LOST/Cheat days

No, we aren't talking about the television show (that I never saw one episode of). I'm referring to my motivation to work out these last couple of days.

You would think that seeing the number on the scale go down would be motivation enough, but right now it's not. Weekends are hard for me to make it to the gym. I work later. I get home later and I really don't feel like going to the gym at 8 o'clock at night. Nor do I feel the urge to wake at 4:30 - 5 o'clock in the morning to get up and go. During the week, I have the time between work and picking the kids up and that's when I usually go. Working out 7 days per week... is that too much? Maybe I will stick to Monday - Friday and leave Saturday and Sunday to rest. I think that I am expecting too much of myself and I get burnt out, hence the lack of motivation. I guess it is quite possible.

I haven't been blogging as often. This too could be cause for my lack of motivation.

While I'm yammering on about motivation, I'm also going to touch on "cheat" days. You should allow yourself one day per week where you can "cheat" on your diet. If you want the greasy bacon cheeseburger (like I had last night) or the big piece of cake and ice cream, you can indulge on one specific day. Set which day will be your cheat day and keep it the same every week. Not only does it give you something to look forward to (like weigh-in), but it will keep your cravings from causing a binge. When you do cheat, make sure you still track your calories. You still have to hold yourself accountable. Once you see what your cheat calories look like, it will make it that much easier to hold onto your intake goal for the remainder of the week. My cheat day last week had me at DOUBLE my calorie goal for the day and this week I was only 401 calories over. I made better choices but still indulged in that bacon cheeseburger and delicious potato salad that I love so much.

Of course, you may feel guilty about indulging. I know I did. You just have to remember that it is one day and you are allowed to have it. Otherwise, you will drive yourself crazy wanting what you "can't" have.

Now that I've written out my feelings here, I believe some of my motivation has come back. I am not motivated to get up, take a shower and get ready for work! BAH!!

GiLLiaN<3