Plan for It! Success!
Tuesday November 30, 2010
I think I have written & commented more about planning than I can count high BUT here I go again. Heck, this is a very busy time of year & without that planning ahead, you are going to find yourself a very stressed person with possibly a couple pounds more on you than you prefer. It is not only the fact that you may not exercise as much BUT stress & the cortisol build up that comes with stress causes weight gain too. PLUS we all know that not enough sleep creates even more problems.....
So...... plan ahead & plan for success! It is as simple as checking out your gym & favorite class schedules in advance. Is your gym going to be closed on certain days? Plan to switch up days OR do a home workout. Is your fav class teacher going on vacation or are some of the classes going to be cancelled due to the holidays. FIND OUT & plan to do something else!
I am on top of this every year.... checking the schedule of the gym to see if I need to change it up. Heck, I check the weather too for my outside weekend run. I don't really have rain wearing running clothes so I need to stay ahead of this.
Two weekends ago, it was "supposed to be OK" for my weekend run. Out I went & about 40 minutes in, I was caught in not just rain but a MAJOR downpour... so bad that my husband got out of bed way earlier than he gets up to come looking for me!!!!! Do I have a great hubby or what!
I got a good 60 minutes in though before I got home! I usually do about 80 minutes on my weekend run.
This past weekend, the weather report said "a chance of light rain" on my outside run day. NOPE, not talking a chance! I switched it up & ran the other weekend day when there was NO CHANCE OF RAIN!
It really does not take much effort or time to plan ahead for this.
Same with food - plan ahead for events, parties, get togethers. Bring a dish or two that you want to eat - offer this up to the hosts. If you are shopping, bring some of your own stuff so you are not at the mercy of the food court. If you want to splurge, plan for it & decide what you do & don't want to eat. Own it & move on.
One caveat here: If you are a person that has A LOT of parties & get togethers thru the month of December, I would suggest picking 2 or 3 that you want to "enjoy" at & not do every single one if you tend to be a party animal. All I am saying is that it is way easier to eat lots more calories that you can burn off. OR, maybe decide on one thing you really want at each party. You get my drift here. Plan ahead. Know what you are up against & decide what you are willing & not willing to do AND live with afterwards if you go overboard.
AND ALWAYS GET RIGHT BACK TO IT THE NEXT DAY! Don't play the "I ruined it game so I will wait till Monday" thing. Just get back to your normal routine & all will be fine. If you put on a couple pounds from eating more than normal, so be it. Getting back to it will have those pounds off in a couple days or so.... not to worry!
Are you planning ahead for food & exercise? Anything you want to offer up to others?
Don't wait till January. Start now.. why not! You will at least be ahead of the game by adding in new behaviors whether you lose or maintain....
I think I have written & commented more about planning than I can count high BUT here I go again. Heck, this is a very busy time of year & without that planning ahead, you are going to find yourself a very stressed person with possibly a couple pounds more on you than you prefer. It is not only the fact that you may not exercise as much BUT stress & the cortisol build up that comes with stress causes weight gain too. PLUS we all know that not enough sleep creates even more problems.....
So...... plan ahead & plan for success! It is as simple as checking out your gym & favorite class schedules in advance. Is your gym going to be closed on certain days? Plan to switch up days OR do a home workout. Is your fav class teacher going on vacation or are some of the classes going to be cancelled due to the holidays. FIND OUT & plan to do something else!
I am on top of this every year.... checking the schedule of the gym to see if I need to change it up. Heck, I check the weather too for my outside weekend run. I don't really have rain wearing running clothes so I need to stay ahead of this.
Two weekends ago, it was "supposed to be OK" for my weekend run. Out I went & about 40 minutes in, I was caught in not just rain but a MAJOR downpour... so bad that my husband got out of bed way earlier than he gets up to come looking for me!!!!! Do I have a great hubby or what!
I got a good 60 minutes in though before I got home! I usually do about 80 minutes on my weekend run. This past weekend, the weather report said "a chance of light rain" on my outside run day. NOPE, not talking a chance! I switched it up & ran the other weekend day when there was NO CHANCE OF RAIN!
It really does not take much effort or time to plan ahead for this.
Same with food - plan ahead for events, parties, get togethers. Bring a dish or two that you want to eat - offer this up to the hosts. If you are shopping, bring some of your own stuff so you are not at the mercy of the food court. If you want to splurge, plan for it & decide what you do & don't want to eat. Own it & move on.
