Work Blues: A Gateway to Snacking

I'm sitting here at work and my motivation level is not super high. Its Tuesday, it's raining, and I still have way too much work to do on a marketing plan that's due soon. I keep waffling away from my computer screen and thinking I want a snack. And not apples or carrots. More like M&Ms or Fritos. This has long been a problem for me...the boredom sets in at work, and I use snacking to break up the afternoon. Sometimes its out of hunger. sometimes its merely for distraction. And sometimes, its both. But its interesting when you actually stop to think about your cravings. Right now, I am not hungry. But everything in me wants chips, chocolate or anything else that's bad for you.

Monday Weigh-In #4: Back on the Horsey

So as I said last week - I fell off the wagon for a few days at the tradeshow. But now its Monday, it's a new week, and time to get back on the horsey.

Today's weight - I gained a pound. Not bad for all the crap I ate last week, so I'll accept that weight and make this week about losing at least two pounds to make up for it. 73 pounds to go.

This week's objective: get to the gym. I've been super busy in the last six or seven weeks, and haven't been to the gym much at all. Time to change that and really find time to go. So I'm going to tonight. Gym goal: Go at least three times by Monday, November 2.

Well I Feel Sheepish...

So as you can see, I didn't weigh in and/or post about it on Monday, even though I promised to do it every Monday. But this week I was away at a conference in Boston. And I admit, when I am traveling for business, I am the worst at dieting. Its even harder than dieting when I'm on vacation for pleasure. Here's why:

*My time is not my own. I can't eat at all my regular hours because there are certain times I need to be working, and sometimes breakfast, lunch and dinner happen at weird hours.
*There's mostly fast food in the convention center, so those times I can't leave make it difficult to eat healthy.
*There's all kinds of candy and other temptations all over the exhibit hall. Lots of exhibitors give out candy to attract visitors to the booth, and sometimes the convention center will put out snacks like cookies and danishes.
*All meals are covered by my company, so there's unbelievable temptation to go to great restaurants and eat lots of fattening but awesome stuff.
*Alcohol is usually out in full force at these things too - you're out with co-workers, or clients, or at cocktail parties, and alcohol = more calories.
*Exercise is almost non-existent at these things. Number one, there's no time. Two, even if you do have time, your legs hurt so much from standing in the booth all day, the idea of doing any kind of cardio is just silly.

Those things said, I know that I eventually need to learn how to eat better, even when I am on the road. While its impossible to do everything right on the road, it is possible to do a better job than I did this week. So...I'm starting over next week, and we'll see where I am next Monday.

Monday Weigh-in #3: A little late

So since yesterday was a holiday and I was out of town - I did not get to weigh myself yesterday morning. Instead, I weighed myself Sunday morning and was going to record that as my official weight loss for the week. The result was that I'd lost a pound - which was justified - I'd been fairly careful about what I'd eaten all week, and just a little mischievous over the weekend. I never got around to doing a blog post though because I was busy running around and going out of town.

So this morning, back home, I weighed myself to see how much damage I might have done in Atlantic City. I was away for my cousin's birthday, and didn't count points at all. So my weekend included a dinner at Carmine's, dessert at "the devil's workshop" and a freaking cheeseburger and fries at Applebee's yesterday. Bad, bad, bad. But somehow it all worked out, because when I stepped on the scale this morning, I somehow had lost another pound. That brings the total so far to 3.

Seriously?

Seriously. 72 pounds to go.

Temptation of the Day

When you're trying to diet, you build yourself an arsenal. You empty your home of crappy foods and fill it with healthy stuff, or at the very least low calorie stuff. You march out of the house armed with your meals and your snacks, determined to stick to the plan you've set for yourself that day.

And then you get out there in the world. It's inevitable - the minute you decide or announce that you're dieting, the universe seems to begin to throw food at you. It's everywhere. The temptations are some of the toughest pitfalls of dieting, and I found one of them today in the office kitchen. Someone brought in their child's box of World's Finest Candy bars to sell, so its sitting in the kitchen with an envelope of money attached. Pay a dollar, take a candy bar. I have a weakness for these chocolate bars - probably because they have nostalgia attached to them, because I used to sell and eat the same ones when I was a kid. So since I don't have children, I don't see them around much anymore, except for rare occasions like this. But I didn't take one. I'm on a mission, and I'm sure I'll give into some other temptation before this week is out. So for now, I'm holding out.

Weigh-In Monday #2: What Happens in Vegas...

What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. That being said, I won't tell you what I ate while I was there, but I will tell you - I did not stick to my diet last week. I knew I was headed to Vegas - land of the never-ending buffet - and had decided that the lure of endless carbs and desserts was too much of a battle for me. So I'd made a decision not to fight it, and decided to just let Vegas be Vegas, and get back on the horse when I returned to NYC.

So, I got on the scale today because I said I'd weigh myself each Monday - and somehow, I'd still lost a pound. Actually, its a pound an a half counting the half a pound I'd gained last week. I am not going to take any credit for this weight loss, but I'll take it. Facts are, sometimes when you work hard at dieting and losing weight, sometimes your body doesn't let you lose anything. And sometimes, when you go to Vegas and suck down carbs, your body loses a pound anyway. So I'll happily take the 1 pound loss and say - 74 pounds to go.

Now this week - back on the horse and trying to be really good.