Mike and I seem to keep having the same conversation about eating healthy and exercising. Here is a snippet of today’s from an e-mail exchange: Mike: I don't want the kids to be out of the house when we are in our 60's and 70's and you or me to have to be riding in one of those motor carts at the grocery store. Me: I am seriously thinking about going back to weight watchers meetings. Besides my exercise I know what my biggest problem is - if I should only have 39 points a day I can’t be spending 21 of them on wine. Mike: Sweetie, I don't think you need to go to Weight Watchers. Unless you really feel like the meetings help you, I wouldn't go. It's just one more thing to have to fight during the week and you have enough trouble eating your brought lunch let alone leaving the office. Let me try and help us by planning good meals. I can go to fresh n easy and trader Joes or wherever you want me to go each week. You don't need to go to weight watchers to cut back on the wine. Let's just have some tea or something else with dinner then we can have a little booze to relax. Here's what I think we should do. Let's make a big push before our vacation. Let's eat good meals and try and cut back on the carbs. For one month, or maybe make it until Jon comes, try walking 6 days a week for 30 minutes at a good pace and see if by the time Jon comes, you are covering more ground in 30 minutes. I know it's hot but you can walk in the morning. It's not dangerous. Then, maybe up it to 45 minutes. And I bet you anything that if you lose weight you will feel so good, you will be like my mom and really want to walk everyday for 60 minutes. But give it a month of 30 minutes 6 days per week. If you don't lose weight doing that, then try weight watchers. I'm going to try and hit the gym 4 days per week. I'm lucky that I move around a lot during the day so I can probably get away with 4 days plus I will be working out longer than 30 minutes. But you need a gradual pace or you tend to not stick with it. If you need me to help you get up, I will. Me: I just feel like I need some structure to the eating. I don’t seem to have that at all right now. My breakfast and lunch is more routine if I bring them from home; so they are usually good. But I don’t feel like I have good control over meals out and we have been lax for some of our dinners (bread, too big of servings). Also, I have been more stressed at work than I have been in a long time and I really noticed I was snacking a lot on things I shouldn’t eat or should not eat as much of. Like I can have nuts or trail mix for a snack in a day but I shouldn’t have both. Add that to the quarter end junk of doughnuts, bagels, etc., that is around here and I feel out of control. When we go out I don’t even attempt to choose better options. I know I need to exercise and I like your suggestion on the routine and I want to follow that. I just need to make my body do what my head already knows I should be doing. Right now head and body are completely out of sync with each other. I go to bed telling myself I am going to get up and them when I wake up I don’t want to get out of bed. I have always struggled with that. I also hate working out at night, My ideal work out time would probably be 7:00 am, but this thing called work gets in the way. Mike: Well, if you feel Weight Watchers would help, then do that. I did not realize you were doing more snacking. We really need to minimize eating out. That is what gets me in trouble too. I usually do not need to eat as big as servings as I do and we do eat bigger servings than necessary sometimes. Which is why portioning out the chili was a good thing. I think that whole I need to leave at a good time at night is more of a stress situation for you than you probably realize. You may just need to not worry so much about it and focus on a morning routine that works for you. If you get home at 6:30 - 7:00 and if we eat after the boys bedtime, it is not the end of the world. I know I complain, but it's not that big of a deal. It would be nice if we could eat before they go to bed even twice per week but if it can't be than it can't be. Seems like your job requires later stays and since you can get in to work later, maybe it is just the best thing to do. If you walk, realistically, you probably would not be able to leave before 7:30 - 7:45. If I were you, I would start your day with something you enjoy. Get up early, get in your workout clothes, but first get on the computer, edit a few pictures, or read a blog post. Then, try and get out the door by 6:00. That gets you back in by 6:30 - 6:45 with plenty of time to get ready for work and spend a few minutes with the boys. I know you want to get the walk over with but getting fun things to do first is good for two reasons. First, you will be more likely to get up if you know you have a fun thing to do first. And that will eliminate you talking yourself out of a walk because you are too tired or feel a few early morning aches. Also, you probably will move a little faster if you get ready after your walk as opposed to getting ready after your down time. Just means that you need to be disciplined enough to cut the free time off at 6:00. ……………………………
Yep, he’s a keeper. I have struggled with weight my entire adult life. Within months of graduating from high school I began a battle that I have not won. I have been with Mike almost through this entire battle. In the middle of this exchange I went to Baja Fresh for lunch. I had great intentions. I looked up nutrition information before I left. But I was hungry and the power of suggestion is powerful. Instead of ordering the tacos as I intended I ordered this:
790 – That would be the calories when you eat the whole thing.
38 – That would be the fat grams, for the whole thing.
Yes I ate the whole thing…plus some chips and salsa. Forget how many Weight Watchers Points. I wasn’t tracking them after that.
Signing off today…Disgusted
