The Key to my Success is Planning

I have known for a while what the key to successfully changing my lifestyle is. It is planning.

Unfortunately, this seemingly simple concept was something I failed to grasp or at least failed to implement.

My bad food choices come from a distinct lack of planning. Do these ring any bells?

- Not taking food out of the freezer to defrost

- Not planning meals

- Not having all the meal ingredients to make healthy, nutritious meals

- Eating on the run

- Eating at your desk

- Not having healthy snacks available at work, in the car or at home

- Not packing lunch the night before

- Being “bored” or “fussy” about meal/snack options

- Being hungry

When I went out on the road as a Sales Rep my eating habits turned to custard. I would often eat on the run or driving between clients. There were some days when I had fast food every single day.

So what have I been doing differently in 2012?

- Taking food out of the freezer

- Thinking ahead about meals and what we need to have in the house to create these

- Writing shopping lists

- Buying fresh fruit/vegetables a few times a week + our vegetable garden produce

- Trying not to waste food

- Choosing to eat what I have brought for lunch rather than going out even if it means eating tuna and salad every day *gag*

- Coming up with tasty/healthy snack ideas

- Putting our lunches together at night and adding the refrigerated goodies to the bags as we leave the house

- Trying to focus on eating instead of eating on the run

- Having healthy snacks in the car and my hand-bag and “yes” I did pull out a plastic container of prunes to snack on at a bar!

Planning also applies to exercise.

We are into our second week of our return to the gym (and exercise) and it is going well. It still means we have to plan, plan, PLAN and be super organised:

- Have a schedule and stick to it

- Get home from work and change into workout gear 

- Unpack gym bags at night; put washing on

- Repack gym bags, replenish toiletries, do ironing etc.

- Make salad for dinner

- Do evening exercise

- Put washing out (so we do not run out of clean gym gear)

- Finish (or start) making dinner

- Shower

- Eat dinner

- Any leftovers become lunch for one (or both) of us

- Clean the bench

- Relax for a bit and fold any clean, dry washing

- Blog, read or read blogs

- Fall into bed

So I am PLANNING to succeed.

P.S. I think that routine is crucial as well and slowly we are falling into a great routine.