One caveat here: If you are a person that has A LOT of parties & get togethers thru the month of December, I would suggest picking 2 or 3 that you want to "enjoy" at & not do every single one if you tend to be a party animal. All I am saying is that it is way easier to eat lots more calories that you can burn off. OR, maybe decide on one thing you really want at each party. You get my drift here. Plan ahead. Know what you are up against & decide what you are willing & not willing to do AND live with afterwards if you go overboard.
AND ALWAYS GET RIGHT BACK TO IT THE NEXT DAY! Don't play the "I ruined it game so I will wait till Monday" thing. Just get back to your normal routine & all will be fine. If you put on a couple pounds from eating more than normal, so be it. Getting back to it will have those pounds off in a couple days or so.... not to worry!
Are you planning ahead for food & exercise? Anything you want to offer up to others?
Don't wait till January. Start now.. why not! You will at least be ahead of the game by adding in new behaviors whether you lose or maintain....
Posted by truth2beingfit at 11/29/2010 9:00 PM 
Categories: Fitness, Motivation/Support, Weight Loss, Exercise, Dieting, Awareness
Tags: balance challenges Diets Exercise fitness holiday eating holiday healthy eating tips holiday weight help planning portion control Weight Loss
Categories: Fitness, Motivation/Support, Weight Loss, Exercise, Dieting, Awareness
Tags: balance challenges Diets Exercise fitness holiday eating holiday healthy eating tips holiday weight help planning portion control Weight Loss
"Don't play the "I ruined it game so I will wait till Monday" thing."
All too common this time of year.
The one thing I like to remind people this time of year is this:
I have known many fitness successes through the years, and I’m proud to have aided in more than a few. No fitness success story that I am familiar with was date stamped January, 1st. The best fitness accomplishments I have seen unfold before me have all been the result of a strong will, a truckload of effort, and a blazing desire to begin making changes on June 26th, December 3rd, or April 9th, just as much as on January 1st. Point being; today is the day -- even through the holidays!
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Roy, yup, that is what I was saying.. does not matter what day it is.. just start & just do it!
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I have to chime in on the I RUINED it game too
dont slash your 4th tire because you have 3 flats.
make your NEXT choice the one which gets you back on your healthy path.
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Miz, love that! Great analogy! And yes, the very NEXT choice!
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Oh Jody, that was so sweet your husband actually thought of you out there while in bed sleeping of all things and came and picked you up! Ah,,,what a sweet guy!
I love to plan ahead, but sometimes my resolve isn't as tough as I'd like it to be. I need to be planning for my next visit at my Mom's a few days!
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Sheri, just pan for what you are willing to eat & do & learn that saying no is OK!
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Great advice Jody. While I don't exercise outdoors a lot at this time of year, you made a great point about checking the weather ahead of time if you do outdoor workouts.
I would offer the suggestion to always keep a glass of water or, my favorite, club soda with lime in your hand during parties. That way it's more difficult to nibble.
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Karen.. great advice!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Plus, don't stand near the food table!
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I've had the same experience with rain during a run! It's not too bad if the rain starts after I've been running a while, and there is no lightening!
I've been planning for so long it's all autopilot now.
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Dr. J, I am with you!
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All true! I would add only a cautionary note about over-compensating for indulgences, either through cutting too many calories (and their nutritional benefits) from other meals and/or over-exercising in a very short period. I might have made that mistake before.
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Cammy, great advice too! I would say that a person can tighten up & eat cleaner but be careful of too few calories as you said... also, you can just up the intensity of your current workout too but doing too much is bad as well!
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I am feeling the need to up the planning now. Simply because the change in seasons. It is colder, windier, just crappier outside. So I need to be more diligent in planning my outdoor cardio so as to avoid just looking outside and allowing myself to easily wave it off because of the elements. I have all I need to get the cardio done weather or not, i just have to plan ahead to make it easy to jump into when the planned time comes.
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Patrick, I can see you planning right now!
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Isn't there a saying like "Fail to plan; plan to fail?" Right now I am just planning a little at a time, not looking too far ahead yet. It is less stressful for me that way this time of year
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Karen, whatever works for you... a week ahead or 2 weeks, whatever it is....
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Here's to planning ahead!! Even if things don't go as planned (like your run), you know you've given yourself every opportunity to be successful. And that's just really great stuff!
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Thx Lance.. I try as do you too!
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Yes ma'am I am planning! I'm planning to indulge on Christmas because it's my birthday as well, and possibly at a Christmas luncheon at my work in a week or two. Still going to workout though-I have my days planned!
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A Xams bday!!! My hubby;s bday is the 23rd & a very good friend is the 24th! Yes, plan for that treat!
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