Make YOURSELF a Priority!

Yesterday was a busy day, as most weekdays are. I had to take our oldest cat, Midnight ("Midi" for short) to the vet to have two teeth pulled (poor thing...); I had a personal training appointment at the gym; and there were the usual assortment of errands to run and housework to do.

5 cats do keep me busy sometimes, especially since they're all 'indoor only' kitties and this requires 4 litterboxes and plenty of fresh food, water, comfy spots to lie in and 'playtime' too (cats get bored just like people do!). Plus DH wasn't feeling well -- very, very tired and hurt 'all over' after a bad night of coughing from the COPD -- so of course I worried about him and checked in via text message.
Oh - and I checked in with my elderly parents to make sure they were OK. AND did the usual housework, cooking, etc. that needed to be done.

But I took time for my own MF meals and worked out at the gym.

Busy, busy. And I don't work fulltime outside the home! I often wonder, "how did I DO it"? when I did work fulltime.

Somehow we manage, don't we? We set our priorities and we get things done. The important things, anyway.

Over the course of my MF journey, my priorities have changed; 'shifted' a little more in my direction so that I have the time to do what I MUST do to stay OP. Planning my meals, weighing and measuring, shopping for healthy food (let's face it, fresh veggies go bad quickly and need to be replaced!), and taking the time to TOP and eat those meals -- WITHOUT trying to do 5 other things at the same time -- takes TIME and it takes practice and trial and error to find the time for 'ME'.



The first few weeks I was on the program, that was very easy to do. After all, I was starting something brand NEW. I was prepared...oh so prepared! DH knew it was going to happen, I lined up all my food and my MF meals, organized my kitchen, etc. I had to devote plenty of extra time to getting used to eating 6x a day and weighing and measuring everything, checking the Quick Start Guide for portion sizes and what I could and could not have, etc.

But as time went on....well, that gets a little 'old', doesn't it?
"What a DRAG...." I've gotta KEEP doing this!

Seeing those nice big losses on the scale in the beginning spurred me on, of course -- I mean, talk about WORKING, right? LOL....
BUT....sooner or later those big losses STOP, and I could be 100% OP -- eating the same exact foods, even! -- and yet NOT lose very much, if at ALL.

It can be tough to continue making yourself a priority after awhile. It's not 'new' anymore. You're not seeing those big rewards on the scale or in your jeans. It starts to feel like....drudgery. Day in, day out, the same routine, having to say "NO" to the food pushers and time wasters in your life, and trying to keep yourself and your needs 'front and center'.

This is when the TRUE test of PATIENCE comes in, in my opinion. It's also...when you think about it, the time when you really start to change your eating habits for good. After all, it takes 6-8 weeks to establish a new habit. So you have to realize that it will take that long to really 'ingrain' some of the good habits (like drinking all your water, eating your meals on time, etc.) into your life permanently.

It's NOT easy sometimes to put yourself first and continue to keep your priorities -- weighing and measuring, planning, eating those meals on time, drinking the water -- in the top percentage of your priorities every day, but it's absolutely NECESSARY.

Sometimes it can feel a little 'selfish', can't it? Others around us may 'put up with' the changes at the beginning, thinking we'll go back to the way we were before ... after all, we always DID, before...right? We'd try a new diet plan, lose a little weight, then hit a roadblock or have a plateau or get too hungry or go on vacation or whatever and the diet goes by the wayside...

But THIS time you're not doing that! You're STAYING THE COURSE.
This can confuse and upset our family members who thought it was 'just one of those stages' you were going through (I know, my own family saw me go through PLENTY of these 'stages')....LOL....
And they might 'push back' at you a little bit. Wanting more of your time.

Suddenly it can seem like it's nearly IMPOSSIBLE to find the time to eat right, to plan, to get the right foods you need, even to sit down and enjoy your MF meals! After all, eating 6x a day is a lot, right? Who has TIME for that?

