Yet another “Fresh Start”

Dudes, I know I’m beating a dead horse here, but it’s time to – once again – talk about a “fresh start”. (How many “fresh starts” can once person have in a year? I’m not sure, but I think I’ve already broken the record, and it’s only August.)

I knew coming into 2014 that maintaining weight loss wasn’t going to be easy. But I also never imagined it would be this hard.

2013 was an awesome year for me – full of challenges that I met head-on and, in almost every instance, I was victorious. I felt like I celebrated so much. It was a big, big year.

As it turns out, the year that follows a big, big year is not so much fun. The mission was simple: stick to what you’ve been doing, and maintain, maintain, maintain. Turns out, maintaining is a much more difficult task than losing. And truth be told, I’ve kinda been a big ass failure at this.

OK – so – I’ll spare you the dramatics for a moment, and say that it’s not that bad. 10-15 pounds gained is not the end of the world, and is still a far cry from where I was when I started this “healthy lifestyle” journey in January 2013. My clothes still fit (sort of), and my head is still in the game. I will right this ship. I have to.

But it’s kind of been a crap year compared to last year, and it’s hard not to get bogged down in it. From the post-Christmas weight, to the post-Lenten sugar binge, to the post-vacation-and-stressful-week damage done, it’s been one long string of unsuccessful attempts to “get back on track”.

And I almost feel like I’m setting myself up for failure by announcing this week as yet another “fresh start”, because this coming weekend already has a million red flags stick out of it every which way. I mean, it’s Shawville Fair… and one of my favourite things to do at the fair is EAT! Throw in my friend Stacy’s birthday dinner, plus who knows what else I can sabotage myself with on the last summer long weekend, and it’s already shaping up to be yet another disaster.

I do well on weekdays. I swear. But weekends are killers. The food addict inside me just loses control come Friday night. Any ground I’ve made from Monday to Thursday gets erased over the weekend, over and over and over again.

I really do need to get back to doing what made last year such a successful year for me and my weight loss. I’ve already got the exercising part down pat – and I’m excited about starting my new program, PiYo, this week, as well as complimenting those work-outs with walks around town (one of my favourite forms of exercise that I haven’t had much time for, but will now since PiYo workouts are shorter than most of the Turbo/Combat/6 Week 6 Pack ones I’ve been doing). And I’ve got the Shakeology part down pat.

I think the key to it all for me is going to be meal-planning, and not going “off track” so much on weekends. I’ve kind of let that all fall by the wayside lately, and I think when I do it, it keeps me more focused. I’ve been reading the nutrition guide that came with PiYo, and Chalene has a way of breaking it down so that I have a more clear idea of how many servings of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins, and healthy fats I should be consuming.

Planning. Showing a little more self-control. Enjoying healthy foods. These are all things that spelled success for me in 2013, and it’s time to get back at it.

Before it really is too late.

Promise #1 is this:  To be careful and mindful this weekend.  Easier said than done, but my thoughts are to enjoy some fair treats, but not go crazy with it.  And plan the rest of my day’s meals knowing there will be a few extra indulgences going on.

I can make this work.

I have to.