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Originally Posted by GlamourGirl827
I'm curious how much you plan?
I
want to plan. I used to be better at it before. But sometimes I plan, sometimes I don't. What helps is that I have some favorites that I call "pig chow" (boyfriend's term for it!) that are healthy meals that I can make with my eyes closed. And I freeze stuff too for easy meals when I'm too tired.
Quote:
Originally Posted by GlamourGirl827
Do you plan out meals for the week, or do a healthy grocery shopping and wing it? Do you make a grocery list?
I have a vague idea of how I want to eat during the week -- I take into consider meals out with friends/boyfriend, how much time I have at hand. At the grocery store, I have an idea of what I will buy, but I like to buy what's in season and sometimes my store runs out of stuff... So, again, I have a vague idea, but I am flexible if I have to be.
Quote:
Originally Posted by GlamourGirl827
Do you prepare meals earlier in the week, make lunch the night before?
I sometimes cook on the weekends and then save for meals during the week (lunches, mostly). Sometimes I cook at night and save the leftovers for lunch the next day. It depends, again, on how much time I have.
Quote:
Originally Posted by GlamourGirl827
Do you write down everything you are going to eat, or have eaten?
I have to keep track of what I eat. I calorie count. Eating intuitively doesn't work for me. I know I eat out of boredom or to procrastinate, so looking at my "budget" of calories, reminds me that I need to save them for later, so I can eat dinner!
I also try to eat lower carb and putting it in MFP let's me see where I am in terms of my carb grams.
Quote:
Originally Posted by GlamourGirl827
Is ther any point of not planning enough that you start to go off track? Is there any point when planning too much makes you feel obsessed? What's your happy medium?
Yes, if I don't plan at all, it's easy for me to get lazy and just start eating out -- my boyfriend will HAPPILY bring me lunch or dinner so I don't have to cook, but the end result is that I can't control what I'm eating. And we all know restaurant food has excess calories in it.
I do get diet fatigue and for the last six months I've thrown caution to the wind and the end result has been a 5 lb gain from my lowest weight this year. It doesn't seem like a lot, but I'm not done losing yet.
So, I have to be strict about what I eat again and part of being strict is planning ahead of time for it -- so I know my portions (weigh and measure food) and I know that if I want to make through a 1500 day, then I should skip the cookie and eat the almond butter with an apple instead (same amount of calories, better satiety!)
Quote:
Originally Posted by GlamourGirl827
And exercise.... Do you plan it? Schedule it? Write it down? Do you have to plan the workout in detail (i.e. X minutes treadmill at X miles per hour) or is it just "I'm going to the gym" today?
For exercise, I can't go to the gym... being on a treadmill is mind-numbing for me.
So, I go to a studio where I can take pilates classes and spin classes. And I ride my bike on the weekends. The classes are set by the schedule -- so it's not MY schedule, it's theirs.
Even when I was part of a gym, I went to the classes that the gym offered. Again, not my schedule, the gym's schedule.
For my bike rides, I go with friends (it's good peer pressure if you say you're going to show up at 7:45 AM to ride with them) and then we ride however long we say we're going to ride that day. We know the typical length and how long it should take us. What I don't know -- and can make the ride easier or harder -- is the weather. If it's really windy, it's a hard workout because you fight against the wind. Or if it's really hot, you sweat more than in the spinning class.
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Originally Posted by GlamourGirl827
What will you break plans for, what have you passed up (i.e. last minute dinner with friends) to keep your plans?
I will plan meals with friends, but I will pick a healthy option on the menu -- usually a salad with a balsamic dressing and protein.
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Originally Posted by GlamourGirl827
Do you have a healthy back up plan for when you original plans fall through?
Frozen meals! Or my "pig chow."
Quote:
Originally Posted by GlamourGirl827
What about workout plans? Will you break them? And for what? Do you have a back up workout when plans fall through?
Yes, I will, for dinners with friends during the week, if necessary (schedule is fixed for classes, so I can't make it up later). Weekends are easier, since the classes are in the day.
I won't exercise, but I will get right back on track.
I exercise 6 days a week, though, and it's just part of my weekly/monthly routine. I have one day off.
Quote:
Originally Posted by GlamourGirl827
If your family decides last minute they all want pizza, do you stand your ground and cook the planned meal? Or give in?
Boyfriend usually doesn't keep me off track, but if he does request something special, I'll give in. Thankfully he fully supports my efforts and today, for example, he said to me when I called him at work begging him to buy me a cookie, "No, you are not allowed to have a cookie."
He's the best.