Getting Back Into The Groove

At the beginning of every week I plan out exactly what I’m going to be eating- minus Friday/Saturday night and Sundays.

I lost my planner so computer paper did the trick today.

Planning everything out leaves me without the excuse of not knowing what to eat and grabbing the quickest, easiest, and unhealthiest option. Leaving a few times open; allows me the flexibility I need to not fall off plan. If I had every moment determined at the beginning of the week I would get bored, so having open times to go out or to be spontaneous, gives me something to look forward to all week. Obviously, things don’t always go as planned, sometimes we’re missing an ingredient, or we just don’t feel like having that particular meal for dinner, so it took a while but I had to find the balance between being so rigid I can’t change anything, and being so flexible that it’s pointless to have a plan. Breakfast and lunch are never a downfall for me, it’s always dinner, and after dinner.

Losing weight isn’t easy, anyone who tells you it is, is lying. I go through spouts of days, sometimes weeks, where I feel like I’m accomplishing nothing. It can get to the point where I feel like I’m failing and I should just eat the Reese’s Egg and give in to my inner fat girl. Along with the dietary restrictions and limitations that make a diet hard, I have also encountered that so many people are willing to tell you that what you’re doing is wrong, and who have advice on a better way to get the weight off. If I started taking advice from every single person who has told me this, I would be on a new diet every day, and would get no where fast.

And it’s not just people you personally know giving opinions, you can look at a cover of a magazine and they’ll be telling you what to do instead. “Lose 20 pounds in 7 days!”; a part of me wants to cave to the fad diets, do something that I know is unhealthy, but the fact is, I will gain that weight back. Right now, I am losing weight the healthy way and though it feels like it’s taking forever, I’m not starving myself, and I’m not putting my body through something unnatural. I have to keep reminding myself that I will be able to keep the weight off easier after all of this and that I am doing what is right for me. I’m not on a diet, I’m on a lifestyle change; one that will never be over. I will be watching my weight for the rest of my life, and I’m okay with that.

When I feel like I’m in a slump here are some things I like to do:

1) Make graphs or look at tables showing my loss

I’m so close to 140!

2) Put on my bridesmaid dress from my sisters wedding

See my About Me page for a picture of the wedding day. On the day, It was tight, and we weren’t even sure if I was going to fit into it at that point. Not anymore.

3) Sort through all of my clothes and box away what doesn’t fit anymore

Boxing clothes away and donating them means there is no going back, I will never have these clothes to wear again and I refuse to start buying big sizes again.

4) Paint my nails.

Today’s color is Essie’s Big Spender. Nail polish is such a simple thing that helps me get my mojo back. Taking care of myself is just as essential as eating well in this whole thing. If I don’t do little things like, paint my nails or get my hair cut I start to feel gross or sluggish and then next thing I know my eating is going to hell and I’m too tired to exercise.

So next time you’re feeling like you’re in a rut do something to make yourself feel pretty. Just trust me on this one.

What do you do to get your butt back in gear?