Losing weight is like getting out of debt.

I understand why this is the slipping point for most New Years resolutions. It's not that people aren't motivated, its that life, distraction and responsibilities are beginning to sneak back in. This is healthy, life is meant to be in balance. 

Losing weight is like getting out of financial debt. It's like clearing out the clutter out of your house. It's hard to do, you can only manage a bit at a time and all the mean while, new bills come, and more stuff accumulates. But the solutions are the same. 

• Stick within your budget. Be it financial, storage capacity, or portion size.
• Preplan so you see it coming. Bills, shopping and eating are all foreseeable most of the time if we take the time to sit down and think about what's coming up and how we are going to deal with it. Brainstorm a few options, then we have flexibility as well as foresight, a winning combination!
• Do a bit at a time consistently, pop a bit of extra money on the loan or savings account consistently and watch it grow. Spend 15 mins a day, or an extra 50 items being put away each day and watch the clutter clear. Eat within your limits and do some exercise and watch that waist trim.
• Stand up for yourself, squeeze in a bit of time for you to reach your goals, yes everyone gets a piece of you, and so do you. Don't forget to reserve some time and energy for you! 

When you are out of debt you can save up for some things you like. When your house is organised you can find things quickly, easily, you have room to move. When your body is healthy, it feels happy, light and ready for life. You can bend into awkward positions easily, be picked up literally and figuratively. You like what you see in the mirror.

There will always be ebbs and flows. Achieving these things isn't a perfect straight line on a graph. Weight will come down, and it will come up again a little as well. Its the bigger picture we are looking at here. Are we doing our best in difficult situations? Are we continuing to improve? Or are we just fooling ourselves?

This is the time when it slips a little. But its not the time to give up. Its the time to get back to basics. Its worth it, don't let life's busyness steal it away from you. Take the time to think, what do I want from tomorrow, what's for dinner, when will I take time for me? 

If you know what you want from the next three dinners, then you know exactly what to buy from the shops. This will save time, money and clutter. You can eat the meals in any order you like. Just freeze the meat if need be. You are not locked in by a food plan...you are freed by one!

Here is my menu plan. Its an online spreadsheet through google drive. I can access it from anywhere and share it too. Online documents are wonderful :)

Plan, journal, and do some exercise. Slow down when you get a chance, and forgive yourself when you don't. If you keep trying the results will pay off, and even if its not perfect you are in a much, much better situation, than you would have been in!

I went for my walk today. I use an app called my tracks which measures how far and fast you have gone. I can only check the stats after the walk. I walked 4.6km today, which is getting closer to my 5km goal. I measure up to the dog park, and then after the dog park. Otherwise the long time I stop to let Penny play interferes too much with my stats.  I jogged for 4 lots of 90 seconds, which made 6 mins :) Todays time was 62.71 mins with a max speed of 7.92km.

I hope that everyone has the chance to take the time to learn the lessons they need to become their bestselves. Bless you all!