Today marks 5 completed weeks of steady focus on getting healthier. Happily, I saw another 2.8 pounds down on the scale this morning!
This week was one full of ups and downs in my progress. I had a couple of days during the week where I ended up about 250-300 calories short for the day (not really planned, it just happened). Then the weekend hit and we had 3 holiday get-togethers with friends and family in a row on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. I did count calories through everything, but ended up being about 300 calories over on those days.
I wish I could say that I planned it that way and carefully rationed calories to allow for a splurge, but that wouldn’t be true. My calories overages on the weekend were not in the plan. I had plenty of calories in the budget for eating dinner and even some small treats, but I impulsively ate more than I planned on those days. In some cases, it was more like late night munching on the holiday treats that are sitting around the house, so I can’t even blame it on being around others and having a good time. I knew the snacks where there and I pretty much binge-ate them.
Also need to be honest about my exercise this week. I had planned on starting a strength training program this past week, but I never did. I thought about it a lot, but never got downstairs for some structured workout time. In addition to that, after giving myself a little rest from all the walking on vacation, I didn’t get back in the habit of wearing my fitness tracker. When that’s not on, the push to get more and more steps falls away.
But, I am going to pause right now. Literally–hang on–be right back.
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OK- back! Got my fitness tracker on and ready to move more today!
On the plus side, I continued to count the calories of what I was eating, which helped me to not get too out of control. Plus, I didn’t use those slip-ups as an excuse to quit altogether or to go off plan for a whole day. That is the real success here–changing the way I react to my own imperfections.
I’m learning that small failures and big successes don’t contradict each other. This journey of weight loss, health, and fitness can (and likely will) be filled with times that I don’t eat perfectly or days when I miss a workout. But, as long as I keep moving forward, I’ll reach my huge goals in spite of the tiny missteps along the way.
I was looking for a picture to illustrate my point and found this–I love it!
So true 🙂 I’m going to print this out right now and post it in my office where I’ll see it all the time.
Another sticky point I’ve been trying to figure out is my weekday vs. weekend routine. During the week I get up, take supplements, drink water, eat properly, etc. I have a routine and a structure that works. On the weekend, I wake up late, go visit with the hubby, relax…and more than likely miss out on completing a good size handfuls of my daily to-dos. That certainly doesn’t help when I already have a harder time staying on plan during the more social weekends.
For now, I am just putting that problem in my awareness to try and think of a solution. I don’t really want to give up the freedom of my weekends, I just want to regain a little bit of control. This weekend is Christmas and the next New Year’s, so it’ll be even more out of whack that usual, but I’ll see what I can come up with!
Other plans for the week?
- Get in 1 strength workout
- Don’t overdo food intake during Christmas celebrations
Let’s do this!