More Diet Talk

So...there is more I want to say about dieting.

One is that I have fallen off the wagon over the past week. I think I was just so stinkin' exhausted from all of the tutoring, that I didn't have time to think about it, and it was hard for me to get my tale off the couch during Ada's nap time to do Tae Bo. I am three weeks away from the beach (I can't believe that we are actually going. It's going to be amazing.), and I have to get it together fast, so I am gathering my thoughts and getting my game plan together.

Earlier I mentioned different overall dieting strategies or philosophies, if you will, but now I want to talk about little tricks that I have for surviving the diet game.

I love that Jello commercial that talks about how, "every diet needs a little wiggle room." I totally get that commercial. It speaks my language. So, here are the ways I find a little wiggle room in my diet.

Night time is my worst dieting time of all. Whether I am tutoring online late at night or sitting and watching television with Scott, I love to have something to munch on. There is the feeling that I deserve a treat at the end of the day, and I have realized that I need to plan for that treat in order to prevent blowing my calorie count at the end of the day. Some of my favorite treats are a cup of hot green or white tea with a little bit of cream and splenda, a snack size pack of M & M's, a 100 calorie pack of popcorn with diet coke, one cookie or brownie or whatever else we might have in the house (remember that portion size is key). My point is that you need to figure out when during the day you are your "weakest," and come up with a game plan for getting through that time. Mine happens to be night time, and morning is my best time. The more tired I am, the less will power I have, and by 8 or 9 at night, my will power level is in the negative range.

I also like to keep healthy snacks in sight at all time. Let me give you an example. Right now I have pretty orange tangelos sitting in my fruit bowl on the counter. So today I walked into the kitchen fully intending to get a handful of chex mix from the pantry, and then I spotted the tangelos, looking much more "attractive" than chex mix, and I changed my mind. If that fruit had been out of sight, I would have ended up eating many more calories and putting a lot more junk in my body. Keep the healthier stuff in sight, and you will more likely grab it instead of the junk. Even better, if there is some sort of "junk" that you just can't resist, don't keep it in the house. For example, I have a huge weakness for chips and french fries. Obviously I can't keep McDonald's french fries in the house, but I can buy chips. If I don't buy chips, and instead tell myself that I can get fries the next time I am at a fast food restaurant, I end up eating a lot fewer calories. I don't like to cut foods out entirely, but I do like to be smart about what I eat.

Finally, because this is once again getting long, I want to close with a work out tip that I read in Runner's World a few years back. If you don't feel like exercising, tell yourself that you only have to do it for ten minutes. I mean, what is ten minutes of exercise? Nothing, right? But once you get started, you most likely aren't going to stop after only 10 minutes. However, ten minutes of exercise is a lot easier to deal with than 45 minutes. It's the same thing I tell my students--tell yourself you are going to study hard for 10 minutes and then take a break. It's the overwhelming feeling that you have to study an entire chapter or four pages of notes that keeps you from studying, and it's the same with exercise. Most days 45 minutes of Tae Bo doesn't seem doable, but ten minutes is always possible. I have never actually stopped after ten minutes. Try it. It gets the exercise done, I promise.

I still much more to write about this subject, but for now I will close. As always, if you have any tips to pass along, please do.