Planning Ahead

Now, I don't claim to be an expert... in fact, I'm far from it. But I know very well that the ONLY way to succeed with weight loss is to PLAN AHEAD! And guess what... i SUCK at planning ahead. For the most part, I've always eaten what I wanted to eat, when I wanted to eat it - when the craving struck, I went for it. That's not to say I was gorging myself on milkshakes and burgers, but alas, even eating "not that bad for you" foods in excess isn't a good thing.

So... planning ahead. It's a big goal for me. I try to have a plan when I go to the grocery store of what I'm going to eat for the upcomign week. I try to have a plan when I start my day, of what my 3 meals and 2 snacks will consist of. And, to make it easy, I've chosen a few "good" snacks to grab and go with me when I pack my lunch.

ROADBLOCK: I usually screw up the plan at 2 specific times: 1) going out to eat - i will even study menus and choose ahead of time, but the spur of the moment change of mind kills me. 2) eating at night - - i never PLAN for dessert, so when I want something after dinner, i don't really have a good strategy for WHAT to eat at that point. i suppose the easy answer SHOULD be "nothing" - but let's face it... it's not that easy.

Wanna hear the ULTIMATE challenge for planning ahead? Embarking on a cruise. I'm TRYING to start planning ahead - and visualizing what i will eat at meals. Egg white omletts, fresh fruit, yogurt, burgers w/out the buns, salads with dressings on the side, just a taste of dessert, easy on the alchohol. It won't be easy, that's for sure. I'm going to have to screw my noggin on pretty tight. But, my goal to work out AT LEAST 3x on the trip is helpful - and I'm excited about the "swim against the tide" lap pool on my ship. Should be lots of fun.

So... as long as I make "good decisions" as often as possible, and stick to the work-out plan, i shouldn't TOTALLY sabatoge the 6 lbs i've managed to lose in the last few weeks. Those pounds are gone for good. And hopefully the fact that I'll be in a bathing suit for the majority of the next week will help me... STICK TO THE PLAN!