You know you've been there.
You're doing something around the house, perhaps taking a load of laundry from a bedroom to the laundry room. Maybe picking up the random things your teenagers leave lying around the house- shoes, water bottles, empty Lunchables... and the next thing you know, you're standing in front of an open refrigerator looking for something to eat.
In my case, I'm not even hungry. I'm not really bored, and I'm not stressed. And these days, I generally go for something "healthy"- greek yogurt or an apple. I think there's just some weird disconnect in my brain that may or may not be related to a primitive need to survive- if food is available, I feel compelled to consume it. Grazing is making IIFYM that much more difficult on me.
I'm the girl that will snag a french fry or three from her daughters plate. I will take a handful of Cheerios the kids left out before I shut the box and stash it back in the pantry all while yelling at no one in particular to put the cereal back where it belongs. Then I will stand in the pantry and stare, like if I just hang out long enough a genie with a bag of Oreos will show up. When he doesn't, I notice a near-empty bag of black bean chips. Doesn't seem prudent to keep it, and would be wasteful to toss it, so I might as well eat the three chips and handful of crumbs at the bottom before throwing the bag away.
I don't keep much junk food in the house, and over the years I have progressed from Girl-Scout-Cookie-binge-eating diet-coke junkie into a mindful grazing animal, but a grazer nonetheless.
Which makes keeping score that much more difficult. On a scale of 1 to Root Canal, keeping score for me is like major dental work. The past month, I have gotten good at understanding what I need and why I need it in terms of nutrition, and I've even gotten good at not hating myself while I'm eating an extra plate of food specifically designed to reach my macro goals that may or may not include strange amounts of fat-free cottage cheese and sweet potatoes. I've even gotten really good at staying accountable and adding those fries-here and cheerios-there into my log.
What I am not good at is planning.
I am really over plugging all of my triumphs and transgressions into MyFitnessPal only to find that I am way over on fat grams and no where near my protein goal. Even if the fat was "all good".
Well, last night I stayed up into the wee hours of the morning reading articles about runners and running and people who cheat to get into Boston. I read a piece from my old hometown local newspaper where two teachers I knew, both older than me, made it in to Boston this year. And I had this thought.
I've been progressing toward my goal. I have been doing the right things, I have been getting serious about training. I would even say that I have been quite committed.
But I haven't been relentless. And I haven't planned like someone who really wants it.
I know what I need to do and that I need to map out a plan and stick to it. I need to map out my macros BEFORE the day I'm in, so that I have a plan. So that I can get closer to them early instead of trying desperately to catch up on them at 9PM. I need to make the effort to find the hills that, now that I have become familiar with my new surroundings, I know exist. I need to go to bed earlier. I need to drink less wine and drink WAY more water. I need to preempt the mindless grazing by having measured and counted snacks available when my brain and stomach wage war over my goals.
I preach and teach all day long to people who are new in my industry that planning, preparation and keeping score are the foundations to their success. It's time to practice what I preach.
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