Trying to Try...
Hooray, it's the weekend! (Oh no. It's the weekend...)
You might also hear this same internal dissonance, especially when it comes to maintaining good habits. For me, the struggle is always with food.
Weekdays are okay; I count calories and report mostly the truth to an exacting little app in my phone. This keeps me in check, realistic about what I can allow myself and still stay within the goal.
But from Friday afternoon to Sunday evening, I drop this business entirely, because I don't WANT to know the truth, to count the cost. Weekends are free time! And yes, of course those "free" indulgences show up on the scale bright and early the next Monday, my middle just a little squishier. Ugh.
This week was the kicker. I exercised (really hard!) six days of the seven, and still weighed more at the end of it all. I'd love to attribute this new heft to increased, rock-solid muscle mass, but must instead point blame at the weekend's three celebratory feasts:
- Spring Rain! Time to bake bread! (and eat a lot of it, with salted butter)
- Graduation's coming soon! WooHoo! Summer Barbecue!
- It's finally stopped raining! Let's go out for Indian food and ice cream!
My family has a long-standing love affair with celebratory food that is unlikely to wane anytime soon. I regularly feed a huge (tall, unjustly high-metabolism) husband and two enormous, teen man-sons. One of those boys is a spectacular cook who loves to experiment with interesting flavors and combinations, and I'm his best audience. (For Mother's Day he made the most perfect Eggs Benedict, see food brag pic above.)
Also, our extended brood lives close by, and those gatherings center around the table too -- post-band-concert taco festivals/Grandpa's half-birthday pineapple upside-down cake with the irresistibly-sticky caramelized corners/Uncle Eric's soft pretzel and homemade jam-gifting binges/cut-throat hot wing competitions that last through football season. I don't want any of this to change! It's a convivial and welcoming part of my heritage, one that I love and want to pass along.
By now you may be thinking, "What's the big deal? You're a regular, healthy gal. Just get over it and have some fun with your family." I'd like to do that, but cannot overlook the simple math. (Skip this next paragraph if you prefer to live in denial.)
I'm not getting any taller, and over the last ten years, I've gained and kept a pound a year. Yes, it's been a slow decline, but if I don't get some new habits (particularly, weekend eating habits), I won't reach my goal, which is just to stay the same size I am right now. This doesn't seem too unreasonable or complicated a request of myself.
But of course, just because something's simple doesn't make it easy.
To help me define, adopt and then maintain my new habit, I turned to Gretchen Rubin's terrific book, Better Than Before: Mastering the Habits of Our Everyday Lives. It helped me acknowledge this and more:
- I've got to make a plan that includes some celebrating, or I'll give up
- I've got to tell myself the truth (there's no such thing as "calorie-free because it's my niece's birthday Hershey pie")
- I've got to take this one holiday/celebration/meal at a time
You'll learn more of the advice, assessments and tips Ms. Rubin imparts, plus some of my own insights at the next LifeInspired free group coaching session (see sidebar for details). No matter the habit you want to adopt, you'll benefit from her straightforward, realistic and forgiving approach.
We'll work on our plans together. I hope to see you there.
