First day back to reality

I take my vacation at the same time every year. I’m off from right before Christmas more or less through January 2. And I swear every year I walk back into work and it’s like I never left . Today was tough because of the timing – there was NO traffic downtown, it was like everyone was taking off but me. And the sky was cloudy – followed by rain in the afternoon.  Ouch.

At any rate, I did OK with food but totally bailed on going to the Y.  F (exchange student) was watching the boys since aftercare was closed and I just didn’t feel right going to work out while she was babysitting.  I know that sounds like a total excuse, but… oh well!

I forgot to mention one of our big resolutions – no fast food for an entire year!  For the purposes of the resolution, I am counting fast food as anything with a drive thru, pizza and delivery.  We can go to sit-down restaurants on occasion, though.  This will save money and help in the goal for healthier food.  I got buy-in from the boys by telling them that if we make it a year without fast food, I’ll buy them an X-box. The savings should MORE than pay for one.

However to make this pledge/resolution work – I need to have not just menus planned but also a few back up meals on hand.  Sometimes I am just too wiped out to even cook what I planned, so I need a few easy ideas up my sleeve for those nights.  So far, so good, though and we’ve made it since December 22 without any convenience foods!

I’m going to spend some time this weekend mapping out 3-4 backup food plans to keep on hand that work within my own food goals. Pasta is so easy but doesn’t really help me in the weight loss realm.

Happy New Year!

I started my day by weighing in – I now have my official starting point for this year.  I’m not happy about the number, but it is what it is and it’s where I’m starting for this new year.  Then we had bacon and eggs and went to Mass (it’s the Solemnity of Mary, a Holy Day of obligation).  I had no problem getting up early because we were all bed between 9 and 10!  I’m not much with the staying up til midnight.

For once, we didn’t have any errands to run after church – so we came home and had smoothies for lunch. The boys didn’t like them at ALL, even though theirs just had blueberries and coconut milk.  Weird.   That’s fine, more blueberries for me. Those things are spendy!

My days feel all messed up – I have to go to work tomorrow so it feels like Sunday, but then there’s a weekend right after that, so yay!

Dinner will be Sirloin Dijon from Everyday Paleo, but I’m going to cook a little spinach in bacon instead of the brussel sprouts.  All of this plus a little Cabernet puts me right at my calorie goal and more or less at my macros so I feel like I’m off to a good start.

My project this evening is getting my thoughts together about how the kids can help more. Currently A helps with taking trash out, but Ian doesn’t do much at all and he’s plenty big enough to.  I mean, they both pick up when asked but it’s always a big drama – I’d like to get to maintenance mode especially with busy season coming at work.

One other thought – my elderly (18 this month) cat is acting a little different. Not sick, but different. He’s never been a bed or lap kitty but lately he is sleeping in my bed and today he’s been on my  lap twice. I’m loving it but also a little taken aback by it.  Maybe his old bones are just seeking out more warmth in the winter.

 

Reviewing my top 5 reasons for losing weight

I think that defining my reasons for a change will help me stay motivated and on track.  Vaguely mumbling “well, it’s time to lose some weight!” to myself has not yet been useful or helpful so far.  So, in no particular order,  the things that I plan to keep in mind this coming year:

1 – I can’t sleep for crap.  I snore, I toss and turn and per my Fitbit, I wake up way more than I should. I get a good night maybe every 7-10 days.  This turns into a downward spiral because when I am tired, I crave carbs and sugar.

2 – Extra weight kind of hurts.  Things feel wrong, my knees throb and of course if clothes are too snug that feels awful.

3 – Oh, the clothes.  When my XL comfy shirts are getting tight, we have a problem.  Not to mention I want new clothes, but don’t want to buy new stuff in case I lose weight and waste money… it’s just a drama.

4 – General malaise and achiness. Not so much a weight thing, but if I gain it’s typically because I’m eating things that aren’t so good for me (or too much of anything). That makes me bloated and tired, plus I have lower energy from carrying around more pounds than I should.  I want to work out but I’m too tired – it’s a vicious cycle.

5 – Social discomfort.  I know, I know, I should feel at home in my skin no matter what. I don’t, though. I’m not one to worry much what others think but when I see my face in a picture and it doesn’t look like me, or I realize my clothes look awful or I look down and see a poochy stomach – I don’t feel comfortable at all.

So – my reasons may not be your reasons – you may read them as trivial or shallow. I don’t really care – I need to motivate myself with reasons that matter and you do, too.  I want to feel good, look good and sleep better. Tomorrow when I begin, I am going to try really hard to keep these things in mind when faced with food that doesn’t get me closer to my goals.  I have a menu planned out, the food shopped for and  a work out schedule mapped out but that will not do much good at all if I can’t keep my motivation in sight.

A strategy for my weight loss project

Or at least a working strategy for the month of January.

I’m an accountant/software consultant and January is typically my roughest month at work – worse than even March and April. If I can make a strategy that works this month – a month in which I could happily order a pizza every night and mainline chocolate – then it should be pretty reasonable for the other 11 months.

I tend somewhere between Paleo and Nourishing Traditions for my ideal template, although I have a tough time getting there.  I love the idea of mainly meat and veggies along with some cheese (duh), occasional legumes and sourdough and white potatoes/rice a couple times a week.  I’d like to avoid packaged/processed foods and most sugar and bread.  I do like my red wine, so that will stay. Sorry/not sorry.

I struggle with a lack of planning, so my downfall is that I totally space out and order take out after a rough day.  I am going to focus on planning my meals and making sure I have everything for the meals plus one or two emergency meals that fit within my template.  I’ll try to share my daily meals here starting  January 1 and also recap how well the plans worked.  I have been shopping on Friday but have decided Wednesday might work better going forward.

I’m going to log calories on My Fitness Pal, at least until I get into a groove with portions and servings.  I am aiming for about 1650 calories a day with macros of about 30 carb/30 protein/40 fat.

As for fitness – I have 2 loves that I have slacked on for the last 6 weeks. I am a level 2 green belt in Taekwondo and will head back to class with my kids starting Monday. I’d like to attend class 2x a week with an eye toward testing for level 3 green in February.  I love weight training too – I plan to hit the Y 2-3 times a week in January. For now I’ll do the machines which are better than nothing, and finish reading Starting Strength so I can move to barbell training within a month or two.

OK – that’s what I’ve got!  I think I’m happy with the plan, it’s specific and doable.  I have  my menu for the week starting Thursday mapped out and I’ll go shopping tomorrow. I have almost all the crap out of the house… OH! I did decide once a week I can have something totally yummy and unhealthy (like birthday cake, or leftover frozen peppermint cheesecake or…. )