My brother and I always talk about the “Switch.” It’s the moment you go from not caring, eating whatever you want, to actually planning healthy meals and moving. Neither one of us can ever figure out how the switch turns on and off. But it’s turned on and off for both of us most of our adult lives.
But it got me thinking. Why does the there have to be an on and off switch at all? Since the beginning of the year I haven’t obsessed about calories, I haven’t given myself a long list of things I have to do in order to get to the weight I want to be. My birthday is in March and for the last four years I’ve declared “this is my year! I’ll be at goal weight by my birthday for sure!”
I’ve suddenly realized that there doesn’t have to be an end goal to actually achieve it. It’s making each day the best you can and stringing enough of those days along that in the long run will show the results I am looking for.
I’ve stopped feeling guilty about food. Nothing is off limits to me. I can either choose to have it or not. And so far, that’s been so freeing to me. Remember how Tony found out about my secret? I’ve been a closet snacker for as long as I can remember. But the difference this time is I am telling myself I can have whatever I want . . . but I am choosing not to. That makes me smile just reading that last line.
Yesterday for breakfast I had the last of my artisan bread and made a spinach/egg white scramble and put some mozzarella cheese on top and put it under the broiler at the office. This was surprisingly filling!
Knowing I was going to work out this weekend, I decided to do a fast workout – I am loving these workouts I am finding in Pinterest!
I am not going to lie, I had to look up Russian twists, superman and bird-dogs to see what those were! I like that you just don’t stop – this took me 15 minutes to do. Then I ran a mile on the treadmill.
But when I got back to work I was hangry – I had leftover pork marsala, but I added a sautéed zucchini to it, and had a tangerine on the side.
My boss is now paying me to make her lunch – she’s the Lean Cuisine Queen so I am happy to have her eat “real” food. She pays me $5 bucks a lunch, so she gave me $10 bucks for Thursday and Friday’s lunches.
I stopped by the store on the way home to “spin the 50% off meat wheel” but there wasn’t anything good. Rats. The regular store prices of meat are ridiculous at this store, so I texted Tony “are burgers and fries okay?” He said “perfect!”
So I give you my second indulgent meal of the week – bacon cheeseburger with fries. I ate 3/4 of this plate, and gave the rest to the dog – he was a happy camper!
I had no snacks last night either – I kept thinking about popcorn, but I kept asking myself if I was hungry, and I wasn’t, so I’ll take that NSV any day.
Here are some inspirational quotes that are helping me on week two:
Question of the Day: Do you feel guilty about eating certain foods??
There are only four football games this weekend – it’s getting close to Tony’s favorite day and worst day of the year – Superbowl Sunday! Then we have to wait months until the baseball season starts. Turns out we aren’t basketball fans or hockey fans!
Hope you have a great weekend – make it a great day!
I love potato chips, and always feel like a jerk after eating them. I am so glad your boss is eating real food now, those microwave meals are ok every once in a while but I’d cry if I had to eat them everyday! Keep on working day by day, that is what I am trying to do too.
i love your new mindset! i’ve found that over-thinking makes things worse with just about everything in life, including diets!
Guilt foods: pasta, french fries, mashed potatoes, chips-n-dip, burgers, nachos. Alas, I have lots of them!
I love your attitude towards the food because I think that’s how we should think about it. I don’t avoid certain foods and certainly don’t feel guilty when I eat them. The less heatlhy foods I just eat not as often as I used to and I eat less of them but I keep on eating them. I love food too much and want to eat everything I like and I think we can do that as long as we do it in moderation.
hey biz! i’ve missed you! i love this post, it’s takes so much pressure off coming to that point. i need to reach a better place with food myself. your blog looks awesome by the way!
I missed you too Teresa – thanks for stopping by! 😀
I do feel guilty for eating certain foods – especially in this pregnancy. I’ve been like, “am I gaining too much?”, “is this food okay with her?” etc. For the most part, I’ve just been going with the flow and eating what I feel like. I’m definitely ready for my more ‘self-controlled’ life and turning the switch back, but, to your point, just making better choices each day!