Current BMI: 31
One of the reasons that I like journaling as a means to facilitate weight loss is that it helps me identify patterns. I don’t make a huge production of my journal. I just basically write down whether or not I drank enough water, whether or not I ate 5 to 8 servings of fruits and vegetables and how much if any sweets I ate. (Sweets are my huge weakness.) I might note if I had fast food as well. In any case, I’ve already discovered (or rather rediscovered) something that is going to be a pitfall for me all summer and possibly into the fall.
I am incredibly busy. I easily rival the busiest person in the world. All of my friends know me as the busiest person that they know. I am convinced a significant reason for this is I am the only one who has twins out of all the people that I know. . .but that’s besides the point.
Schlepping kids to and from classes on certain days is a major part of our day. In the summer time they get to take gardening classes which is a rare treat for your average inner city resident. In any case, I am very good about packing snacks for the two and a half hour wait that the twins, Meghan and I must do while the older two are in their class. What I’m not good at is lunch.
The problem is that the class lets out when there is no parking available. (If you live in the city the correct way to envision this is that the class finishes as alternate side begins–if you don’t live in the city–you’re not going to understand that.) In any case, this leaves me with two options. The first is to schlep lunch for six people around the gardens for two and a half hours. That’s lunch, snacks, water, diapers, wipes and toys along with two toddlers and a four year old. . .for two and a half hours. The second option is to go out to eat. Call me a wimp, but fairly consistently I have chosen to take the kids out for lunch. I simply cannot envision where I would stick sandwiches while I’m chasing toddlers. And believe me, they need chasing.
The program has been going on for 5 sessions now and I’ve realized something. I keep ordering burgers. Not the salad, not the baked potato, but burgers. And why? Because you cannot eat a salad while you’re driving which is what I’m doing. In the past I’ve ordered burgers too, and justified it by the massive amount of walking I do while at the garden. But the point is to eat less and move more. Not eat more because you’re moving more.
So I’ve come to a conclusion. I am going to buy a stay cool bag so I can keep lunch for the kids and myself in the car for a few hours. The point is. . .
I know that you are busy too. I bet there are certain things in your life that make eating healthy inconvenient. So sit down tonight and figure out what to do about it. Maybe you need to change when you go grocery shopping. Maybe you need to stop eating on the run or maybe you need to be more prepared so that eating on the run encompasses fruit and raw veggies rather than fattening snacks. Whatever it is, sit down, figure it out and think up a solution. This is a lifestyle change.
FAILURE IS NOT IN MY VOCABULARY!
Join us in the forums as we support one another on our Mission Possible.
What is Mission Possible all about? Losing weight sensibly. Read my weight loss guidelines here.