Stepping out of my "Downward Spiral"

IDENTITY ORIENTED – “I know I should make dinner tonight!”

I have a big confession to make.  This may be the first time I’ve told anyone…

I’m not always good at organizing my time.  There I said it.  Like many of you, I’m always on the go, always making sure the kids are where they need to be, making sure I am where I need to be!  Where my time management seems to suffer the most is at mealtime.   If I don’t have something already prepped and ready to heat up after a busy day of work and after school activities, my family and I are often scrambling to pull something together. 

Feeling defeated, I’ll resign myself to fixing the “emergency” stash of frozen lasagna or we’ll just go out to dinner often spending twice or triple what we’d probably spend at the grocery store if we had made a proper plan. 

NO MORE EXCUSES!

Inspired by Chris’ motivational video series on “consistent fitness success”, I’ve decided to stop the “downward spiral” of consistently coming up with excuses.   I will be consistent with planning healthy homemade meals for my family and me.

“Motivation is what gets you started.  Habit is what keeps you going.”  ~Jim Ryun (American track athlete and last American to hold the world record in the mile run)

PROCESS ORIENTED – “I will have dinner on the table tonight!”

I am now taking the steps to “cultivate” a process oriented mindset.  Rather than try and gather a meal together at the last minute, often spending limited time and/or money, I will carve out time I know I have available to plan, shop and prepare our meals for the week.

For many of you, this may seem like an easy challenge especially if you’ve been implementing a plan like this for a while.  But just like starting a new fitness routine or changing an eating habit, I am facing something that I always “wished” or thought I “should” achieve.   If I can dial in meal planning so that it becomes routine, I know that I have successfully made a positive lifestyle change.  This will not only benefit me but the ones I care about, too! 

ON YOUR MARK, GET SET…

Go!  The time to start is NOW.  I’ve already cleared out a time this weekend to do my shopping and prepping.  I’ve also chosen some recipes to make and have begun my shopping list so I won’t be overwhelmed with what I need on shopping day.   

I’ll follow up in a couple weeks to show you my progress.  I’ll share how I went about making a plan of action and what I did to implement it.  I expect it may not always go smoothly but I’m determined to stick to my plan so that eventually, my weekly meal planning becomes a habit!   

Ami Hodge
TNF Fitness Coach