OK, this is ecumenical, I just like that eye catching title. You can call this Hanukkah or Kwanzaa or New Year or a 7 week challenge!
Step One: SET Goals, you need 10 goals to acheive by Dec. 25th
Step Two: You need to stop in here at least every other day or every third day to give an update and talk about what you have done to acheive those goals. Copy the goals you write for yourself here and post them in your home, so you will remember what they are and they are "in your face". I'm taping mine to my bathroom mirror.
Step Three: Walk the talk. I'm guilty here. I come here and say I blew it, I'm off the wagon, oh my, oh what have I done wrong.... whine, whine, whine, and it's high time I stopped playing games and either s____ or get off the pot! Are you with me?
Here are my 10 goals, they truly are something I can do and there are no excuses:
1. Walk, either on the treadmill or at the mall or in a neighborhood, I can do this. I will walk at least 3 - 4 times a week. I will make time for it.
2. I will not pass through the kitchen and grab cookies, cookies are not for me. They are for the other people in this house. Pretzels are permissible about every 3 or 4 days only. I will make and keep air popped popcorn in zip lock bags for myself, so the "oh, I need it now and I'm in a hurry" thing won't happen.
3. Meal planning, If I make a plan I generally stick with it, but the plan needs to be made each day. So, today is day one and I will have a written plan in place for the entire day.
4. Do not allow other family members to get in the way of my success. This is where I am very bad and their insistence at ordering out for pizza and picking up Chinese food are just not right for me. There are healthier choices at these places for me, but I give in to be "part of the party". Good luck to them if they want to be eating like that, but I have to do better.
5. Forgiveness. There will be Thanksgiving and a few holiday celebrations with all kinds of food. I know this and I forgive myself for those special occasions, but every day is not a special occasion. Get that? Every day is NOT a special occasion. There may be three or four "special occasions" in the next 7 weeks, not one every day.
6. Experiment, you have been reading a great deal about raw foods and vegans and pretending you are doing certain things, but you have not changed your diet a single bit. You just read. You don't have to convert to an entirely new thing, but you can try a few things and improve your over-all diet and get as far away from processed foods as you can. Tinkerbell is not going to come in and wave her magic wand at you and suddenly a spa chef will show up and make it happen, you have to make it happen.
7. You have a certain number of points (or calories) that are in your range for each day. You know this and you continually "forget" to write it all down and then wonder why you can't drop these extra pounds. Write it down. You look at a serving and guess that it's a proper serving size, measure it. If you are still hungry at the end of a meal, popcorn, water and fruit.
8. Get back to a few WW meetings. Going to those meetings does truly help inspire. But, you know you are very very busy and the approaching holiday season is going to get out of control. Forgiveness for not going is important, but that doesn't give you permission to get out of control.
9. Read your "lite" and WW cookbooks, try those recipes for fun and see what happens. Goal is to try at least one new recipe per week. If you are busy, try a crock pot recipe.
10. Read these goals over at least once every two or three days and remind yourself of what you need to do.
For me, that is is. This was an lecture to myself, written here for all to see. If I put myself out there, I may actually get someplace. But, I need other people who are enthusiastic and want this. I need people to bring me back when I stray. I need someone who joins in to even send me a private message if they don't see me post for two or three days and prod me and say, "Where are you and what are you doing? Are you eating?"
Thanks and I hope a few of us can do this together. I had a funeral (an unpleasant reminder of what can happen when a life is not well lived) to attend over the weekend and 95% of my dress clothes didn't fit when I was getting ready to go. I intend to fit back into my own clothes and go shopping for a new suit that looks fabulous on me that could take me out to dinner, to a meeting or to a funeral if need be.
Hugs to all!