Staying Motivated to Make Better Choices

 We all have days where we stray from our master plan. We eat too many calories, we don't get a workout in, or both. There are 1001 different things that can get in our way or lead us astray and before you know it in a moment of weakness you're chowing down on Chocolate Chip Cookies while you're watching the Jets game. It's okay to have these day every once in a while. Be able to forgive yourself and resolve to make the next choice in the next moment a better one or actively seek out a way to end the day on a high note.

On MyFitnessPal.com I learned a new phrase: NSV which is the abbreviation for "NonScale Victory" When I first started on the site I thought it stood for "No Small Victory" Which is a concept I have adopted into my positive fitness mantra. Anything you do that you normally wouldn't have before you made the choice to Better your health is a victory, and in my world, there is No Small Victory. Find a way to end the day on a high note give, yourself credit for making Better choices, and keep up the positive thinking! Ending the day with a healthy choice can help refocus your mindset when you feel like you're losing control.

I'm sharing this with you now because today I was reminded how very important it is to make the next choice a Better one and when all else fails, making a plan to make tomorrow a Better day, and ending a bad day on a high note can help keep you motivated when you are starting to feel like you're losing control!

Today was a rough day for me. It was my second day back to work and I'm still working out the kinks of trying to get back into the routine. So, naturally I miss a step here and there. This morning I was glued to twitter in the few spare moments I had before heading out the door to day care and then work because James Harrison had announced he was giving away a signed football via twitter. So, I forgot to eat breakfast. (mistake #1). There really isn't anywhere I can stop on the way to work to get something to eat beside McDonalds and I told myself that any breakfast is better than no breakfast - which is true to a point. I ordered 2 breakfast burrittos (mistake #2 - especially when they have a fruit and walnut salad) Then I ate both burrittos (mistake #3) and a small orange juice.

I tried to make up for it by avoiding the treats and munchies buffet set up during our staff meeting (had I known there was going to be one I wouldn't have gone to McD's and would have settled for the grapes and pretzels - which were the healthiest things on the buffet.) I did even better when they brought the lunch (Subway sandwiches) I took a 4 inch slice of a turkey sub on wheat with fat free italian, veggies, and american cheese (okay, I could have done without the cheese). Then in the 45 minutes left on my break I walked downtown with a co-worker so she could pay a bill - 43 minutes of moderately fast pace walking - GO ME!  When I came home my dad offered to make pasta for dinner. So, I had 2 servings of small shells with spaghetti sauce, not totally bad as far as calories are concerned, but I could have made much better choices. Especially when I realized that I only had 53 calories to spare for the rest of the night and it was only 6:30. :: sigh:: Needless to say I gave into my hunger and eventually my sweet tooth. BUT I finished off the night on a high note. I got in a cardio packed workout with EA Sports Active 2 and drank lots of water. Ready to make tomorrow a better day.

My point is, we will all have days where we slip up or make some not so healthy choices and our Better days are not so good, try to finish on a high note and make a plan to make tomorrow a better day!