Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Striving for "Good Enough"

I had an okay weekend overall. I got in a bit of activity and I stayed within the calorie range that I’m working with. However, some of my food choices weren’t that great. Instead of having a proper healthy meal, I had a salad (giant, but pretty much just greens with a few tomatoes) chased with a rocky road square. Or I ate a decent slice of vegetarian pizza, but instead of having a piece of fruit as a snack a couple of hours later, I had a handful of chips.

Again, I stayed within my calorie range, and I still ate my vegetables and mostly had whole grains. But I wonder if that’s the best way to go?? On one hand, I’m certainly not fueling my body in an ideal way. On the other, by indulging in some “no-no” foods on Saturday and Sunday, I prevented the sense of deprivation I usually get when I’m dieting really stringently. And I think that it’s that sense of deprivation that sends me face first into a pile of cinnamon rolls.

I also balanced my exercise. In the past, I’ve hit the gym (or the pavement or whatever) for an hour or two a day everyday. Sometimes both morning and evening. Because in some twisted part of my head, that’s the only way to successfully lose weight. But eventually I would miss a day, and then several days because I was soooo sick of the gym and my music sucks and my knee hurts and I just don’t wanna!! So there!!

This weekend I didn’t get to the gym on Friday night, but I walked with the puppy for a while. I walked again on Saturday and got a ton of errands done. I hit the gym on Sunday for some cardio, and I had a dance class that evening. And I didn’t get to the gym yesterday, but I took the dog for a full hour long walk.

This is a new approach for me. One with happy mediums rather than do-or-dies. I’m hoping that it will let me stick to this new plan long enough so that my “diet” becomes my lifestyle.

5 comments:

Mom said...

It's hard to get your own plan down. For a while I tried to be 100% vegetarian, but then I realized that I love seafood, chicken and turkey. I guess for me, balance is the key that I am striving for. And I tend to follow that adage about eating like a king in the morning, a prince at lunch and a pauper at dinner.

Lisa Kay said...

If you're making an effort to include fruits/veggie/whole grains, the occasional handful of chips isn't a tragedy since you're staying in your calorie range.

That's my opinion - and I'm no expert!

You are doing a great job!
Happy Thanksgiving!

Denton Girl said...

sounds like you have a good plan.

Julie said...

Remember that this isn't a "diet" it is a lifestyle change and a handfull of chips every once and awhile won't kill you. If you are feeling deprived then you need to either change some of the food you are eating to another healthy but more flavorfull type of food. Because if you feel deprived then you are more likely to give up. Don't give up because this is the most important thing you could do. Not only are you impacting yourself and your health you are also impacting those around you.
Thanks for being an inspiration.

Loey said...

You've all nailed it! And the trick is to keep reminding myself that this is a lifestyle, and NOT a quick (but painful) fix. Which means allowing myself "treats" if I really want them.