Tonight in our weekly support group meeting, we talked about what skill we had learned that has been instrumental in our success with weight loss so far. Mine: planning, no doubt about it. Planning helps me to ease any anxiety about what I’m going to eat, how much I’m going to eat, and whether or not I’m going to be able to eat what is available. Planning for physical activity also makes me feel good, and gets me up and moving, which I prefer to sitting still for long periods of time any more, because well, now I can get around so much better and I want to take advantage of that!
Here are some examples of ways that I use planning to succeed at this weight loss thing:
Making Alternate Plans: Tomorrow afternoon, I’m going to pick up my race packet for a race I won’t actually be running in. Saturday’s weather is supposed to be really cold, really wet, and really not my jam. So I’m going to the gym Saturday morning and running/walking 2 miles on the treadmill instead.
Planning For Special Events: Tomorrow night, my husband and I will be celebrating our 8th wedding anniversary. We’ve chosen a fabulous place for dinner, and I’ve scoped out the menu and have chosen what I will be eating for dinner. Thankfully, this place has many options that are sleeve-friendly, which made choosing difficult! But I’ve settled on something I know I will enjoy and that won’t make me feel deprived of something delicious.
Planning For the Holidays: Thanksgiving Day, my husband and I will be celebrating at home first before going over to my Dad’s for the holiday. We’ve already planned to hit up the chef’s case at Central Market and already know what we’ll be eating for Thanksgiving–herb-crusted beef tenderloin and green beans with roasted carrots and hazelnuts–so there is no stress about what will be served where we’re going. Easy peasy–we don’t have to eat there, because we will have already eaten something we both know is sleeve-friendly and in appropriate portions.
Planning to Avoid Overeating: I pre-log my foods in MyFitnessPal at the start of the day most days so that I can see where I am nutrient-wise and calorie-wise. For me, if I see that I’m close to my target calorie intake, I won’t eat any more–if it’s not already on my list, I don’t eat it. I also pre-log my vitamins and water intake so that I hold myself accountable for getting them both in before the day ends.
Those are just a few examples of ways I use planning to help me out on this journey. It’s helped tremendously, and I think will be critical to my long-term success.
Today’s protein intake was good: 86 grams. I had a little more fat than I like (45 grams), but I don’t worry about it too much since fat keeps me satiated. I’m also trying to get in more veggies each day, because I miss them terribly. I’ve got a clementine and a plate of leftovers waiting for me at school tomorrow for lunch, which I’m excited about because it means that I can snack on the clementine and Brussels sprouts (which I LOVE) during the day! Is it wrong that I’m excited about that?
Today’s food choices, from upper right: leftover Rudy’s bean, egg, bacon and cheese breakfast bowl; Thanksgiving lunch from Blu, our school’s student-run restaurant–roast turkey breast, roast Brussels sprouts, two bites of cornbread stuffing and turkey gravy (I left the ham and other stuff to pick at for tomorrow’s lunch); Trader Joe’s chocolate nibs; Italian-style meatball; lemon-herb rotisserie chicken, mashed potatoes, sauteed zucchini and a focaccia cube; multivitamin and calcium supplements x2, iron supplement.
La Guerra de La Gorda 