This morning I woke up at 4:15AM… you read that right, 4:15AM!  Knowing that I’d have to get up at 5AM to go to spin anyways, I decided that going back to sleep for 45 minutes would be far worse than staying up.  Still, it was painful!

Spin this morning was great.  I love Cycle Studio!  Our instructor today had us do lots of intervals, which totally kicked my tail without realizing it.  My favorite interval was when we stood for 5 seconds, sprinted in the standing position for 3 seconds, sat down and continued to sprint for 3 seconds, and then returned to a normal pace in the seated position for about 10 seconds before repeating it.  It was awesome!

So here’s the question of the day:

Do your evenings sabotage your diet?

For the most part, I feel like I rock the house from 5AM-5PM.  Each morning I have breakfast, usually eating between 400-500 calories depending on the breakfast.  Some days I get hungry mid morning, so I’ll have a piece of fruit to tie me over until lunch.  I almost always pack my lunch, which helps me to both save money and to control my calorie intake.  Most lunches are between 400 – 600 calories and I eat between 12PM and 1PM.  My lunch usually gets me through the afternoon, but I’ve learned that having a snack around 3:30PM or 4PM is best for my body.  Snacks can range from fruits to a granola bar, roughly 200 calories.

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So why do I struggle with my body weight?  Why haven’t I gotten down to my goal weight?

Evenings are my real struggle.  A variety of things come into play on any given night such as…

  • Eating out
  • Snacking too much before dinner
  • Eating dinner as I’m cooking it and then sitting down to a plate (bites and tastes)
  • Not portioning out my food
  • Eating after dinner
  • Eating because I’m bored
  • Eating because the day was challenging
  • Eating dessert

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It can be frustrating to be so good during the day, only to overeat after work.  I recognize that this is a struggle of mine, so what can I do to turn things around?

  1. Create a weekly plan.  This helps to give me an idea of when I’m eating out and when I’ll be at home.
  2. If I’m eating out, I can look at the menu ahead of time and plan the rest of my day out accordingly so as to balance out the calories.
  3. Portion out my dinner and then put away leftovers, all before sitting down to dinner.
  4. Enter calories into My Fitness Pal while I’m preparing dinner, this way I’m aware of what I’m consuming and what I have leftover.
  5. Limit desserts to twice a week.  Once Monday-Friday and once on weekends.
  6. Instead of turning to food to comfort me, I can turn my attention to activities that will not sabotage my weight loss.  Watching TV, working out, knitting, play wii, doing homework, shopping, etc.
  7. BLOG!  Blogging always helps me to focus on my goals.  You all inspire me, motivate me, and hold me accountable.  For instance, Lauren and I are friends on My Fitness Pal and seeing her successfully log each day and workout motivates me to stick to my plan!
  8. Just go to bed!  Sometimes you just have to brush your teeth, get in bed, and sleep!  Breakfast will be here in no time.

Do you have any advice?  Do your evenings ever sabotage your diet?  What tips do you have?

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Filed under: Health

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