YOU MAKE TIME.

You MUST make the time. You MUST put yourself first and keep yourself first. Know why?

...cause NOBODY ELSE IS GOING TO DO IT!

Our bodies have ONE and only ONE owner, and that's YOU.

It's up to YOU to take care of it. And that means working the program as written. Not making up your own rules because you 'don't have time'.

Exercise is hard....yes, it's hard to start, it's hard to find the time, it's hard to keep going sometimes, it's hard to even FIND the 'right' exercises to do that you can TOLERATE. But it's important.

Eating your MF meals is hard...sometimes you get to the bottom of the barrel, all you've got left is a couple crab soups (ugh) and you forgot to put your order in this month (Hint: JOIN the BeSlim or Advantage clubs! The system will 'remind' you about your upcoming order...and you can always change anything about it...the date, the contents of your next order, etc.!) You didn't drink all your water because you were on the run and busy and didn't have time.
(you know what? You can carry a water bottle just about ANYWHERE. I carry one constantly. In my car, in the gym, around the house doing errands, when I visit my parents, waiting in a doctor's office...you name it! Nobody is going to tell you to get rid of it...except when you're getting on a plane, of course.)

GET INTO THE HABIT of carrying water with you everywhere.
GET INTO THE HABIT of storing an extra bar -- or two or three! -- in your purse 'just in case'.
GET INTO THE HABIT of checking your cellphone periodically - you DO have the MF 'reminder' app, don't you? That reminds you to eat your MF meal? And if it's been over 3 hours, EAT that bar. Excuse yourself, take a 5 minute bathroom break, and eat your bar. Or bring a ready-to-drink shake in the car while running errands and sip on it while driving. Whatever you have to do!
GET INTO THE HABIT of having your L&G stuff all ready to go...even leftovers prepared if possible -- so that when you finally get home and it's dinnertime you're all set, you're not 'starving' and too tired to cook. KNOW yourself. Explore and try different recipes until you have a 'stable' of favorites you can turn to again and again. These will save you on busy days....or days when you're struggling. Fall back on your old favorite L&Gs. You DON'T have to settle for dried up broiled chicken and broccoli every night.
GET INTO THE HABIT of going to bed at a reasonable hour every night. You NEED your sleep. Did you know it can affect the scale?
Yes it can!
GET INTO THE HABIT of working out. Slowly at first...once a week, then twice a week, then work up to 3x a week....and each time it should take MONTHS in between, pushing yourself too far too fast is a sure recipe for backsliding. Hate to exercise? Try different things
until you find one you actually can tolerate. This may take a LOT of
time to try new things...so what? YOU'RE WORTH IT!
GET INTO THE HABIT of taking care of yourself. No one else is doing to do it for you. You're not 5 anymore. Mommy isn't going to tuck you into bed because you need your sleep, YOU have to move from that couch or lazyboy and go to bed.
GET INTO THE HABIT of weighing and measuring (if you haven't already). "Guessing" is a sure way to wind up eating more than you thought you did.

I remind myself of these things every day. It's not easy sometimes...definitely! I'll grant you that! But it's WORTH IT.

My family and friends and DH all APPRECIATE a "Happy" Linda.
"Happy" Linda is OP Linda. She is taking care of herself, so she's confident and smiling and she KNOWS she's doing the best she can for herself. And therefore she has the time to help others!

But off plan Linda? Is not a nice person to be around. She's grumpy and miserable. She's just thinking about.... FOOD. How to get MORE of it. And hating herself at the same time. She's dragging herself through the day, HATING her fat stomach, HATING all this extra weight, feeling stupid, feeling ugly, feeling WORTHLESS.

Who wants to be around someone like that? NO ONE!

Put yourself first today. Try it. It's not selfish....it's taking care of yourself. And you will probably find that you're happier and have (ironically) MORE time to help others and be a cheerful person!

Keep on keepin' on!