2012 Weekends
Weekends can be a challenge. Because I work with habits and rituals, my systems get tripped up with all the changes that occur on Saturday and Sunday.
But weekends are a part of life, so I had to come up with a way to avoid the common mistake of letting the weekend unravel all of the work I’ve done. I have been working on putting together a good balanced system of habits surrounding my eating, exercising and meditation.
Since I don’t get up early, I slept through that time slot I’d been using for my morning ritual. And there is a full house here on the weekend, as opposed to during the week when it’s just me and my dog. So the added distraction of bodies could be enough to warrant my throwing my hands up and giving into falling back into my old ways.
So I came up with a workable solution.
First of all, I do allow myself a ‘cheat day’ or a “day off” from any of my programs, no matter what it is. The purpose for the Cheat Day is to allow life to work its way into my idealized schedule. With the cheat day, I can let myself sleep in, ignore my meditation, skip a day of working out, eat a whole box of cookies, etc. and not worry that I’m disrupting my cycles or my progress. I ALLOW myself one cheat day each week, if I need it, so I haven’t technically cheated at all.
When I woke up on Saturday, it was after ten and I went straight for the coffee without breathing, moving or meditating. I also didn’t leave River to go to the store on Saturday. It was basically as if I didn’t have anything new in place for 2012. But because I could label it my “Cheat Day” it made it less traumatic. Instead of feeling like I’ve let myself down, I could just enjoy Saturday, and get back into the swing of it on Sunday. By the time Sunday came around, I had gotten the loafing out of my system and was back on track.
I did make one adjustment, though, for the weekends. I didn’t do my morning ritual in the morning on Sunday, either. But when I worked out at my regular time (2:30 pm) I stuck my breathing and meditating into that session.
So, cheating on Saturday, and back in business on Sunday. Monday is as strong as ever.
Now, this is Tuesday, and all of my routines are still working for me. I didn’t lose any ground on the weekend, in fact I gained strength in my routines by adjusting them for the situation.
Without cheating or the ability to change things around, my New Years Resolutions may have been dead in the water by January 8th. But because I can adjust on the fly, I’m still working the program.
And now I know that my chosen lifestyle can survive long term, even through weekends and holidays, thanks to my adjustments.
Yesterday I ended up only getting in seven cups of vegetables because I got distracted and skipped my three o’clock meal -- even though I was hungry.
But this is one of those things that you just get right back on your horse and ride. Today I’ll get my nine cups. Its 2pm right now and I’ve already had 2 cups and have four more in the oven. Then, if I just have three with dinner tonight, I’m at nine. It’s getting easier than it was when I first started. The amount of vegetables seemed ridiculous when I started but now it’s starting to feel more normal.
Also yesterday was my High Intensity workout day. I didn’t record it, so I have no video to post, but it was a good hard workout. I moved forward, increasing the sophistication of some of the movements, so I can tell I’m getting stronger.
Today I’m on No Intensity, which is basically resting, recovering and dealing with tightness and soreness. Tomorrow I’ll do my yoga.
But weekends are a part of life, so I had to come up with a way to avoid the common mistake of letting the weekend unravel all of the work I’ve done. I have been working on putting together a good balanced system of habits surrounding my eating, exercising and meditation.
Since I don’t get up early, I slept through that time slot I’d been using for my morning ritual. And there is a full house here on the weekend, as opposed to during the week when it’s just me and my dog. So the added distraction of bodies could be enough to warrant my throwing my hands up and giving into falling back into my old ways.
So I came up with a workable solution.
First of all, I do allow myself a ‘cheat day’ or a “day off” from any of my programs, no matter what it is. The purpose for the Cheat Day is to allow life to work its way into my idealized schedule. With the cheat day, I can let myself sleep in, ignore my meditation, skip a day of working out, eat a whole box of cookies, etc. and not worry that I’m disrupting my cycles or my progress. I ALLOW myself one cheat day each week, if I need it, so I haven’t technically cheated at all.
When I woke up on Saturday, it was after ten and I went straight for the coffee without breathing, moving or meditating. I also didn’t leave River to go to the store on Saturday. It was basically as if I didn’t have anything new in place for 2012. But because I could label it my “Cheat Day” it made it less traumatic. Instead of feeling like I’ve let myself down, I could just enjoy Saturday, and get back into the swing of it on Sunday. By the time Sunday came around, I had gotten the loafing out of my system and was back on track.
I did make one adjustment, though, for the weekends. I didn’t do my morning ritual in the morning on Sunday, either. But when I worked out at my regular time (2:30 pm) I stuck my breathing and meditating into that session.
So, cheating on Saturday, and back in business on Sunday. Monday is as strong as ever.
Now, this is Tuesday, and all of my routines are still working for me. I didn’t lose any ground on the weekend, in fact I gained strength in my routines by adjusting them for the situation.
Without cheating or the ability to change things around, my New Years Resolutions may have been dead in the water by January 8th. But because I can adjust on the fly, I’m still working the program.
And now I know that my chosen lifestyle can survive long term, even through weekends and holidays, thanks to my adjustments.
Yesterday I ended up only getting in seven cups of vegetables because I got distracted and skipped my three o’clock meal -- even though I was hungry.
But this is one of those things that you just get right back on your horse and ride. Today I’ll get my nine cups. Its 2pm right now and I’ve already had 2 cups and have four more in the oven. Then, if I just have three with dinner tonight, I’m at nine. It’s getting easier than it was when I first started. The amount of vegetables seemed ridiculous when I started but now it’s starting to feel more normal.
Also yesterday was my High Intensity workout day. I didn’t record it, so I have no video to post, but it was a good hard workout. I moved forward, increasing the sophistication of some of the movements, so I can tell I’m getting stronger.
Today I’m on No Intensity, which is basically resting, recovering and dealing with tightness and soreness. Tomorrow I’ll do my yoga.
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