Some people get very motivated to diet in the summer time. I guess it has something to do with "swimsuit season" and such people live on fruit and cold tea.
I am not such a person (but I want to be). No, for me, summer is the worst, hardest, most difficult of all the seasons for me to lose weight and focus on dieting. Harder than the Thanksgiving/Christmas crush, even. It's just difficult and so of course lately I've been floating around the same weight and not making any progress at all towards my goals, or towards my sub-goals.
This must change. Summer time will always be difficult for me, but I need some strategies. So, today I decided to figure out WHY summer is such a bad zone for me, and WHAT I can do about it. Here's what I came up with:
1. I love that summer time feeling of being kicked back, relaxed, not working quite as hard, that feeling of being "on vacation". And face it folks, monitoring and limiting my eating is HARD WORK and takes ATTENTION TO DETAIL. Perhaps it shouldn't be, but it is.
2. The weather is hot and I want ice cream.
3. It is too hot to exercise. (Well, I have not really been doing that anyways, because I've been sick, but I need to start now that I'm recovering).
4. It is too easy to stay up late and sleep in and lose a potentially productive part of my day that way.
5. Summer time parties, outings, visiting friends, day trips, etc. Events that center around food make me want to say "just this once"...Fall and winter might have Thanksgiving and Christmas, but Summer time has Memorial Day, Labor Day, Fourth of July, etc. etc. etc. There can be something going on every week if we let it, and our family is not even popular!
OK, so here are my strategies (and I'm telling myeslf I'm going to do this-MUST do this- but I'll be honest and say that it will be HARD):
1. That "kicked-back" feeling? I just need to stuff it and find other ways to relax.
2. My desire for ice cream: I can eather put up with the semi-nasty fat free sugar free stuff (2 points per serving) OR I can budget and carefully measure some of the good stuff. I need to cut down on my sugar eating anyways. OR I can stuff it and just eat fruit.
3. Too hot to exercise: Oh please. I can exercise indoors. At home, at the exercise room, or I can go walk at the mall, as long as I don't buy Godiva Chocolates while I"m there, right? Or I can get up early and go for a morning walk. There's not much of an excuse with so many options. And there's always the pool.
4. Staying up too late: Actually it seems that the early light summer mornings have been helping me to re-adjust to getting up early and then I"m more sleepy in the pm. Avoiding caffeine is key.
5. Parties and events: Need a plan, strategy, formula...half the plate filled with fruits and veggies kind of thing. One serving and no more. Pass on the dessert.
It is a fact that I've been in denial for SO long about each individual little food choice I make making a difference. And at the end of the day I scratch my head and ask: "Why me?" Well, it's because of that little choice, this little bite, that one dessert...multiplied by 365 by 41. It all adds up.
So, Summertime is hard. Truly, if I can get through the summer and lose ten pounds, I will be EXTATIC. If I can get through the summer and lose five pounds, I will be very pleased. If I merely maintain my weight through the summer and start losing again in the fall, I will be satisfied and happy. Because LAST SUMMER I GAINED 20 POUNDS. And that, my friends, won't be happening this year.
I am not such a person (but I want to be). No, for me, summer is the worst, hardest, most difficult of all the seasons for me to lose weight and focus on dieting. Harder than the Thanksgiving/Christmas crush, even. It's just difficult and so of course lately I've been floating around the same weight and not making any progress at all towards my goals, or towards my sub-goals.
This must change. Summer time will always be difficult for me, but I need some strategies. So, today I decided to figure out WHY summer is such a bad zone for me, and WHAT I can do about it. Here's what I came up with:
1. I love that summer time feeling of being kicked back, relaxed, not working quite as hard, that feeling of being "on vacation". And face it folks, monitoring and limiting my eating is HARD WORK and takes ATTENTION TO DETAIL. Perhaps it shouldn't be, but it is.
2. The weather is hot and I want ice cream.
3. It is too hot to exercise. (Well, I have not really been doing that anyways, because I've been sick, but I need to start now that I'm recovering).
4. It is too easy to stay up late and sleep in and lose a potentially productive part of my day that way.
5. Summer time parties, outings, visiting friends, day trips, etc. Events that center around food make me want to say "just this once"...Fall and winter might have Thanksgiving and Christmas, but Summer time has Memorial Day, Labor Day, Fourth of July, etc. etc. etc. There can be something going on every week if we let it, and our family is not even popular!
OK, so here are my strategies (and I'm telling myeslf I'm going to do this-MUST do this- but I'll be honest and say that it will be HARD):
1. That "kicked-back" feeling? I just need to stuff it and find other ways to relax.
2. My desire for ice cream: I can eather put up with the semi-nasty fat free sugar free stuff (2 points per serving) OR I can budget and carefully measure some of the good stuff. I need to cut down on my sugar eating anyways. OR I can stuff it and just eat fruit.
3. Too hot to exercise: Oh please. I can exercise indoors. At home, at the exercise room, or I can go walk at the mall, as long as I don't buy Godiva Chocolates while I"m there, right? Or I can get up early and go for a morning walk. There's not much of an excuse with so many options. And there's always the pool.
4. Staying up too late: Actually it seems that the early light summer mornings have been helping me to re-adjust to getting up early and then I"m more sleepy in the pm. Avoiding caffeine is key.
5. Parties and events: Need a plan, strategy, formula...half the plate filled with fruits and veggies kind of thing. One serving and no more. Pass on the dessert.
It is a fact that I've been in denial for SO long about each individual little food choice I make making a difference. And at the end of the day I scratch my head and ask: "Why me?" Well, it's because of that little choice, this little bite, that one dessert...multiplied by 365 by 41. It all adds up.
So, Summertime is hard. Truly, if I can get through the summer and lose ten pounds, I will be EXTATIC. If I can get through the summer and lose five pounds, I will be very pleased. If I merely maintain my weight through the summer and start losing again in the fall, I will be satisfied and happy. Because LAST SUMMER I GAINED 20 POUNDS. And that, my friends, won't be happening this year.
Comments