When It’s Time To Change You’ve Got To Rearrange

Here, allow me to really get that ear worm into your head.

Anyway, the time for rearranging some of my priorities is now. I tried on 5 pairs of jeans this morning in order to find a comfortable pair to wear grocery shopping. I am a fan of stuffing and pumpkin pie, but I am not a fan of my pants feeling tight. This is the first time it has happened in 16 months and let me tell you it was a rude awakening.

The truth is my eating habits have been quite…um, lax in the past few weeks. This is to be expected with the holidays and happy hours and dinners out and working in a office where every one feels the need to celebrate with baked goods, and to be honest I find the festivities of the season a good reason to let your diet go off the rails a bit. I am all about enjoying traditions and not being too anal about every single thing you eat when things like Thanksgiving and Christmas only come once a year.

HOWEVER.

Personally, I am having trouble lately drawing the line between enjoying a seasonal treat and eating a mini snickers for breakfast because someone has brought them into the office.  And since I blew breakfast, I might as well enjoy that Pumpkin Spice latte at lunch because the red cups ONLY COME AROUND ONCE PER YEAR!

And the truth is I have been having trouble for the past few weeks.

What makes the situation complex is that I am still kicking ass at the gym.  Fitness is still a huge priority.  I mean, I ran a 5k on Thanksgiving Day FOR FUN!  (And annihilated my previous time!  2011 Goal — CHECK!)  And it was fun.  And I have no doubt that I will continue to workout and prioritize the sanity that exercise brings and continue to maintain my weight in a healthy way.  So what is the big deal if I have a little bourbon egg nog cocktail on a Friday night, right?  No need to be so regimented!

But the problem with this thinking is that I am not trying to maintain my weight right now.   Next year, maybe I will have cocktails every Friday night for the entire holiday season.  But currently I am in the home stretch with my goals and I would just like to get there!  So I need to rearrange my priorities a bit.  I have at least 40 ish lbs left to go (though I am becoming less and less attached to a particular number the fitter I get) and continuing to just maintain isn’t getting me where I want to go.  And you know how much I love checking off lists and achieving goals, so — it’s time for some change.

Enter, AndreAnna. My dietary fairy godmother. Do you have one of those? I recommend it. It’s nice to have someone you can text while you are walking up and down the aisle of Costco thinking to yourself “PEPPERMINT MALT BALLS? THEY MAKE THOSE? I MUST BUY THEM ALL!”  And have her remind you that bulking up on healthy stuff is going to get you where you want t be.  She has put together a Look Better Naked Paleo Challenge and because I need a lifeline with my nutrition right now, I’ve decided to participate.

What I’m committing to over the next 6 weeks:

1) Strict Primal eating (no grains, sugar, legumes, processed foods, only full-fat dairy)
2) Keep dairy to a minimum
3) At least 4 Workouts Per Week
4) Sleep at least 7 hours a night, aim for 8.
5) Keep my carbohydrate intake between 50-100g per day
6) Keep the alcohol intake to special occasions

And here are my goals I’d like to see by Jan 6:

1) 5-10 lbs weight loss
2) Do pull ups in a WOD with red band (I’ve been working on this for a bit and I think a drop in lbs and re-commitment to the gym will help me nail it)
3) Get my weight loss mojo back!

How I plan to get there

1) Tracking food intake, especially carbs at first
If you’ve been around here for any length of time, you know that I despise food tracking. I think it is a recipe for mental anguish, food obsession, and frankly it interferes with your ability to listen to your body’s natural signals. Eat when you’re hungry, don’t when you’re not. THAT is a lifestyle. Counting calories/carbs/points is not, in my opinion. ***stepping off soapbox now. sorry**** That said, I need to get back to being able to HEAR my body’s signals so I need a little structure at first.

2) Prioritizing sleep.
This means I need to plan a little better if I’m going to wake up and tackle a 5 am WOD.

3) Reduce the caffeine consumption
I have a tendency to over caffeinate when I’m feeling worn out. Who doesn’t? But I really enjoy coffee black and I think it is one of life’s small pleasures and I tend to use that as an excuse when I’m starting to use it as a crutch. “But you enjoy it, Holly! You don’t even use cream and sugar! Deprivation is not the goal!” And then I drink 5 cups a day without even thinking about it and it wreaks a bit of havoc on my body. A cup in the morning is enough. If it’s not, sleep more, silly.

4) Focus on hydration.
I’ve been super lax about hydrating lately and that is another thing that, for me, really affects the way I feel, perform and eat. It’s time to stop lazing about and drag my ass down the water cooler.

******

So that’s my plan for the next 6 weeks. Re-commitment to healthy habits and to do things that make feel better instead of lethargic and sorry for myself.

It’s the hardest time of year to get this all in check, but I am feeling more dedicated than ever. Um…plus it’s a competition, and no one loves a little friendly competition more than me.

Wish me luck?

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10 Responses to When It’s Time To Change You’ve Got To Rearrange

  1. I hear you. Big time. I am struggling, too—to balance fun, working out, enjoying food/alcohol, etc. while still working towards my goals. I’ll be cheering you on along the way.

  2. Tara says:

    GOOD LUCK!!! You’ll do great! 🙂

  3. anne h says:

    Enjoy the ride!

  4. AndreAnna says:

    So while I can’t technically root for any one person in the competition, I am still cheering you on (and secretly rooting for you!)

  5. Maureen says:

    Good luck! Boy, can I sympathize with the tighter pants scenario-I am in the same boat after the last few weeks. I am recommitting to the Paleo eating plan as of today. Thanks for being my inspiration!

  6. #1. Thank you for that video. OMG! How I love that episode.

    #2. GooooOOOOO, Holly! You’ve so got this. Best wishes for a fun time taking awesome care of yourself. I’m not wishing you ‘luck’ because you don’t need it. You have everything you need inside your heart and your head to do what you want to do. Love from Austin!

  7. Michelle says:

    You can totally do this! Don’t forget that you are inspirational to someone else: ME! I could use a friend to text when I’m staring at the cheesecake at work that someone brought in (oh, WITH whipped cream, btw). Or when everyone wants to pitch in for pizza (and I cave and get gluten free pizza but kind of kick myself for having any kind of grains in the first place since I had intended to kickstart some health habits with ditching grains). Love from Austin, second helping!

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