How To Avoid Weekend Disasters

Healthy eating, exercise. family, work life balance, sounds like the title of another self help book, except its not, this is my challenge and (wo)man is it challenging. A week in and its all so exhausting.

Perhaps if I was a lady of leisure or a stay at home Mum this would all be so much easier, right ?Wrong, I have been that lady in a previous phase of life and it is not easier maybe even more demanding. All of the above I have come to understand are excuses that we hide behind, reasons to make such decisions easier to ease our guilt when we want to give up.

One chocolate biscuit is not a failure it is a treat. One packet of chocolate biscuits and that is stupidity, especially if I want to do as I have said and challenge myself and give myself the love I deserve by treating my body better and only permitting it to have food that nourishes it.

With that said I am not opposed to treats and having days where I am not counting calories or checking for calorie counts. We are human and I'd rather have a treat than fall off the wagon all together and find it too difficult to get back on track.

This journey has made me very aware of how difficult it is to juggle all aspects of life while trying to focus on a challenge, even if it is for my own health, well-being and longevity.

The golden key to this experience for me so far has to be - planning. It is practically impossible to make it work without taking into consideration all of the other moving parts in life.

It seems to me that I can only maintain my focus on this if I set out time to prepare the weekly menu, set aside time to collect all the necessary ingredients if I don't have them, in some cases batch cook on a Sunday so that the weekly meals are readily available. Without this preparation the temptation to grab something nawti is all too easy.

Planning meals for family or simply for myself to begin with was a chore but as this week progressed I finally realized or at least remembered that I actually miss that part of my life. I am rediscovering how much pleasure it gives me to cook again.

My meals once again taste like real food. Finding new recipes to try, putting effort into finding fresh produce. It certainly might be more time consuming but the sense of accomplishment and pleasure enjoying the meal again has given my mealtimes new meaning.

Does it take longer to prepare? of course. However mealtimes are no longer something thrown out of a packet that taste like cardboard. It has also created a time to sit longer at the table. Mobile phones are banned. Meal times are exactly that, a time of the day to relax, unwind and enjoy fantastic food. It has almost become a new ritual.

I find the daily plan for eating is so much easier than the weekend, which is kind of surprising, it should really be the opposite way around don't you think? given that I still work an 8- 5, I still have two grown children at home, mix that with this blog and social media content and all of my other hobbies, I'm surprised I have time to sleep.

How do we find time or energy to continue this challenge through the busy weekend, especially with the Christmas festivities quickly approaching?

It certainly is a difficult task if your life is anything like mine. The weekend is supposed to be my time off. Did somebody say time off ? What the hell is that ?

As females of a particular age group #18 with 32 years experience give or take, a day off is a myth in my experience.

For me the weekend simply means trying to fit in all the other chores that I didn't get completed during the week, grocery shopping, seeing family members, doing the grand parent thing, perhaps enjoying a meal out if I'm lucky, catching up with friends before collapsing in a heap on Sunday evening in an effort to prepare for Monday when this crazy cycle begins all over again.

So how do we continue with this challenge without allowing ourselves to over indulge in convenience foods and sweet delights?

The answer is simple. Focus. Keep the end goal in mind. Is what you hope to achieve more important than that quick treat that will taste good only for the time it takes to consume it? please say yes!!!

Dining out does not have to be a drama, go enjoy your favorite meal, everything in moderation. I am not a nutritionist, nor a health and fitness guru, I have no qualification in the health industry , all that I have is my gut instinct. We are not robots, we are human souls and every now and then we need a treat to make us feel special.

Sometimes it is important to feel that our achievement is deserving of a prize. perhaps our focus for next week could be acomplishment goals and what we can gift ourselves that won't ruin our hardwork.

I look forward to any suggestions that you have for your weekly incentive gifts.

xx Lei

THE GREATEST ACCOMPLISHMENT IS NOT IN NEVER FALLING, BUT IN RISING AGAIN AFTER YOU FALL - VINCE LOMBARDI