Pregnancy weight hasn’t just “fallen off” for me. In fact, I’ve had the opposite experience, where each and every pound feels like a steep uphill struggle…
And so, one of my overriding weight loss goals: learning to work with my body and accept the idea of “slow and steady” weight loss.
I’ve set a goal of losing about 3 pounds per month, which seems like a challenge. But also realistic enough that maybe – hopefully – it’s a goal I can achieve with dedication and commitment.
It’s been so long that I’ve been unable to lose the weight (Trevor is three years old). So it often seems like an impossible goal for me to return to my pre-pregnancy days.
But I hope that by physically typing and publishing this list of goals, I’ll further motivate myself to stick with my intentions, day by day, and month by month…
What I intend to do is to be “an observer” of my own habits and tendencies as I try to achieve each month’s goals. Several times each week, I’ll refer to my goals to remind myself of my intentions.
At the end of each month, I’ll make a note of any goals I’ve achieved. I tend to focus just on my failures, but it’s really important to recognize the successes too!
And I’ll also go over the difficulties and roadblocks. I’ll try to come up with specific techniques to deal with them, to use as goals for the following month.
April Goals
- Plan meals and snacks for the week and restock fridge and pantry every Sunday
- No snacking after dinner
- Yoga – 3 Times Per Week
- 2-Mile Walks – 3 Times Per Week
- 7-Minute Meditation – 4 Times Per Week
- Run 15 Flights of Stairs Without Being Winded
- Lose 3 pounds
Check-In at the End of April
Success #1
I can run 15 flights of stairs, and I do this regularly. I’ve been able to stick with it because it’s one of the first things I do in the morning, and it takes just a few minutes to complete. It’s easy to stay motivated when I know it will be over in just a few minutes!
Success #2
I’ve done an excellent job of planning weekly menus and keeping the fridge and pantry stocked with fresh fruit and healthy meals and snacks. Even when we returned from a weeklong trip and were jet-lagged and weary, I still stuck with this.
Challenge #1
If I don’t make exercise and healthy eating a top priority, first thing in the morning, it will lose all of my attention by noon. I’ve observed this happen time and again this month. I get pulled in a million directions by anything and everything else: email, working on my website and photos, caring for a toddler consumes an often overwhelming amount of energy and attention, errands, to-do lists… Once I’ve lost my focus, I’m back to my old habits: snacking when Trevor snacks, not paying the least attention to my fullness level and overeating at meals. Finally, at the end of the day, I’ll sit down in front of the TV and, since I’ve “ruined” the day anyway with snacking and overeating, I’ll have another snack before bed. “Why not, I’ve already failed anyway,” seems to be the way my brain processes it.
Technique to Deal with Challenge #1
I hate to write this because I feel like once I publish it, I’ll actually have to stick with it and I don’t want to!!! But I think I really need to get up one hour earlier in the morning – so I have one full hour before Trevor is up for the day – to exercise, meditate, and set my intention for the day. I hate to get up an hour earlier because it means going to bed earlier and I DEEPLY CHERISH (I cannot emphasize these words enough!) that evening time – when Trevor is in bed – to just relax and unwind. But the way things are going now, Trevor’s mood is sort of dictating the direction of my day. If he wakes up crying, if he fights getting ready for school, I’m instantly in a downward spiral that makes it impossible for me to focus on healthy habits.
Challenge #2
I’ve realized that I have a deeply ingrained label I put on all foods. If they’re “bad” foods (anything high in sugar, calories, or fat, basically) there’s some part of my mind that seems to panic and needs that food out of the house. In April, for example, we celebrated Easter. So we had rich and indulgent foods in the fridge that were leftovers. Plus a ton of chocolate candy, and I do love milk chocolate. The way my brain seems to process a situation like this: to overindulge and eat a lot of that food quickly (within just a day or two) so that I can then have it out of the house. The reasoning: the sooner it’s all gone, the sooner I can get back to being focused on “being perfect” and eating only “good” foods. It’s like my mind can’t strike a balance or see a middle ground. I’m either “being bad” and “ruining my diet,” or I’m “being good” and “sticking to my diet.”
Technique to Deal with Challenge #2
I’m going to work on seeing the benefit in all foods. Maybe some aren’t healthy, but maybe their benefit is that they taste delicious. I can’t banish all rich or indulgent or sugary foods from my home – I wouldn’t want to live life without them and I live with two other people who love them. So, instead I’m going to follow a four-step process each time before eating:
- Eating only at meal time: I can have 4 meals per day: breakfast, lunch, snack and dinner.
