OHMs Planning Ahead!

This morning I headed off to camp, dropped off the big kids and then the little guy and I headed to the gym. He played and I walked...and walked...and walked. Picked up the kids from camp and headed for the pool. 3 extra kids followed me home and the baby got NO nap! So, that's why this week's OHM! CHECK IN is late...so sorry! But, here I am! Are you? In the comments section, please "sign in" by telling us how much weight you have lost, your biggest "UP" this week and your lowest "LOW." And this week, how about leaving us with your favorite lo-cal snack, too. This week I want you to focus on PLANNING! There is nothing that can mess up a diet more than a poorly planned day! You have to take the kids to the doctor and there is an extraordinarily long wait. It's lunchtime and you have NO FOOD with you. Your choices are as follows: a.) grit your teeth and muscle your way through the hunger pangs b.) cause a diversion and when the receptionist turns her head you grab the bucket of lollipops and run for the bathroom where you crunch your way through 67 circles of sugary goodness. c.) leave the appt. and head for the closest fast food drive-thru ALL of the above choices are poor ones. The easiest and best one would have been: d.) calmly pull the ziploc filled with grapes/nuts and raisins/dry cereal (insert lo-cal food of choice) from your purse and share with your child while you wait for the doctor. I have come to realize that stress causes my brain to misfire. I may be on the right track all day, reaching for carrots instead of chocolate, drinking lots of water, etc. and then one too many temper tantrums or sibling squabbles and I head right for what has become known as "Mom's Secret Sanctum" - a corner cabinet that usually hides left-over chocolate from school fundraisers or teacher gifts that I broke into before I gave the gift. So, this week I had an epiphany. If I had my whole day planned out - everything that would touch my tongue would be planned ahead of time. That way, if the baby is freaking out and the clock is ticking closer and closer to noon, I don't have to bat an eye b/c I know exactly what is on MY menu today. And then, what if I used that same menu all week? The sheer simplicity of that made me giggle! So, I will be trying this for a couple weeks to see what I think about it. Here's a sample of what I am talking about: Breakfast 1/2 cups rice crispies w/ 1/2 cup skim milk (160 cals) Lunch Lean Cuisine Panini/Wrap (380 cals) apple (60 cals) Dinner Salad w/ 4 T lo-cal dressing (100 cals) 1 oz. cheese or croutons and sunflower seeds (100 cals) Snacks apple w/ 1 T peanut butter (155 cals) 18 baby carrots w/ 1 T lite ranch dressing (110 cals) 1 2% skim string cheese (90 cals) 1 cup of grapes (100 cals) (substitute one of these for a 100 calorie ice cream treat) This daily intake plan totals out at 1415 calories. Not too shabby for all that food. If you have a PLAN you won't be tempted to eat the dog as you make dinner or break up a fight. My biggest suggestion is to type up YOUR day and have copies of it on hand. As you eat something off the list, cross it off. That way you can change up your day as your cravings change. Have salad for lunch and your Lean Cuisine for dinner, etc. This PLAN also has your back when you are feeling yourself get hungry...you know what your next snack is - no wondering, no thinking and your mind won't wander toward all those BAD FOR YOU things that you WISH you could eat. Try this for the week and see how your scale pays you back for planning ahead! If you haven't joined us for the other OHM! posts (btw, OHM! stands for One Hot Mama!) head back to each Tuesday's post for the last month - Tuesdays are OHM! days! Good for you ladies! Way to stick with it! Way to be a LOSER!