Since my birthday in late November I have not been great at making wise food choices. The exercise is still on routine (thankfully) but the food choices have been down the drain.
It seems I can do ok Monday - Thursday, but when the weekend comes and I lose that structured schedule my choices go down the tube.
Why am I making these terrible choices? I have lost about 45 lbs and prior to my birthday I was very good - journaling my food (I'm a calorie counter), exercising, and eating fresh, whole foods.
I'm disappointed by my faltering this past month. The holiday food stress certainly isn't helping. At this point I'm just hoping to make it past New Year's without gaining over 185. I have Christmas, a trip to my inlaws, and New Years humps to get over before the holiday festivities are gone.
I even ate the cake brought in to our work lunch today. I never eat cake at work.
Someone please slap some sense into me so I can get past the next 2 weeks and then back on plan for 2009!
Here is an official little kind in your behind.
I can't help much with the weekend bad choices - I am staying pretty much on track all week and weekends don't make any difference for me, so I don't have any useful advice. But SusanB started a similar thread not too long ago, about how to make better food choices on the weekends. Here is the clicky for you.
Hi - Boy, do I feel for you. I am getting back to it every day. I am trying to say to myself, when faced with "unauthorized" food - "I can choose this, or I can choose health." "I can choose this, or I can choose to not put myself in a position where I will feel just awful." Sometimes taking that ONE second to stop yourself is enough. Sometimes it isn't. When that is the case, take a few deep breaths and walk away. If you are home it helps to have a kitchen timer - set it for 10 minutes. If you still want the food or extra portion, go ahead and have it and move on.
It's all about self-talk. You can talk yourself into eating it (with all the reasons why you "deserve" it or why you FOR SURE won't follow it with another 1000 "unauthorized" calories) or you can talk yourself OUT of eating (not as easy, I admit!).
You can go into this new year defeated and mad at yourself, or you can be proud that you have at least managed to hold your own, even if you don't lose more weight in these next two weeks. Whether you believe you can or you can't, you are absolutely correct!
You can do it! This is the hardest time of the year- don't be too hard on yourself!
Right now - through the festive season - try to focus more not not gaining and making the best possible choices given the circumstances (which is gonna include *gasp* the occasional piece of cake here, or chocolate there -but that's life [the ups and downs] - even more so in late December).
Once this rough patch is over, I'm sure you'll find your way back into your normal groove and things will get easier.
Best of luck, Michelle.
P.s. NO CAKE tastes as good as size 8 jeans. Sorry... I just had to say that, even though I totally get where you're coming from, when giving into temptation.
Haha, like *I* can even talk. Same as you, since my Birthday (Dec. 5th), I have been making horrible food choices. I still exercise, but it's hardly enough.
Tomato - Thanks for the kick! And thanks for the link. I may need to start participating in those weekend posts.
Samida - "with all the reasons why you "deserve" it or why you FOR SURE won't follow it with another 1000 "unauthorized" calories" Man I feel like I did that today! Tsk Tsk. But you're right, I am proud of what I've accomplished and I believe I CAN do this! Thanks for the attitude adjustment.
Mazza - Hehe Yes, those size 8's will be very sweet when I reach them.
Luvja - Thanks for the kick! Isn't it rough having a b-day near the holidays? Bah no excuses next year!
see thread right around here for my pretty much exacly the same "will someone shake some sense into me" thread.
I'm back on plan and you can get yourself there. too. One day at a time and string together two days onplan. then the third will come and you'll be back in the groove. That's what the gals told me and that's what I did.
Michelle, I'll give you one only if you give ME one, preferably with some steel-toed moto-boots My gain has been since late October, when I had the job change and loss of riding weather But that happens every year to me, I have to get used to it.
Anyway, I am in the same boat!! I've been working out almost every day but eating bad food, or good food but too much, but mostly bad food and alot of it. I've got the best muscles but they're under an inch of fat And it happened sooo quickly!
And now it's Christmas and the cookies and candy are freakin everywhere, especially all the cookies I've baked for gifts.
Let's join in spirit for strength in consistantly making the right food choices!
I need a kick in the pants.
Consider yourself kicked
Sorry... I just had to say that, even though I totally get where you're coming from, when giving into temptation.
KICKS YOU IN THE BUM 
And it happened sooo quickly! 
