The mind is the enemy

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Haha, LaMaria , I should totally get a plain cover and see who fights to sit behind me on the bus when I do it!

Food yesterday (Thursday) went like this:

Breakfast - homemade smoothie and coffee with skim milk
Lunch - Gyro
Dinner - Pasta bolognese, completely homemade, plus two pieces of garlic bread
Drinks - 2 glasses of wine

Typically I eat a lighter lunch and do a whole lot more snacking, but that gyro was heavy. I still wanted a snack around four but instead I went to say hi to one of my bosses. It's a slow time at work so I haven't really talked to him much lately, so it was nice to catch up. Kept myself distracted until 5 and then it was time to go home!

Tonight I have a company party. It should be fun, I will likely enjoy a little wine but it's a family event so I'll mostly be introducing my boyfriend around and watching all the cute little kids in their Halloween costume.
 
Hey Oaks, as a fellow New Englander (Boston-born, actually), I know the misery we've had the last couple days. Hardly inspirational. Supposed to be nice weekend, at least. In fact as I type this, I see some sun poking out from the darkness!

Good on ya for making a start last night! How about in preparation for the wine tonight you have just a salad for lunch? Or a light jog between work and the party?

First couple weeks are always the hardest, and that's why it's most important to stay on target...
 
LittleJohn , how fun that we're both in New England! I grew up in the Midwest but I've been in the Boston area for ten years now. You were right, it's shaping up to be a great weekend.... I should get in a quick run or two for sure. I'm doing a 10k next weekend, which should feel short since my last event was a half marathon!

I wish I could say I behaved yesterday... But I can't. Too much to drink, and too many sweets. But I'm not going to give up. When I was writing on here a few months ago, I pretty much gave up the first time I had a fun-filled weekend planned. But the reality is I'm just going to have to balance being both healthy and being fun and social.

A few years ago when I was just a few pounds heavier than I am now, I managed to drop more than 20 pounds fairly easily. I was living with my then-boyfriend. We didn't cook, and ate a lot of frozen and otherwise prepackaged meals. Not necessarily healthy, but counting calories sure was easy. We didn't drink much because we always fought when we did. There was a gym in our apartment building's basement, and I was a new runner so any exercise meant instant weight loss, pretty much.

And now? My current boyfriend loves cooking, and I come home most days to a home-cooked meal on the table. He's a drinker, my co-workers are drinkers, and I don't have to worry about fighting with anyone anymore so I'm a drinker, too. I've completed, at varying levels of success, four half marathons and countless other races, but training for long distances typically causes me to gain a few pounds.

Things are different now. And I have to start working harder and thinking about things differently than I did back then because circumstances change for everyone in life and they learn to adapt. People lose weight when they have kids, and stressful jobs, and sicknesses and all sorts of things. I've got none of those things! So quit whining, Oaks, and be happy you've got it 'easy.'
 
It is currently Sunday evening. Yesterday I was trying to think of what my goals would be for the next few days. Here's what up with.

Between Sunday and Wednesday I will:

-Abstain from liquor and beer (wine is allowed)
-Avoid sneaky snacking
-Run twice
-Do one squats/pushups workout
-Complete 2 short yoga videos

I may think of more but I like the list so far. Hopefully on Thursday I will be able to report complete success!
 
Good goals, Oaks, I think those are a reasonable start. I'm trying to break my habits in 2-week intervals. Cut out fast food Oct 1, check. Cut out desserts Oct 20, check. Next cut will be soda.

Good luck on the runs! (the, uh, kind where you exercise, not from eating too much apple sauce!)
 
If I try to make any week long goals I tend to give up by Wednesday. That's why I'm thinking breaking the week in two for now will be easier for me. As long as it gets me to make some new goals for the weekend! So please feel free to harass me on Thursday if I don't check in here :)

I managed to avoid all alcohol yesterday (Sunday). But that really wasn't hard since the previous night I had stayed out for a friend's 30th birthday shenanigans until 4 am. FOUR AM! That is unnecessary. But I had a great time, was tired on Sunday but otherwise hangover-free, and wanted nothing to do with booze that day.

Didn't get any exercise in, but avoided sneaky snacking. Boyfriend hopped in the shower, I instantly started preparing some pumpkin pie smoothies to take to work. Took a while, and so by the time I was done the temptation period was over!
 
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Good going! I might try the 2-day goals, too, that sounds so much more manageble. Staying up until 4 am without alcohol? I´m too old for that :p You´ve obviously got more energy than me ;)
 
Oh no, my writing was confusing... I've edited to be more clear. There was LOTS of alcohol on Saturday night, haha! So I guess Sunday was only alcohol-free if you allow me to exclude the hours between midnight and 2 am :). And can we also totally ignore 2 am to 3 am :):cough::chinatown::cough:: )? The amount of drinking I did on Saturday night is what made me want nothing to do with booze on Sunday.
 
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Well done on setting the goals - they sound like good ideas. Short-term goals are a good idea, they can really help you focus.
 
Thanks for stopping in Serge! I'm hoping the short term goals really do work better for me. So far so good! I've just avoided another sneaky eating trigger point, and will easily avoid booze tonight. I'm still tired and a little dehydrated, water is my best friend right now.

Food for the day:

Breakfast - Coffee (always with milk), no sugar) and instant blueberry oatmeal
Lunch - Salad with tuna salad (that sounds weird, but it's accurate)
Snack - Coffee with 2 candy corn pumpkins, 1 dried banana
Dinner - A very appropriate portion of beef bourguignon along with 1 piece of garlic toast
Dessert - Ginger tea and one Pepperidge Farm cookie (130 cals)

Pros: Snacking was minimal

Cons: Tuna salad is all mayo. Mayo and deliciousness. Thankfully only the first couple of bites were magical. The rest of the salad was blah. Won't be craving it again.
 
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My boyfriend and I are sitting on the couch, finishing up Walking Dead and Talking Dead. He's had two drinks and two bowls of chips, and *I* had my tea and one cookie. Win!
 
Sunflower , we watch SOOOOO much tv, it's awful! I need to start encouraging the boy toy to play video games. Then he can't eat or drink and I'm more apt to do yoga or clean the house or something.

Thanks LaMaria!! Being able to share my accomplishments here really ups the motivation factor.

Well, I got up early this morning and headed to the gym for the first time in months. Spent 41 minutes on the treadmill. That includes a lot of walking, but I did 4 intervals of running, varying between my normal pace of 5.4 miles per hour and faster paces between 5.6 and 6.0 mph. I love intervals. I get to walk when I need to but those fast intervals really get my sweating.
 
Thank you all :) I hope I'm half as encouraging to you guys as you are to me. LJ I'm feeling pretty good now! I managed to pop out of bed much easier than expected today, despite going to bed later than I had hoped. The real test will be if I can do it two days in a row.
 
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