- Eating only from a plate, sitting down: Each time I eat one of these meals, I must sit down at a table with a plate in front of me and a glass of water.
- Deep breath before eating: I think taking just one deep breath, one moment to pause, will help me to eliminate mindless overeating
- Feeling thankful for my food: If I can take one second to feel appreciation for the food in front of me, I think I’ll be a lot less likely to overindulge.
If I’m able to stick with this technique, it should eliminate random snacking throughout the day and overeating at meals.
Challenge #3
Food as a cure to sadness or stress. As I made an effort to be “an observer” of my own behavior this month, it was clearer to me than ever before that I use food to help me cope when life becomes overwhelming, difficult, stressful, or sad. Some people turn to alcohol or prescription drugs. For me, it’s food. Being a stay-at-home mom to a toddler has been the most emotionally overwhelming and stressful experience I’ve ever coped with in my life. It’s a 24-hours-a-day, 7-days-a-week job, and I often feel internally depleted (and often physically depleted too). Food is my coping mechanism when I feel especially run-down or sad or overwhelmed.
Technique to Deal with Challenge #3
I’m going to create a list of stress-relieving options other than food. Then I’ll make a rule to refer to this list before turning to chocolate or chips, etc. Here’s what I have so far: listen to my favorite music, take a shower with candles and music, read relaxing books or magazines, drink a hot cup of chai tea, watch Fixer Upper reruns, browse online for new shoes, makeup, or home decor (not necessarily to buy, but just to keep my mind occupied with something I enjoy).
May Goals
- Plan meals and snacks for the week and restock fridge and pantry every Sunday
- No snacking after dinner
- Yoga – 3 Times Per Week
- 2-Mile Walks – 3 Times Per Week
- 7-Minute Meditation – 5 Times Per Week
- Run 18 Flights of Stairs Without Being Winded
- Lose 3 pounds
June Goals
- Plan meals and snacks for the week and restock fridge and pantry every Sunday
- No snacking after dinner
- Yoga – 3 Times Per Week
- 2-Miles Walks – 4 Times Per Week
- 7-Minute Meditation – 5 Times Per Week
- Run 20 Flights of Stairs Without Being Winded
- Lose 3 pounds
July Goals
- Plan meals and snacks for the week and restock fridge and pantry every Sunday
- No snacking after dinner
- Yoga – 3 Times Per Week
- 2-Miles Walks – 4 Times Per Week
- 7-Minute Meditation – 6 Times Per Week
- Run 22 Flights of Stairs Without Being Winded
- Lose 3 pounds
August Goals
- Plan meals and snacks for the week and restock fridge and pantry every Sunday
- No snacking after dinner
- Yoga – 3 Times Per Week
- 2-Miles Walks – 4 Times Per Week
- 7-Minute Meditation – 6 Times Per Week
- Run 25 Flights of Stairs Without Being Winded
- Lose 3 pounds
September Goals
- Plan meals and snacks for the week and restock fridge and pantry every Sunday
- No snacking after dinner
- Yoga – 3 Times Per Week
- 2-Miles Walks – 4 Times Per Week
- 7-Minute Meditation – 6 Times Per Week
- Run 27 Flights of Stairs Without Being Winded
- Lose 3 pounds
October Goals
- Plan meals and snacks for the week and restock fridge and pantry every Sunday
- No snacking after dinner
- Yoga – 3 Times Per Week
- 2-Miles Walks – 4 Times Per Week
- 7-Minute Meditation – 6 Times Per Week
- Run 29 Flights of Stairs Without Being Winded
- Lose 2 pounds
November Goals
- Plan meals and snacks for the week and restock fridge and pantry every Sunday
- No snacking after dinner
- Yoga – 3 Times Per Week
- 2-Mile Walks – 4 Times Per Week
- 7-Minute Meditation – 6 Times Per Week
- Run 31 Flights of Stairs Without Being Winded
- Maintain weight (no more yo-yoing!)
December Goals
- Plan meals and snacks for the week and restock fridge and pantry every Sunday
- No snacking after dinner
- Yoga – 3 Times Per Week
- 2-Mile Walks – 4 Times Per Week
- 7-Minute Meditation – 6 Times Per Week
- Run 33 Flights of Stairs Without Being Winded
- Maintain weight
