Excuses, Excuses!

Posted February 11, 2014

Writing my post on why I want to lose weight reminded me of what my husband encouraged me to do in the run up to our wedding when I was trying to shift a few pounds to fit into my dress: He suggested that I make a list of all the excuses I could think of for not sticking to my diet and exercise plan. That way, when one of these excuses came up, I’d recognise it for what it is: Just an excuse.

Image courtesy of pakorn / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

I thought this was a good idea so I wrote the following list on the noticeboard in my study:

Too tired
Too much work to do
Don’t have time
We’re going out
I’ve never been to this restaurant/tried this dish before
Can’t be bothered

I did find that it helped me to ignore these excuses.

Since starting my weight loss efforts afresh in January this year, I’ve been thinking about these excuses again and I’ve found it useful to spend some time considering how to respond to them. I’ve found this strategy to be even more helpful because I haven’t noticed the excuses surfacing so far, despite the fact that I’m now well into my second month, a time by when my initial flush of motivation would definitely have expired in my previous weight loss attempts.

Here are my musings on each of my excuses:

Too tired (to exercise) – Will I be going to bed instead of the gym? No? Then I can’t be too tired. Also, once I get there and get going I’ll feel more energised. I’ll feel great after my workout and I’ll have an even better night’s sleep because of it.

Too tired (to cook healthy food) – I’ve made sure that I plan very quick and easy meals for week nights and I’ve also got some stock cupboard staples, such as beans and bread, for when I really can’t be bothered. I also make sure I freeze extra portions of the meals I cook so that I’ve always got a healthy ready meal on standby in the freezer.

Too much work to do – Yes, work is important but so is my own health and well being. Just because I have a job which will expand to fit every waking moment doesn’t mean that I should allow it too. Exercise is an excellent way for me to de-stress at the end of the day. I can always go into work a little bit earlier the following day if I have something really urgent that I didn’t get done. I also make sure I have quick and easy meals planned for in the week (see point above).

I don’t have time – I need to prioritise my healthy eating and exercise to help me achieve my weight loss goals as I really want to reach my goal weight. Simple. So I make the time to plan my meals in advance and then make a list of all the foods I need. I then shop either in person or online. This makes it really easy in the week as I just have to refer to my meal planner. I also keep things realistic in the week sticking to recipes that are really quick and easy and using frozen portions of recipes I’ve already made. I also plan my exercise classes into my week – they’re just part of my routine.

We’re going out – We might be going out but I can still make wise choices. It won’t be the last time I ever go out and I’ll get to my goal quicker if I stay on track.

I’ve never been to this restaurant/eaten this dish before – I try to look at the menu in advance of going out for a meal so that I can choose the most plan-friendly option. This also allows me to work in any higher Pro Points options I want to try. However, I do often ask myself is it worth spending the points on one meal or even dish?

I can’t be bothered – Let’s face it. We all have days when we simply can’t be bothered. I’m not 100% sure how to best tackle this one as I haven’t really experienced one yet this time around. I have had a couple of ‘can’t be bothered’ moments, but I’ve just given myself a bit of a mental talking to and reminded myself that I REALLY want to reach my weight loss goals and throwing myself off track won’t get me there.

I’d like to end on a quote I came across the other day which seems to encapsulate the attitude I’d like to adopt towards excuses:

“If you really want to do something, you’ll find a way. If not, you’ll find an excuse.” – Jim Rohn

Thanks for reading!

PS How do you deal with ‘Can’t be bothered’ days?

Weight Loss Dilemma – Control Freak vs Unexpected Meal Out

Posted February 6, 2014

Filed under All Things Weight Loss

Image courtesy of Stuart Miles / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

According to my sister (and probably my husband and a few others too), I’m a control freak. In fact, she’s probably spot on with her judgement to be fair.

For the most part, this helps me to live a busy, organised life. And being in control definitely helps with my weight loss: On a Friday or Saturday night, I sit down and plan my meals for the following week, make a shopping list then either shop online or take my list to the supermarket and I’m in and out in about 30 minutes.

This is great when I get in from work exhausted and all I have to do is look at my meal-planner to see what I’m having for dinner. No decision making is required therefore my chances to make unwise choices based on my mood or hunger levels are greatly reduced. Similarly, meals out are usually planned at least a few days in advance and I will look at the menu ahead of time to decide what I’m going to order (see this post for evidence of control freakery!).

However, the flip-side of this is that I get a little bit panicky should something unexpected come up. Tonight, for instance, my husband phoned me at about 5pm to ask if I wanted to go out for dinner. We don’t often go out in the week and I know he wouldn’t have suggested it if he didn’t really fancy it. Now, I know I ought to have been thinking ‘What a lovely idea’ but the control freak in me was wailing ‘But I haven’t planned for this! How can I eat out and stay on track with less than an hour’s notice?’

Well, the answer is, quite easily actually! I was really hungry and I thought that this would lead me to make a less plan-friendly choice such as a cheeseburger or a great big bowl of pasta. But I simply thought about the reasons I want to lose weight and reminded myself that I’d feel much better about having made a wise choice and that I’d also be that little step nearer to reaching my goal too. We went to a local pub where I ordered a sirloin steak and asked them to replace the chips with a jacket potato so it fit perfectly with the Filling and Healthy/Simple Start plan. Simple.

I’m not saying I’m going to rip up my meal planner and start living by the seat of my pants, but, just maybe, I can say yes to an unexpected invite to dinner without getting stressed about letting it throw me off track.

Reasons I Want to Lose Weight

Posted February 5, 2014

Filed under All Things Weight Loss

Inspired by this post from a fellow blogger, I’ve decided to compile a list of the reasons I want to lose weight to help me stay focused during those times when my motivation wanes:

I want to feel better about myself
Image courtesy of luigi diamanti / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
I want to wear smaller sized clothes
I want to get rid of my spare tyres and muffin top
I want to feel happy when I go shopping and try on new clothes
I want to feel happier when I look in the mirror
I want to feel happy with my size when I see myself in photographs

I’m going to visualise this list whenever I feel like having a binge.

Rewards – Be Nice to Yourself

Posted January 19, 2014

Filed under All Things Weight Loss

As per my previous post, I find it more manageable when I break my overall weight loss goal down into more manageable smaller targets. I also like to reward myself for achieving these goals. I don’t know if it helps me to stay on track but, as the saying goes, it’s nice to be nice and I don’t see any reason why this shouldn’t apply to being nice to yourself.

When I first started Weight Watchers, I would reward myself for having a good week by eating a great big cream cake, or a McDonald’s or something else that I wouldn’t spend my points on during the week. I got into the habit of seeing the evening after my weekly weigh in as a bit of a “no man’s land”.

At first, it started off pretty small, but eventually I was binging most Mondays after my weigh in. A typical week would see me polishing off a large McDonald’s meal with thick-shake, a pudding or cake of some description and a chocolate bar (or two)! Not only was this making me feel sick, but I realised that it wouldn’t be doing my weight loss any favours.

With this in mind, I have decided to stay on track even on the evening following my weigh in and to reward myself with non-food based items.

This month, I’m going to reward my weekly weight loss by having a bath with a fabulous bath bomb or bubble bar from Lush. I really love these products as they make a bath feel really special, however they are quite expensive so it’s a treat to use them.

For achieving my January target of losing 4lbs, I’m going to reward myself with a back massage. It’s a bit of an extravagance but they are so nice and at £15, I’ll be saving at least that just by not buying the items needed for my post weigh in binges!

How do you reward yourself for achieving your weight loss targets? I’m hoping to mix things up with my rewards as I journey towards goal so I’d appreciate any suggestions.

Thanks for reading.