Lacking discipline

iarookie

Summer vacation is here. Yay right-- Not really. I need to get into a routine and STAY or Im totally screwed. Any advice on how to get through a 3 month long "weekend" of no routines and home being all day?

jeepzilla

First focus on the task at hand then focus some more !!!! take it day by day and do what your suppose to do each day...

Saksgirl1

I'm creating a new routine for my upcoming 3 month vacay (I love summer breaks!!!!) I have to admit though, I find it so much easier to get to the gym when there is no school! Good luck!

2chubby4now

I am a morning person so maybe it is a little easier for me than for some. I find that if I get some sort of exercise in as soon as I can in the morning, it jump starts me for the day. Any extra activity during the day is a bonus. I feel pumped and more keen to stay on track. If I don't do something first thing in the morning I seem to get too busy/lazy and I lose the day. This is not to say I don't have my slip up or Ooops day(s)!

ajbeans

Plan your meals and snacks the day before so you know what to make when you get hungry. It's easier to keep from noshing on junk if you have a plan. As far as anything else you need to get done, make yourself a list of the things you want to accomplish each day, and group them into blocks for morning, afternoon, and evening (or anything else that works for you). Use that as kind of a loose "schedule" to keep your day moving along.

Bourgeoisqueen

So odd, cause when I have a day of just being at home...I eat less depending on how much I ate in the morning. If I don't eat breakfast then I screw up my whole schedule then I am ready to work out....I would say workout the first hing in the morning so you can get it over and done with....

Yelrut

Make a goal poster. If 3 months is too long then make a goal poster each month. Put pictures, words, lists - anything that will be a positive influence on you and then stick it where it will be in your face every day. Also, write out a weekly menu, shop for those items only (to keep junky snacks out of the house) and post that on the fridge door. One more thing....pick some mini celebration days throughout the summer and put them on the calendar. Put an X on each day that you get through while staying on track. The goal is to get to your celebration day without breaking the chain of X's. Hope this helps! Good luck......:)

mattbryan

Take it one day at a time. Even within a day, it's one decision at a time. Try to maintain the mental exercise of asking yourself what and why you're eating. And since you're out...come here more often. Having others to encourage you and keep you accountable will make it easier on those days when you're feeling down and weak! Keep your head high! You knew it wasn't a quick journey when you started, but remember the old African proverb....How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.

PS....Ironic comment to add in here. As I'm typing this, Bridge Over Troubled Waters started playing on my headset!

You can do it!!!!!!!

3PointO

Excellent suggestions, everybody! I just learned a few new strategies!

I find that if I "fall off the train," so to speak, that I can ride it quite far until I wake up and get back on track, which is why I have gained and lost the same 70 lbs about four times in my lifetime. So because I am the grand excuse master, I need to take two approaches to put a stop to my downward slide which starts "innocently" as one big meal out here or a sweet there--before you know it, I'm fully off the healthy eating program, eating and drinking whatever I want when I want: First, jeepzilla's comment about taking it one day at a time is helpful to keep me on track in the moment before I've slipped. Second, if I've slipped even just a little bit, focusing on the long-term goal will work better to get me back on track. Using a combination of focusing on short- and long-term goals when needed to address any excuses has been effective for me in the past. You also may want to consider setting a 3-month weight or size goal and don't stop until you reach it. Best of luck!

Tazzjazz

Great ideas! I especially like the idea of not breaking the chain of x's. Keep going!!!

hyper588

What jump started my descipline, I committed to spending the money for 10-personal trainer sessions. Spent money is a powerful motivater for me. I think the best investment I made was purchasing a heart rate moniter. I set a daily calorie burn goal that I "must" acheive.

I too am off during the summer and looking forward to turning bad habits into better ones. For example, I like to watch Young and Restless...so this summer, I am scheduling my workouts so that I can do 60 minutes of cardio (400-500 calorie burn) while enjoying my favorite soap.

I also love to dance, so picked up country line dancing one evening a week--2 hour classes =700-900 calorie burn. I enjoy flower gardening, usually burn about 400 calories.

Just started this program a few days ago, but have lost 11 lbs so far.

rnroadrunner

man I wish I had 3 mths off. :grumble: :laugh: There has been alot of good advice given here. I would like to sudggest............P90X. you have 3mths it takes 90 days how awesome is that!! Also you have the time to do this. As someone else said do yuor workout in the morning. I feel so good when the exercise is behind me for the day. ))) keep us posted on what you do. Good luck and get fit!!::drinker:

hyper588

Another reason I'm in "like" with myfitnesspal.com...I have tracked calories off and on for-ever it seems. But when I would "cheat" aka go over 1200 calories, no matter how much activity I had done...I felt like a loser who failed, which as someone else pointed out...propells the moral in the wrong direction...that darned ole' kinetic energy thing--is so true with dieting too--a body in motion tends to stay in motion and vica versa :-)~

But with myfinesspal, if I have burned 1300 calories at the gym and in the flower garden (like today)...I don't feel like I have cheated or failed if I eat 1300-1400 instead of 1200 calories. Thus, another clique "success does beget success".

I agree with the advice on focusing on today, planning your healthy lifestyle meals and exercise choices a day in advance (you can change them, but at least you have made conscious choices...rather than unconscious ones.

I am not viewing this journey as a "diet", but rather life-long changes...that mind-set helps me. Diet suggest "end-game", which I realize...there should not be an end to making healthy choices.

iarookie

Thanks for the tips! Starting new routine today and guess what- it is pouring outside- curve ball right out of the gates!