Everyday is Monday!

TOTALLY understand!! First, my thing about my weight loss was getting into the groove of saying it is a "lifestyle change" NOT a "diet". I hate the word diet..........it doesn't even fit in anywhere. A diet is where you DON'T have certain foods and you HAVE to keep on it. Plus, some people........lucky people........have a problem gaining, so its not a diet-per say. So, I call it a lifestyle change. Its like with anything.......I have a lifestyle all my own.........I do certain things that some people won't, like going to karaoke and singing. So that is what it is for me.........a lifestyle change.

And as far as portion control is concerned, do you have measuring cups? If so, its a BIG way for you to change that very little problem It is a little problem........and not as big as you imagine it to be. I seem to feel that the bigger you make a problem the more it will seem overwhelming to you. Every time you cook for yourself, no matter what it is, pull out the measuring cups. I promise you it will help. Look on the sides of the boxes or whatever you are making and figure out how much is a portion of what you want and make it. If its the fact that you want to do this and its an automatic thing to just go and make it..........leave out the measuring cups on the counter where you will ALWAYS see it. That way, you will think "oh yeah, I need to use this".

As far as places to eat goes.........portion control is within your reach there too. Don't be afraid of it. My trainer told me once........they usually serve you meals that are good for two people no matter if they say its for one person or not. So when you order, ask for a to go box and put half of what you want, to take home for the next day. That way you are eating about a portion of what you want to have.

Thing to remember in all of this is.........be kind to yourself. Don't get frustrated by things because there are always answers out there and everyone goes through trials and errors before they get things right. Also, if you tank it once during the day, try not to for the rest of the day. Just because you had a piece of chocolate cake or whatever, tell yourself "I can get back on my lifestyle change the next time I want to eat". Seriously, if you just change that one way of thinking, it will make a world of difference. And for myself, if I have something to eat that is somewhat less desirable and I know I could do better, I take up my water bottle and commit to start drinking it throughout the day. I envision the water washing away all those calories, fat, ect.......and that really helps me too.

My journey started more with not working out and not making significant changes. It was about educatiion, I like learning how the body works and reacts to different things. You try to upheave your existing routine and do an about face in a short period of time, nearly everyone fails. Start simple. Educate yourself on what healthy is and isn't and start making incremental changes. Why does P90X work for people, it is simple. If you can only do 1/2 a push up today, who cares, do 1/2 a push up a day for the next 3 weeks, eventually you get to 1, then 1.5, then 2, etc. A book I read suggested make it fun, for if this is not fun it is not engaging, if it is not engaging and doesn't hold your interest you'll get bored stop. I believe it is about education. If you have health concerns like I do, it can motivate you to learn faster. A suggestion is to log what you can, when you can so you can learn what different meals, foods or exercise can do for you, but don't feel pressure and stress of having ot enter every little detail every day. Then it isn't fun.

Thats awesome!! Some people are like that.........they have to learn before they can set a workout routine ect. My journey started immediately after my move. With me, it was always the WANT to exercise part that got to me........most times I would go strong for a while going to the gym almost every day, but then it took that one time.........just one.........where I would just totally lose my mojo as far as motivation goes to losing the weight. Its all about mindset. If you're like me, its a balancing act between working out and eating right.........so I chose one area to get down right first, which happened to be keeping up my motivation, and so now that I am strong in mind about that.........now I can focus on the nutrition stuff. And yes, I learned a lot about nutrition and had a map out of what to eat and what not to by my trainer.........and I still have that with my nutritionist too.........but it really helps when you have something in front of you that's saying "okay, now you have this for lunch" or "have this after you work out". And with anybody telling you these things, they will educate you on why it is and if they don't, ask questions. That is the main key here. Asking questions and being curious about things that are being told to you will help you not be bored..........will even help in getting educated on what you need to know. And even if you have it mapped out for you, making good decisions based on it even helps.

I think you are right about incremental changes.........Rome wasn't built in a day........and neither was your fat cells. They took time to come your way and settle in the worst places imaginable (because we all have a feature about ourselves we don't like........mine are my arms, they wobble and I SO can't wait til they shrink! LOL!!). So that is basically what I was saying above. If you want to start working out more.......and say if you only work out a day a week.......try it for two, then three, then four......so on and so forth til you've got the groove. Trust me, when you become a "gym rat" as Mom likes to say, the days you skip will make you not feel right. I can already tell myself.........if there's a day I don't work out, I feel like I drag during my mornings. But if I exercise, I am bright, energetic, and ready to start the day!