Eating Intuitively

When you’re trying to lose weight, there are so many things you should and should not do to reach your weight loss goals.  Keeping track of those “things”, especially at the beginning of your healthy eating plan or when you reach a difficult spot in your journey.

Since I am at a point where I need a little bit of help, I’ve decided it is time to create my own little score card of what I need to do to get on track.  It’s easy to build, since I am well aware of some of the bad things I have done lately.

So, here it goes:

• Ride the recumbent exercise bike for thirty minutes.  Check!
• Drink 64 ounces of water (or Crystal Light).  Check!
• Eat a healthy breakfast.  Check!
• Eat a healthy mid-morning snack.  Check!
• Eat a healthy lunch.  Check!
• Eat a healthy afternoon snack.  Check!
• Eat a healthy dinner.  Check!
• Eat a healthy evening snack / dessert.  Check!
• Avoid all candy and snacks.  Check!
• Limit amount of coffee.  Check!

Those are ten items I can do each day (at least Monday through Friday), and I did all ten of them today!  However, it is just one day, and I need to do the same thing for several days to reach my goals.

Reviewing my score card for today and realizing I accomplished everything I set out to do is an amazing feeling!  I have had a successful Monday, and I am looking forward to a successful Tuesday.

Do you use a score card or some other system to keep yourself in check?  If so, please share your ideas in the comments.

Schedule for Success

I’ve learned through this journey of losing weight that scheduling is key.  Eating six times a day and exercising requires a really good schedule to pull off successfully.

Creating a schedule sets an expectation.  If you tell yourself you are going to exercise at 5am, your mind and body start to prepare for that reality. 

EatingIntuitively.com is a paid affiliate of Nutrisystem, Inc.

Morning or Afternoon Exercise

There are pros and cons to almost any time of day you choose to do your exercise.  Morning can be good, because you are able to get the exercise out of the way for the day.  Afternoon might be better, because you have more time, and you want to help relieve some stress.

I’ve tried both schedules, and I have realized morning exercise is better for me.  It’s so much better that I’ve decided to extend the idea!

Are You a Morning Person?

Okay, I’ll admit it.  I am a morning person.  I woke up this morning at 4am!  The alarm was supposed to wake me up at 4:45am, but I was awake at 4am and decided to start the day.

Instead of getting right on the exercise bike immediately after waking up, I decided to have a nice cup of coffee.  I also went into my office to work on my personal projects.  I finally got on the exercise bike at 7am.

Giving Your Best to Yourself

I arrived at the office today at 8:45am.  That’s one hour and forty-five minutes later than I used to start work.  The difference in how I felt is way more than I expected.

Arriving at the office, I realized I had accomplished the most important things I wanted to do for myself today.  I exercised.  I worked on some of my own projects.  The rest of the day was my full-time job and dinner.

Avoiding Stressful Distractions

The best part of finishing everything before my full-time job is that there was very little that a stressful day at work could do to derail my life’s goals and dreams.  I’m sorry, but losing weight and getting healthy is way more important than my job.  I am also partial to my own personal projects, too.

Have you come to the same conclusion about your schedule?  Do you have  full morning before work?  Or do you prefer to do your other activities in the evening?  I’m always looking to improve my life, and you may just have a schedule idea that works really well.  Please post it in the comments.

I’ve been pretty bad at tracking my daily progress with my healthy eating and exercise plan over the last week, but the good news is that I still did pretty well over the last week by eating well and exercising.

Here is a recap of the week.

Monday:  I got on the bike at 5am, and it felt great.  I felt so good getting it out of the way for the day.  I also ate fairly well.

Tuesday:  I got on the bike again at 5am.  With two days on the exercise under my belt, I was feeling really good.  I basically followed my diet fairly well.

Wednesday:  Three days in a row!  I got on the bike again.  I’m on my way!  It was also another day of good eating.

EatingIntuitively.com is a paid affiliate of Nutrisystem, Inc.

Thursday:  Four days riding the recumbent bike.  I’m really back on track.  I ate fairly well again.

Friday:  I did not get on the bike.  I still felt good about my accomplishment of four days on the bike.  Eating got a little hairy, because I made a trifle for my mother’s birthday.

Saturday:  I started at the new gym finally.  I walked there and back.  I had to get oriented to the new gym.  I did a few exercises, but I didn’t do it to the level I had before. 

I didn’t eat so well on Saturday.  I went to Outback Steakhouse.  I had rack of lamb, sweet potato, and broccoli for my dinner.  I also enjoyed some bread and some of the bloomin’ onion.  Of course, I ate some of the trifle I made, too.

Sunday:  I followed the NutriSystem Select plan, but I did no exercise.

Today:  I was still sore from the gym on Saturday…really sore, so I did not get on the recumbent bike.  I did my best to stick to my healthy eating plan.  I think I’ll be able to get back on the bike tomorrow.

I think it was a pretty good week to get back on track.  I feel I had lost sight of my goal a little bit, and I want to get things moving again.  I still have at least 70 pounds to lose, and I am ready to do it.

How do you get your second wind? 

Breakfast:  Cinnamon Bun Bar; Egg; Banana; Morning Coffee; Cracker, Honeymaid Graham Crackers (Nabisco) ,Low Fat Honey

Morning Snack:  Chicken Breast; Banana

Lunch:  Tomato and Corn Chowder; Boiled or Baked Spaghetti Squash with Salt

Afternoon Snack:  Cheese Puffs

Dinner:  Lasagna; Mandarin Oranges; Oil, canola, olive, peanut, safflower; Pasta, cooked al dente; Fennel Bulb

Dessert:  Chocolate Caramel Bar

Drinks:  Crystal Light

Exercise:  none today.

Pedometer:  ?