GOOD Days and BAD Days...

Today I'm having a GOOD day. It's my weigh-in day, and I woke up feeling skinny. (LOVE that feeling!).

So I got on the scale and I'm at 165, which is down 1.2 lbs. YAY!!!

I also passed my Certification exam. DOUBLE YAY!!!!

So today? Is a good day.

BUT...!
I know, sure as shootin'....I'll have some bad days, too.
We all do.

Good days and bad days.....days we seem to 'sail through' OP and it's EASY all of a sudden, we've GOT this, and you think "What is all the FUSS about?  This is EASY!"....and you're not hungry and you feel energetic and it's wonderful.

But then...you get hit with a bad day. Suddenly everything seems to be going wrong at once. You drop everything you pick up. (that's usually my first clue LOL). You forget your car keys. You misplace your cellphone. You miss an appointment. Someone says something nasty to you. You get stuck in traffic. You forget to take the chicken out for your L&G and now it's 5:30 pm and you had a rotten day and you don't feel like cooking, OR eating your L&G. You just want to slide back into your old habits....Fat Brain is whispering in your ear "But you could just let yourself go JUST THIS ONCE, it will be OK" and it's so so hard to stay OP.

You know something? THOSE are the times we EARN our weight loss.
THOSE are the times when you will really see the scale change for the BETTER next weigh-in if you stay the course.

So RESIST the urge to fall back into old habits and keep yourself OP 'no matter what'.

REMIND yourself that you will feel WORSE if you eat sludge or go off program (because you will, you know...you know you will....30 seconds AFTER that bite slides down your throat you will regret it...believe me..."been there done that"!) 

REMIND yourself that 'this too shall pass' and TOMORROW may be an EASY day!

I've found this to be the case, by the way...one really bad day is followed by a string of GOOD, EASY days. Which is wonderful!

All those hard-won healthy habits you've been working on? Drinking your water, doing your workouts, staying OP and eating your meals in a timely fashion, logging your food, weighing and measuring...it all comes to fruition when you get on that scale a week from now.

It's the baby steps...that add up. And every time you say 'NO' to fat brain and do what you know you SHOULD do, you WIN.

Here's my strategies for getting through the rough days:

1). ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS be prepared. Have extra MF meals in your purse, car, etc. And water bottles. LOTS of extra water bottles.

2). COOK IN ADVANCE whenever possible....leftover L&Gs can be a lifesaver when you're rushed and/or stressed and/or tired. All you need do then is throw together a salad and microwave your L&G. Simple. 5 minutes. No thinking required.

3). DEVELOP A REPETOIRE of good L&Gs that you can turn to again and again. I made myself a "TSFL RECIPE BOOK" using a binder, and I printed out and saved my favorite L&G recipes (and other recipes...using MF meals, etc.) for future reference.
And I use them over and over again. My favorites...(all of these are in the RECIPES section on this website):

- Double-breaded chicken tenders (thanks PAM!)
- Spinach quiche
- Eggplant Rollatini
- Stuffed peppers
- Cauliflower Pizza
- Turkey meatloaf

In a pinch? You can make yourself a grilled chicken caesar salad using Perdue OR butterball COOKED chicken strips (weigh out 6 ozs., or 3 if you're splitting your L&G), on top of 1 cup lettuce with 1/2 cup fresh tomatoes and maybe 1/2 cup white mushrooms OR green pepper strips OR scallions OR whatever your fav greens are = 1 lean (or 1/2 if you're doing 3 ozs) + 3 greens. Voila, L&G.
WITH 1 TBL Newmann's own lighten up italian (we're allowed 2 TBL of this dressing) - that's 1/2 healthy fat.
DONE!

Come up with things like this you can do quickly. Don't spend TOO much time in the kitchen when you're stressed...because it's too easy to grab a 'bite here' or 'lick there' of something you know you really shouldn't be getting into. (been there, done that! LOL).

Make it EASY on yourself. Then....RELAX. Take time out to just BE.
Don't force yourself to do anything other than eat your dinner slowly and mindfully and let it all go.

Do neck circles (wonderful for stress and tension that builds up in your neck and shoulder area). Slowly, side to side. Do a shoulder roll....up, back and down with the shoulders.
Ahhhhh.....

Stretch your arms overhead. Take a deep breath. APPRECIATE your life and think about the GOOD things in it. Don't dwell on the bad.

And again, REMIND yourself that the bad days don't last forever...something GOOD is right around the corner if you just keep working on it, just stay the course, and don't give up.

Go to bed EARLIER if possible. "Escape" with a good book or a funny movie (did you know laughter burns calories? It's true!)
Talk with a friend or your Coach if you need help.

And remember, YOU CAN DO THIS.  It's just a matter of putting one step in front of the other. STAYING THE COURSE.

NO MATTER WHAT.

-YOU- Matter.

-YOU- are important.

-YOU- are not being 'selfish' when you go after what you want and you do it mindfully and with all your heart.

-YOU- don't 'owe' anyone 'anything' except your love when and how you know how to give it.

-YOU- aren't perfect, but NO ONE IS. You are still worthwhile, and are as good as the next person and as entitled to a long, healthy, happy life as the most famous most wonderful person in the world.
Because we're all ever-changing, ever-growing into (hopefully) better and better people every day.

Which will you choose for yourself? Growth or stagnation?
JOY or depression?

It's up to you. EVERY DAY you can take a step in the right direction.

Just know that...EVERYONE has good days and bad days. That's the nature of life. HANG ON through the bad days...and CHERISH the good days, and you'll have a happy life!

Keep on keepin' on!