Most times, I try to impart success stories, ideas, tips etc to reinforce the hard work I am doing on my journey and to get other people on board with making small changes. However, this post, today, is about publishing mistakes and errors in judgment so I can try to develop strategies for the future.
A change to my routine has always been the hardest thing for me to overcome when dieting, exercising, and trying to be as healthy as possible.
I spend last week in the UK for my new job - meeting my boss and his boss for the first time in person. The trip was great from a professional perspective, but I fell VERY short in being remotely healthy.
Let's start with the good things I did to prepare:
- I brought two workout outfit
- I brought high fiber granola bars to use as snacks during the work day, and before meals
- I brought my journal so I could write down everything I had eaten
Now let's talk about the reality of what happened:
- I ate a fruit or veggie at least once a day (not five a day like I was supposed to)
- I didn't journal at all
- I gave myself a free pass to eat dessert with each and every dinner
- I worked out twice (one a four hour walk, and the other an actual fitness center run/bike 30 minute sweat session)
- My body clock didn't match up with the eating schedule of where I was, so I ended up in a starving and gorging pattern.
- I ate the majority of my granola bars on the plane over to Europe because the meal they served was inedible
- I had seven alcoholic drinks
- No home cooked meals - every meal was out
- No food in the house when I got home
In retrospect, I think I could have been much better during this trip - so now I want to devise some strategies for next travel experience.
1. Limit alochol to two drinks per week
2. Bulk up (even more) on fruits/veggies during breakfast
3. Pack more healthy food so you don't rely on local options and you can better manage hunger
4. Pack an empty water bottle to use at the office
5. WRITE IT ALL DOWN no matter what!
6. Limit desserts to twice a week
7. Ask about substitutions even if it seems like you're the annoying American
8. Drink more water
9. Walk after dinner since you can't sleep yet and you probably just over ate
10. Make sure I have a few frozen things ready for when I come home so I don't have to add another take-out meal to the week.
Does anyone else have any ideas? I wouldn't say that every meal was a nightmare, but dinners were tough because of how late in the day they eat. I failed to recognize that my constant hunger was a combination of other things. 1. I wasn't just hungry, I was hungry for the good stuff & 2. At some point, tired and hungry start to blur together and feel the same way.
It's going to take me another two weeks of hard work to make up for last week. It's my own undoing, as usual. I am back on the wagon today, as my weekly weigh-in is Wednesday. Not sure I can lose it all in four-and-a-half days, but I am going to try.
Let me know your strategies for coping with changes to your routine. I'd love to hear them
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