This is What Falling Off the Wagon Looks Like

It's been awhile since my last post. Mostly, it was my busy schedule that kept me from blogging, but then there was just the fact that every time I sat down in front of this blog that I had to face how much my progress was derailed. Last night I had a dream that I was writing this post...even down to the cheesy movie reference below. That was just what I needed to get back in the blogging saddle again.

Have you seen that Julia Roberts movie, America's Sweethearts? In the movie, Julia's character, Kiki, has lost a bunch of weight. At one stressful point in the movie, Kiki is found at a table eating tons of food that she hasn't eaten in a long time. She says, "See this? This is what falling off the wagon looks like."

Well this post is about what falling off the wagon looks like. I took the holiday slide and kept on slidin' - right on into February as is may seem. After the success of completing my first 5k, I just STOPPED. Stopped training. Stopped following my eating plan. Stopped blogging. Just stopped. I fell off the wagon :-(

Looking back, I think that my lack of planning is what derailed my progress. Between working at a church and just normal holiday craziness, Thanksgiving through mid-January is generally my busiest time of year. I know this. I've known this for 3 years now. This is my craziest time of year. I should know to plan to have healthy meals PREPPED. I should know to plan to MAKE TIME to work out. I should have a training PLAN IN PLACE. I should know these things, right? The thing about falling off the wagon is that sometimes, even when you're just hanging on by your fingernails, you don't realize how far you've fallen until the wagon backs up and runs over you. 

So where do I go from here? I get back up on the ol' healthy living horse, that's what I do. I start by keeping my food/symptom diary again. Doing this helps me keep things in perspective, and also helps me not have to "guess" about what I ate that might make me feel bad. I will set some goals and find another 5k to train for. Having an event to train for helped me keep on track and gave me an end result to work toward. Working out just for the sake of working out doesn't work for me. I like working out and all, but honestly, when life is busy and I'm tired, it is usually the thing that I drop. Oh yeah and I blog more. Blogging, even once a week, helps me evaluate my progress and see what worked and what needs to change. 

And I'm off to start my next adventure!

Blessings!