Welcome to the first week of November…

October was a pretty good month, all things considered.  I was able to keep up with tracking my exercise and it really gave me some motivation to get out on those cold nights and to be creative about fitting in exercise where I could.

But of course, the end of October means Halloween and therefore an overload of Candy.  I did my best to watch the candy intake, but a combination of midterms, no time, and a lack of healthy food in the house lead to some pretty unhealthy choices.  And that lead to my weigh-in yesterday morning (I get on the scale every monday) at a disappointing 167.5.

So I’m back here to review where I messed up, what I need to concentrate on, and what I can do to get myself back down to 165…and maybe back into those 150s before Christmas

So what are my plans for November?

Vision: To have a very healthy November so I can wear pretty clothes at Christmas, and have guidelines to follow so that I don’t go overboard over the holidays.

Goal: I will lose 5 pounds in November and my pants will be loose.

So what tools do I need to accomplish my goal?

• Time scheduled into my week that is devoted to healthy planning
• Time scheduled into every day for exercise
• A healthy freezerable lunch 
• A weekly supper plan
• A list of healthy snack choices
• Healthy snacks at school
• Healthy food in the house
• Healthy recipes that are easy to prepare
• A spreadsheet for my palm pilot on which I can track my progress
• A list of exercise options on the fridge for every day of the week

So what behaviours do I need to accomplish my goal?

• Stay away from chocolate (can I go a whole month without chocolate?)
• Every morning schedule my exercise into my palm pilot and stick to it (illness is the only exception)
• Measure my portion sizes
• Stick with healthy breakfasts (1c raisin bran, 1/2c yogurt, milk, banana)

Ok, so I think this should work out.  If I can put together a list of healthy supper recipes, and make sure that on Sunday that I have the ingredients for at least two big meals a week (Monday & Wednesday), then leftovers will get me through the work week and Friday and be healthy pickup suppers (soup & sandwidch, etc).  I stil need a healthy casserole recipe that I can make and freeze for my lunches, so I’ll have to look into that maybe tonight. 

On a side note, I wonder if I could get a second calendar application on my palm that I could use to schedule meals? Hmmm…

Well, I’d better get going, it’s almost time for class.

Thanks for listening,

L.L.