Set yourself up to succeed!
 

So I got McD's this am in the drive thru--and instead of running around for lunch, I asked them if they would sell me a salad. She said there was no chicken available for it, I said that was fine. So she sold me a bacon ranch salad! I already have leftover tofu stir fry for meat & starch, and a can of pineapple chunks & a strawberry soy yogurt will complete the meal (I usually eat this over about 6 hours, lunch then a 5pm snack).

How are YOU setting yourself up to succeed?

In the Support Forum we've been doing an importance of planning thread each day for a few days now. It's called something like 'planning for a nearly perfect day'. I shouldn't say I'm 'surprised' how well it's working for folks but it is working amazingly well.

I am always planning 2 meals ahead. At breakfast I think "what am I going to make tonight for dinner?" then I take out the meat I need to thaw or plan a lunchtime trip to the grocery store. At dinner I think "what am I going to take for lunch tomorrow?" and then maybe I throw an extra chicken breast into the frying pan. At this point, that is the most planning that I have time to do but it is working.

Also, when I buy a bag of carrots or grapes or cherries I divide the entire package up into snack size ziploc bags and put them in the fridge. That way I can just throw them into my lunch bag in the morning and I only have to worry about how big the serving size is once a week.

Sara

I have to pack my breakfast and lunch and take it to work. I have been bringing bottled water with me, packing snacks too so I don't goto the vending machine.
I have more control because even if I have cookies- the serving is limited.

I do that too, I pack breakfast (I work out on my way to the office then eat breakfast when I get there), lunch, fruit and I have dried fruit in my desk drawer for those times when I run out of the snacks I've taken in. Some days I go to Spanish class from work and I take another meal in for that too. I carry so much food around!

I'm also getting far better at planning my menus for the week in advance. So I go to the supermarket on Sunday and work out what I'm going to cook every night that week and buy the ingredients for it. I don't have much unhealthy stuff in the house anyway to binge on, but if I've got planned meals it's a lot easier to ignore them.

I also have a fairly fixed exercise plan, I get up every weekday morning to go to the gym, and pack my bags the night before (including all the food which is in a bag in the fridge), set the alarm, and set my clothes out.

Planning, planning, planning.

(but in amongst that, I allow myself some leeway, so I know that during the day I can have a little unplanned treat if i want one without completely sabotaging myself)

From Monday to Friday I'm a planner. I start on Sunday night to plan out Monday and pack everything I'll need at work and plan what I'll have that night for supper. I do that every week night and I've found that it works well for me. Weekends I'm a little more relaxed about my eating rituals but it's always in the the foremost of my mind.

I plan to exercise every day except Saturday, that's my off day. I normally do it as soon as I get home from work, whenever that might be.

~Dee

Bumping this thread to find out what other people are doing to succeed!

I realized that I was stumbling daily around lunch time. I work in a hospital and the cafeteria there is open from 11A-2P for lunch then closes in order to prepare for dinner. I always took my lunch at 11A and just couldnt seem to get out of the cafeteria without purchasing the fried chicken strips and fries no matter how good my intentions were upon entering! I used to take my lunch so early because I couldnt make myself get up any earlier (I work 7A-7P ... so was getting up at 5 already!) to enjoy a breakfast. Now, instead of skipping breakfast, I actually take breakfast and a snack to work and nibble on it throughout the morning. I now wait until the cafeteria is closed at 2P to take my lunch and enjoy something that I brought from home for that meal as well. Plus, the later lunch and another snack around 5ish or so keeps me from starving before I'm off at 7P!

I guess my babbling is just to say that sometimes changing your routine is all it takes to find something successful! Dont be afraid to keep trying until you find something that works for you!