upcoming week.  Anita my zumba instructor is taking the week off (she takes a week here and there).  Typically on those weeks I also take the week off.  I didn't want to do it.  I don't want to take a week off of exercise.  That's not acceptable to me. I also know that according to the c25k program that I have been following that I will no longer be sitting around with a 'training run' that needs to be completed. Knowing that I have that waiting to complete really is a good motivator for me!  Ohhhh this is bad...no set in stone zumba and no training runs that NEED to be completed. I knew I had to come up with a plan.

I have been planning out our meals for quite some time.  I start by sitting down with my work schedule and Todd's every changing work schedule for the week and I first of all figure out which (if any) meals we will be eating together.  At that point I know which meals I need to plan for.  I try to plan our meals and place them throughout the menu strategically so that they can be easily used as leftovers.  I then make my grocery list from that.  Todd usually eats the leftovers and I eat fruits and veggies for the meals that we are not together (ok ok ok, my work lunch is lots of fruits and veggies.....but  if you know me you will know that I usually eat a peanut butter and jelly sandwich if I'm home alone for dinner...no I refuse to give up my pb&j...and well, since I don't eat much meat, the peanut butter is a good source of nutrients for me).   This week I took it a step further.   I laid out our meals.  I laid out Todd's leftover meals.  I then went onto myfitnesspal and I put in all the planned meals and filled in my other meals.  I know exactly what I am eating for one week. When it comes time to pack my lunch there is no question.  I can tell you what I'm packing next Friday! Of course there is room for adjustments.  This is life and adjustments are always happening.    As if that wasn't enough.  As I mentioned earlier my exercise was in danger.  Not from me...I was determined but it was in danger because the routine was going to be shaken.  So I took the menu planning one step further.  I planned out when I would be exercising..such as running in the AM or PM.....gym in the AM or PM....which gym I would be going to....and even if I would be doing a class at the gym.  There is definitely room within my planned schedule for those little "I think I can throw in a little walk or a little exercise dvd or some minutes using the Xbox kinnect. Always room for that...but my core workouts are planned and scheduled!   And then because I'm a geek, I put it onto a spreadsheet and printed it up for the door of the refrigerator!  


Planning is going to see me through this journey and planning is going to keep my weight off when I lose!  There is no ifs ands or buts about it.  I may have doubted it and wondered if I could at one point.  But not it's not a want...it's not a try....it is definitely I WILL succeed!!

Epiphany (isn't that just such a fun word???)

Yesterday I had an epiphany. It's not willpower so much as just total focus and planning. If I'm prepared focused and ready I can plan and think about eventualities.  This happened last night and it felt good to not just go crazy. I left zumba and I was HUNGRY.  I had to swing by a grocery store.  The last half of Zumba I DREAMED about just picking up a deli sandwich and chowing down on it during the drive home.  I got to the store and I looked at the pre-packaged deli sandwiches.  500 calories for one sandwich. (ok 490 but I thought it would be easier to round up...my bad)  I had the calories in my budget for that sandwich (even without touching my zumba earned calories) but I knew that the sandwich would not be enough.  I thought about adding a prepackaged salad for 170 calories (so tempted to round up to 200...lol) but then I was like, NO, I have food at home.  I walked away.  But I knew that the process of making my planned dinner (grilled cheese and tomato soup) would be problematic because I was so hungry, it would be so tempting to eat a piece of buttered bread, extra cheese, a nibble of that raspberry cobbler.  In fact, it would be tempting to just eat the rest of the cobbler (about 3-4 servings) in lieu of dinner (OK who am I fooling.....WITH dinner).  So knowing that I was about out of Sargento Colby Jack cheese sticks, I purchased another pack at the store.  I got in the car and had one on way home.  It curbed the hunger and allowed me to effectively make dinner without gnawing the cabinet doors off the wall!  I actually had planned in my calories yesterday to allow for a piece of cobbler.  I was full after dinner and didn't bother with it!   THAT is just me listening to my body.

My knee made it through zumba. It was stiff and sore and some songs about brought me to my knees with pain. But I made it through and honestly, at the end it felt more limber and loose and better. So I am thinking it is a seized muscle (happened to a muscle in my back a few years ago). I went home and put the heating pad on it trying to keep it limber (if possible).


I have a great friend.  I met her during weight watchers meetings a few years back.She was there when I reached goal and when I made lifetime.  She's been there encouraging me to not give up as I've regained....she's been a motivator for me to try get this weight off! She is awesome.  She has listened and helped me come up with numerous ideas to try during this lifelong journey that I've embarked upon.  (weight wise and personal wise......LUV ya Sherry!) She struggles like the rest of us.   I've mentioned Sherry quite a bit on my blog (maybe not by name all the time, but she's been around).  She just started a blog.  Check her out (PS it's her birthday so she deserves a shout out just for that!!!)   OK, in case you missed one of those three links to her blog....  http://twogirlsmama.wordpress.com/   :-)