Fifteen minutes of writing freely.

Today is the second day, officially, of my Girls of Gwynnie Bee DietBet. It's starting out pretty smoothly, because I've been transitioning into a healthy lifestyle for some time now. I have good habits that include:

Eating tons of fruits and vegetables (TONS)
Drinking tons of water
Eating breakfast every day
Bringing my lunch to work every day
Exercising at work at least 4 times per week

The habits that I need to further perfect include:


Tracking my calories on MyFitnessPal
Staying within my calorie limit
NOT mentally excusing overeating by rationalizing that I've "earned it" from exercise
Eating one healthy dessert (chocolate covered pineapple chunks, a frozen mini peppermint patty, or low calorie fudgesicles) and NOT two or three
NOT losing my mind if I make a mistake and continuing to blow it for several consecutive days (NO FOOD BENDERS)
NOT throwing in the towel if I go on vacation (this has caused me to backtrack hugely)
Reaching my daily target of 7,500 steps per day
Obtaining 7 hours of sleep or more per night

So these are what I will work on during this bet.

Tracking my calories is a big thing. I've been a Weight Watchers member on and off for almost ten years, and I have experienced success when I count my food (CONSCIOUS EATING) and failure when I let myself fly freely. If I track, I can do it. I spent many months getting into the habit of tracking on MFP. I would say that now it's a habit, for sure. I log what I eat. What I need to do better is stay within my target calorie range. I'll be able to achieve that by eating smaller portions at dinner (much easier said than done) and by snacking less in the evenings (I have faith that I can do this part).

 

ACTION Plan: No carbs at dinner for 4 out of 7 days per week. I can live without my side of noodles or potatoes. I'll be just fine.

Not throwing in the towel when I go on vacation is a huge one for me. I've done it over and over. I'll do pretty well for a few weeks, then go on a long weekend away with Drake or something, and we'll have dinners out, and we will have pizza, salty snacks, chocolate and alcohol in the hotel room, and we'll have great fun, but I'll be feeling an underlying trace of guilt the whole time, and at the next week's weigh in, I'll have undone all the progress I'd made in the weeks leading up to it. I DO NOT WANT THIS ANYMORE.

ACTION Plan:  At Gen Con, which is this Wednesday through Sunday, I will do the following:


Plan breakfasts in the hotel room of 1) Greek yogurt OR Hard boiled egg (80), 2) Better Oats instant flax-seed oatmeal (120) and 3) Fruit (70). Total: 270 calories.

Plan healthy snacks during the games I'm playing: Light string cheese (60)
Fruit (50-100)
Carrots and Laughing Cow (50)
Whole wheat crackers and hummus (200)

Plan lunches and dinners out to be as wholesome as possible and ORDER WISELY:
Chick-Fil-A (shudder)
Subway
California Pizza Kitchen (thin-crust)
Noodles & Co.
Salads, salads, salads, salads!!!

Keep booze consumption to a minimum:
Allow wine at one fancy date night with Drake
Allow wine at one dinner out with the girls
WATER EVERY OTHER TIME!

Drink a shitload of water.

Track all the things.

I feel somewhat confident that I can do this, but at the same time I feel a sense of underlying fear/dread. I have anxiety while gaming (it doesn't make sense I know) and gaming is all I will be doing at this convention. I must not allow myself to cope with this by snacking. If I must, I will handle it by drinking water instead.

OK, that's all I have time for for now. Still thinking about ways to manage this next four weeks though.

More soon.