Go back to what WORKED!

Yesterday I was 100% OP....AND I did Spinning and CXworx (that's a 30 minute exercise class with lots of abdominal crunches, planks, that kind of thing. It's hard, but it's only 30 minutes).

Boy, was I SORE the rest of the day. LOL.

Anyway, I was determined to do a COMPLETELY 100% OP day...I mean no extra ANYTHING....which isn't easy when you've been on maintenance for awhile. And I finally DID it. I'd been coming close these past several weeks...(with Thanksgiving being a notable, and regrettable, exception)...but somehow I always rationalized one extra MF snack, or a bit more protein (in addition to 2 ozs. extra if I worked out), etc.

I told myself it was OK, because I'm basically in maintenance right now, and I don't need to lose it 'fast'....as long as I lose it.
That's the latest rationalization from Fat Brain and it WORKED for awhile.

But wait a minute. If I'm doing the 5/1, then I'm NOT in maintenance.

And if I want to lose the weight, I have to do it wholeheartedly. "Slower" isn't necessarily better. In fact it's like Chinese Water torture! LOL....! Why DO that to myself when I KNOW there's a better way?

And that way is the full-on 5/1. NO GAMES. NO extras. I've BEEN down the 'just do low calorie' road....and it doesn't WORK for me. My metabolism is slow enough that, again, losing weight that way is TORTUOUS.

And I'm not asking for a 5 lb weight loss week.....I'm just talking 2 lbs. versus 1/2 lb. That isn't asking too much....and it keeps me motivated!

Bottom line: If I'm trying to lose weight, I'm NOT in maintenance. (Oh, the LIES we tell ourselves!) ... LOL

So it's back to the 5/1 wholeheartedly. No more messing around. And yes, EVEN during the holidays.

It makes me feel lighter, cleaner, have more energy, NO I'm not (as) hungry as when I have those 'extras' (which obviously were throwing me out of ketosis....so regardless of the low calories I still wasn't losing weight the way I KNOW I can), AND I know it's only a matter of time before I get back to where I want to be.

And you know how I finally did it?

I went back to WHAT WORKED BEFORE.

Seriously. The exact details...the exact routine I had. And the exact MINDSET in my head!

I had to take it one MEAL at a time when I was doing the 5/1....and guess what? That's what I'm doing now.

I'm not even thinking in terms of staying OP for the full day. I'm just trying to get through EACH MEAL, one at a time....and patting myself on the back every time I do it.

It's stupid, but it works. Well, actually it's NOT stupid -IF- it works, right?

WHATEVER WORKS, GANG!

If it worked for you before? DO IT AGAIN. Especially now! This is crunch time....and the thing is? If you can stay OP NOW....well, you'll be sailing along come January! When everyone else is struggling to 'restart' come January 1 (or 2nd....I always used January 2 because come on, Jan. 1st is New Year's DAY, that's a holiday; and you can't start on a holiday, can you? LOL).....you'll ALREADY be deep into ketosis-land and losing the weight and feeling awesome.

So do what worked. Remember when you first started the program and you were all gung ho? THAT'S the mindset you need to get back into.

How do you do it? ONE MEAL AT A TIME. That's all. Plan and prepare, log EVERYTHING, drink that water, and just take it one meal at a time.

YOU CAN DO IT. We ALL can. We have the capacity....all we have to do is get over 'ourselves'!!! Don't listen to Fat Brain....she's a liar....and she just wants you to go back to what you always did before, which is....nothing, right? Nothing but eat and not care.

But YOU know better. Let your intelligent side....the part of you that made that list of 'Reasons why I want to lose weight'....the part that looks towards the future with optimism and HOPE....take over. And push Fat Brain BACK into the closet!

Keep on keepin' on!