New Direction...Hitting a bump in the road and getting back on course.

by Angie Fykes

This past week has been rough. My only direction this past week has been go, go, go. My family had after school events every night, opening day on Saturday, and four different celebrations for my son’s birthday between Saturday and Monday. Well, I wish that I could say that I had all of my food prep completed, and that I did not succumb to the temptation that surrounded me, but I did not do as well as I had hoped. Heck, I didn’t even do my usual weekly visit to the grocery store this past week.

I am using this past week as a learning experience.

I am asking myself questions such as “When in my schedule did I have time to prep my healthy meals and snacks?” and “What caused me to make less conscious choices when presented with our celebratory meals?” The answer to the first question is pretty obvious to me. I did not allow myself any time to even think about taking care of me when there was so much going on with my family. I need to make sure that I get at least 2 hours of kitchen time alone to chop veggies, prepare a bulk amount of lean proteins for the week, and to portion my snacks out in individual servings. Having the ability to grab my food and go was my only option this week, but when there is none prepared, I head out of the door with no plan and no food. This is where I get into major trouble, because if I don’t have a plan, I don’t track my food, and I end up going over my calorie budget. I was so exhausted when it came time to eat, I picked what I felt would make me feel good at that time, even though it was only a temporary good feeling, because later on I felt miserable.

What am I going to do to fix this?

I am going to plan better, and sit down with our crazy family calendar and add a 2 hour time slot just to prep food for the week. If I have it scheduled, and the rest of my family is aware, then I know that I will get it done. I already have my time carved out for Sunday afternoon. My husband is even going to help by grilling chicken and portioning it out. I am going to invest in some more individual meal containers with dividers so that my lunches and sometimes dinners are ready to go based on what we have going on.

Consistency is key to success, and I am going to push myself to be consistent in scheduling the time(s) that I need in order to take better care of myself!