plan for this afternoon
 

Friday afternoons have become a problem for me. My workday ends at 12:30 on Fridays. When this first started, I went home, did housework and cooked vegetables for the weekend. Somewhere along the line, Friday afternoons became "me time". The problem with "me time" is that I want to sit, watch tv and eat. Now I have not gone wild but looking back over my journals, for several Fridays I have eaten 200 or 300 calories over my limit. Usually I have eaten most of my calories before dinner so then I make myself eat a small dinner and feel "Poor me." I give myself 400 extra calories for the weekend and if I eat them on Friday, I have a hard time staying on plan Saturday and Sunday. It hurts the weekend.

Today I am trying something different. I think this starts because I don't eat lunch until I get home around 1:30 but maybe later if I stop somewhere on the way. I am very hungry by then and have trouble stopping eating when I should. Today I brought my normal lunch and will eat at 12:30 before I leave work. I have a list of errands to run so I won't even get home before 4:00 or 5:00. Then I fix dinner.

Basically, I am trying to fix the problem by running away from it. Do you think that is bad?

I don't think you're running away from it at all--you've discovered a problem, analyzed it, and made a plan to combat it. Good for you!

Now, if you are trying to have "me time" without overeating, you can use parts of your plan--for instance, I think that bringing your lunch so that you don't get overly hungry is a good thing. Then, when you get home, you're more likely to be able to relax and watch television or whatever without that nagging "eat something" feeling. Or, you'll be more inclined to substitute something healthy for your usual caloric mistakes because you won't be ravenous.

Sounds to me like you're just being smart and proactive. YAY for you!!

I think it's a great idea, you're just trying to change a bad habit that you've developed.
I did the same recently as I had been having my weekly treat on a Friday night all through this journey. The bad habit that developed however was that treat turning into lots of treats which carried on the rest of the weekend, leaving me with a gain every Monday to try to reverse. So I decided that "why does my treat need to be on a Friday". I decided to try to decide when I would have my treat based on what plans we had for the weekend. I also made a deal with myself that if this didn't work then the treat would have to stop altogether or at least reduce to monthly. I'm pleased to say that it did work and since then I've been able to enjoy my treat far more because I'm in control.

I think you've done brilliantly. Discovered a pattern and changed it to something that will work better for you. And with your errands out of the way you can be a couch potato when you get home guilt free if you want to.

T'aint running away. Like the others have said, it's identifying a negative pattern, working out a way to deal with it. If you find this works to resolve the extra calories out of place problem, eventually it will become a habit not to eat the extras and you'll be able to go back to your usual Friday afternoons - but wihthout the picking.

It worked. I got through the afternoon with my standard number of calories and will end the day with 1225 calories.

You wouldn't force an alcoholic to sit in a bar every Friday afternoon. It's not running away. It's changing your Friday routine so that you don't fall into that trap.

Happy to hear your strategy worked!

Yay! :hug:

Well done!