When things were working

I'm slowly gaining weight.

It is and is not significant. It's not because it's coming on slow and I'm not having binges where I sit and eat frosting out of a can or anything. It is significant because I'm watching myself get to where I was the last time I decided to lose weight.

The tired, eat whatever you can to stay awake, survival mode of taking care of three kids while working a full time job is really starting to show.

So I've decided to go back to the things that worked.

What worked before was eating easy lo-calorie meals most of the time. skinny lattes for breakfast, soup that's under 300 calories for lunch and egg beater omelets for dinner.

What worked before was cooking veggie stuffed meals 2-3 times a week and having leftovers that would sit in the fridge and guilt me into avoiding the drive through because I didn't want to waste the food at home.

What worked before was movement, exercise and not wanting to waste that effort with shovels full of garbage.

What worked before was tracking, keeping meticulous notes of what I ate each day, so I could know when I went overboard one day and be able to course correct the next.

So the holidays are a true test for me. If I can lose over the next month, I will be on the right road. so, here's the plan.Today water and multivitamin habits start up again. For the next week, tracking only. No other changes. Then the week after, calorie cutting and tracking. The following week adding in 2 or more days a week of at least 30 minutes of movement. I've had a few monthly bills increase so for the time being I've had to freeze my gym membership and I'll be heading back to the place that saw the start of my earlier success, the work gym. it's free and has an elliptical and weight bench, everything I need to get started again. The only thing I don't really have control over right now is sleeping; I'm working on it.