DAY 24: To-do List

Slightly discouraging progress today:

I read my Advantages Response Card, NO CHOICE card, and It's Not Okay and Get Back on Track Response Cards at least twice.

I read other Response Cards as needed.

I ate slowly, sitting down and noticing every bite: Most Times

I gave myself credit when I engaged in helpful dieting behaviors: Most Times

I did spontaneous exercise: Every Time

--- I did planned exercise.

I monitored everything I ate in writing.

I wrote out a food plan for tomorrow.

I worked toward accepting what I have to do to lose weight (Oh, well).

I prepared for discouragement.


CREDIT ACCOUNT: $21.25

I made time to read my ARC twice today, so that was good. But almost everything else could have been better.

I've been lazy about applying another temporary tattoo, and I'm forgetting again to give myself credit. Tonight I propped one up in the bathroom mirror, so I will remember to apply it tomorrow morning after my shower.

Exercise didn't sound too appealing today; my first class has a substitute whom I don't care for and my second class is led by a woman who tends to make the Pilates moves more about yoga-style meditation than strength-building exercise. I've been mulling over quitting the Pilates class altogether, but I told myself, "Oh, well, you're going to both classes today." And I did start the walk to the gym (spontaneous exercise!), but a third of the way there I realized I had left too late to walk there in time, and by then it was too late to go back and get the car.

Instead I went to visit a friend's soon-to-be-opened restaurant. I've been helping her get ready and today was no different. While there, I had a snack of gelato (on my food plan, thank you very much) but there was nowhere for me to sit out of everyone else's way. So I ate my gelato standing up. Standing up! It seemed like sacrilege. And it's true that just eating standing made it harder to concentrate on eating slowly and mindfully.

So I was already feeling discouraged about that when I finally made it home for dinner. By then, I was so hungry that I wolfed down my food, sitting down but not eating slowly or mindfully again.

And I still didn't eat everything on my food plan today: I skipped lunch and two snacks. Besides the concern for my nutrition, I'm now worried that I'm not eating enough to keep my system working effectively, which is causing irregularity. And that's definitely not going to help me lose weight!

So today didn't go as well as I could hope, but that was today. Tomorrow will be different: I'll make time to read my ARC in the morning, I'll apply a tattoo, I'll sit down to eat slowly and mindfully, and I'll eat everything on my food plan.

As for exercise, I will make the effort to exercise every day just so I don't backslide into never exercising. But I have to accept that it isn't reasonable to expect I actually will exercise every single day. It's OK to take an occasional break, and to think otherwise will only lead to disappointment and discouragement.

And I'm doing my best to stay encouraged.