One of Monday Dieters biggest supporters (my brother) has requested that I talk about Thursday. Yes, specifically Thursday. Because in his words “by then I usually say F it, I’ll start again on Monday.”
He does have a point. So I took some time to figure out why.
We can agree on Monday we are motivated. Ready. Prepared. Our plan is in place. We’ve had enough of feeling and eating crappy and we are prepared to start. Maybe that means going to the grocery store. Maybe that means buying meal bars. Maybe that means calling a friend and making plans to meet at the gym. Or maybe that simply means you weigh yourself and face reality. Regardless we start. It’s hard, but we push through. However, we start to lose steam on Wednesday. Then on Thursday, the week goes to shit.
When that happens, what do we do? We beat up on ourselves. We question our will power. We put ourselves down. We vow to start again on Monday.
It’s really easy to blame will power. But I actually don’t think it has much to do with that. Why do things go downhill on Thursday? Life gets in the way. We get busy and tired and time gets away from us and it’s very hard to stick to a plan when you are running here, there, and everywhere.
I can admit one of the biggest reasons I have a “bad day eating” is because when I have to wake up, blow dry my hair without sweating, make it to a train and answer emails at the same time, the last thing I can even think about doing is peeling cucumbers or measuring cereal to put in a Ziplock bag. Let’s be serious. When you want to lose weight, it’s not just about packing lunch. Most of us are out of our houses from 7 am until 8 pm which means we need to pack breakfast, snack, lunch, and another snack to hold us over until dinner. I actually feel I need to set my alarm 20 minutes earlier to have time to pack food. I’d rather press snooze.
Ok, so then do it all at night you think. No. Because it feels like just something else I have to do and when I come home I want my day to be over. Personally all I want to do is get on my couch and watch Teen Mom until it’s time for bed. If I do have energy for anything I’d rather use it to wash my face.
Long story short, it’s not our fault. It’s actually a full time job to lose weight. It’s a hard to choose to use our one or two free hours of the day to go to the gym or pack healthy meals.
So this week I was wondering what I could do to simplify my week. Make it easier to stick to healthy eating. I wanted to keep my Monday mentality for the whole week.
I took 50 minutes. Yes, exactly 50, and did the following:
1. Portioned 5 bags of cereal for breakfast for the week. A simple easy breakfast each day.
2. Packed 5 salads for lunch. This was the most daunting, but the biggest pay off.
3. Bought 5 granola bars for an afternoon snack. No need to overthink the perfect snack. I choose Lara Bars since I can pronounce all the ingredients.
4. Picked out 5 outfits and laid them on the floor (undergarments and all) I actually think this will be a game changer as I waste so much time digging for the one black tank top I have that goes under all my favorite shirts.
5. Signed up for my workout classes for the week. Classes I know I can make regardless of what happens work wise.
We’ve all heard preparation is the key to success. But preparation takes time and energy and thought. So this week I wanted to see if one hour of prep for the whole week could help. I’m not gonna lie… I feel good. I’ll let you know how this goes! Could this be the simple solution to the Thursday slump?!? Together we can tackle Thursday!!
