Goals for the week

You may remember that I set goals last week and didn't do so well at sticking to them.  I dug into why, came up with some theories, and then was so sick of everything weight-related that I took 3 days off from all things diet.

Well I'm back, refreshed, and armed with a plan of action.

I spent a lot of time over the weekend thinking about what I wanted in terms of lifestyle and why I wasn't happy with my results last week.  The thing that bothered me the most about last week was not my weight and it was not, surprisingly enough, my calorie intake either.  Those things were on the radar, but they were a distant second and third to my primary concern which was control.

I did not feel in control last week.  Or last month.  I wasn't eating the right things and I wasn't eating for the right reasons.  Setting goals around calorie intake and tracking are all well and good, but meeting those goals really hinges on being in control of what you eat, and I didn't feel like I had that kind of command over my food choices.

Obviously, everything I eat is my choice.  And I know from experience that losing weight by calorie counting is just plain hard.  It's hard to say no to hunger.  But last week wasn't just about hunger.  It was about cravings too.  I'd be hungry because I was restricting calories and I'd be craving something stuffed with carbohydrates which wouldn't keep me full.  I was fighting a battle on two fronts and losing both.

The plan for this week is primarily to get the cravings back under control.  I plan on doing that with what I know works: low carb, low gluten eating.  It would be no gluten, but I like croutons on my salad.  I want to spend the week eating low carb and then see what kind of effect that has on my cravings.  If I can stay within my 1700 cal/day goal, so much the better.  But that's not my primary worry right now.

Enumerated, here's the list of goals:

• Low carb, low gluten eating 4 out of 5 days (it's Tuesday now, and I'll reevaluate on Sunday).  For me this means:
• No bread at breakfast or lunch
• For now, dinner is ok because I spend the next 8 hours asleep.
• No snacking on pretzels, cheez its, pita crisps, etc.  These are all freely available in my office, and although it hasn't been a problem, I'm calling it out here.  The dark chocolate stash is still fair game though, as that doesn't seem to affect my cravings.
• Assuming the low carb goal is hit, determine whether this eating pattern keeps my cravings under control.
• Track every day

 I've finally escaped the crazy hormone roller coaster I was on (for now) and this is the week that this plan has the absolute best chance of success.  I'm hoping that this diet will also keep my hormones a bit more in check.  We shall see.

You'll notice there's no exercise goal this week and that's because I'm taking the week off.  I've been training very hard for a few months, and I've got a back injury that needs some TLC.  My training starts again on Saturday.  I may attempt some low grade pilates during the week though.  I get weird when I don't work out.

It's a new week, with a new set of goals, which means it's time for a new theme song.  I'm a metal girl and I need to feel like I can destroy whole worlds when I'm working out, so from my workout playlist, I give you Disturbed - Indestructible:

"I'll have you know,
That I've become...

Indestructible.
Determination that is incorruptible.
From the other side.
A terror to behold.
Annihilation will be unavoidable.
Every broken enemy will know,
That their opponent had to be invincible.
Take a last look around while you're alive,
I'm an indestructible master of war."