Pace Yourself

Ever have one of those days where there just isn’t enough time in the day? Or weeks? Or decades?

Yeah.

Last Saturday was my “free” day. Didn’t have any sporting events, church activities, parties or meetings planned. Usually my hubs is home on Saturdays but he was working so it was just me and the kids. I was free to sleep in…

Does that say 7:29 am and is Little Man ever going to sleep in…ever?!

I was free to tackle the laundry

Don’t judge me. It’s almost finished….YES, it’s 4 days later, but no one will agree to my idea of one outift per month.

I was even free to weigh in. It wasn’t my “normal” weigh in day and I didn’t stick to my routine, but I braved it and got on the scale anyway.

I don’t know what is more disturbing: my weight or my toenails.

I didn’t want to share this picture, because it requires a difficult admission: When I don’t workout and I eat whatever I want I gain weight. No that isn’t earth shattering news, but it is still hard. The deeper difficulty is that all of the weeks of hard work were only helping me to maintain my weight. I need to make some real and new changes.

Tomorrow is The Feast. Thanksgiving. Perfect time to make change? Ummm…

Well, I have a two step plan for all of us which applies to both the Thanksgiving feast and the insanity that is Black Friday shopping.

Step 1: Have a plan

• Thanksgiving: If you know cousin Sandra, is bringing her sticky buns for dessert and you won’t be able to resist then maybe you should skip the dinner roll, drink water/skip the beverages full of empty calories, and load up on veggies.
• Black Friday: Know where the deals/door busters are that YOU want. Do not wander aimlessly.

Step 2: Stick to your budget

• Thanksgiving: It is perfectly acceptable to calorie count (if that is your thing), to politely pass on Aunt Molly’s weird gelatin “salad”, and to save some of your favorites for later to keep yourself from gorging.
• Black Friday: Do NOT spend more money than you have. Cute little Riley will be just as happy with the cheaper option as she will with the one that will contribute to the breaking of the bank. If you can, stick to cash. You will thank me in January.

If you want to know how the weekend is going you can follow me on Twitter! Yep, I took the plunge. My handle is @scalemattersABC. Hopefully, this should get me through the weekend and give me time to regroup/come up with a real plan for the rest of the holiday season.

Wish me luck!

Blue Friday

I was enjoying spending time with my kids and husband so much that I forgot to post yesterday! I did not forget to weigh in though. That wasn’t good news, but I’m not posting it. I’m calling it my bye week. Weighing in the day after Thanksgiving even when I added a workout to my week was a depressing idea.

In other bad news Aim’s husband was playing two hand touch football on Thanksgiving day and wound up in the hospital with a cracked rib and collapsed lung instead of at their dinner table…after waiting for him to come home from Iraq! He’s expected to go home soon, but we would all appreciate prayers, happy thoughts and good wishes on their behalf.

Aim didn’t get to go Black Friday shopping. That doubles the sadness of her weekend! Me? I dabbled in some shopping yesterday, but did not do my normal up at the crack of dawn shopping. Got one Christmas present. I’m learning to love Internet shopping lately. How about you? What was the highlight of your holiday weekend so far?

This week…I have to crack down on my bad habits. I have been getting exercise in and plan to add 2 jog/walk sessions each week in addition. What I have not been doing is paying attention to my calorie input. I DETEST counting calories, and it seems to push through this set point some drastic measures must be taken. My eating schedule has been horrible. I barely get a piece of toast in the morning then I’m hungry at school all day and maybe snack on a bag of chips. Then come home and eat way too much at night and before bed. Not healthy! I’m working on getting a good breakfast, packing my lunch and exercising restraint in the evening time this week. If that doesn’t work (ie – I don’t lose weight this week) then I may have to do the thing I have been dreading in this effort to lose weight and spend some time counting calories. {insert self pitying whimper}

Wish me luck!