Do or Do Not Challenge: Week 8
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Can you believe it’s Week 8 already? Wow! We’re halfway there. Are you taking steps — regardless of whether or not you’re participating in the challenges — to reach your weight loss goals? I am going to be sharing, very soon (as soon as I can find a minute or two to breath) about what’s going on with me, psychologically, with my weight loss. It’s good stuff and I am so psyched! On to this week’s challenges…
1. Plan how you’re going to deal with those inevitable cravings. Let’s face it: if these changes we’re making are lifestyle changes — and they are for me — cravings and temptations are inevitable. How will you handle them? Here are some steps I plan to employ:
- Stay focused on why I’m doing this. I’ve been reading through The Beck Diet Solution and working through the available workbook. One of the things the author has you do is make a list of why you want to lose weight. Then, you’re supposed to read the list at least once a day, every day for a couple of weeks. That way, when you face temptation, your reasons are firmly in your mind.
- Enlist the help of my husband and some trusted friends. It’s their job to remind me of my goals, if I’m feeling overly tempted and can’t refocus on my own.
- Have plans in place for indulgences. I have some miniature chocolate bars stashed in my fridge. They’re not in plain site, so I usually forget they’re even in there. However, if I ever get an irresistible urge for chocolate, I’d rather eat one or two of those miniature bars (at 50 calories a piece) than devour an entire full-sized bar. What about the urge for a big, juicy burger? Most casual dining restaurants now offer mini burgers. A full serving (usually three or four) is generally a whopping 1,000+ calories…but one mini burger will probably satisfy a craving and I’m sure I can find someone at my house willing to eat the extras. The dog will volunteer, if no one else will.
- Careful meal planning. If there is some meal that I really want to have that is typically off-limits, I can plan for it. Planning low-calorie meals for the rest of the day in which I’ll be indulging — or lower calories days before and after the “treat day” — and making sure I’m getting in my workouts mean that the occasional splurge meal is not out of the question.
What plans do you have in place to deal with temptations?
2. Add strength training to your workout routine. It’s a proven fact that muscle burns more calories than fat. Building muscle tones your body and helps you fight fat. I love strength training. If I could lose weight just doing strength training and skip the cardio, I could be a happy camper. Already doing strength training? Add another set of reps or learn some new moves.
Let’s keep each other encouraged as we pass the midway point. We can do this! Remember: Do or do not…there is no try!
Kris Bales is a newly-retired homeschool mom and the quirky, Christ-following, painfully honest founder (and former owner) of Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers. She has a pretty serious addiction to sweet tea and Words with Friends. Kris and her husband of over 30 years are parents to three amazing homeschool grads. They share their home with three dogs, two cats, a ball python, a bearded dragon, and seven birds.
wrote about it on my blog…ummm, forgot to link but in a hurry…you could probably find it 🙂 thanks for the little kicks in the pants each week!!