Obstacles to Weight Loss

It is time for me to stop making excuses and start making changes to my lifestyle in order to lose the "baby weight" that I have accumulated over the past 6 years and 3 babies.  I have been running since May and have lost a whole 3 whopping pounds...not quite what I was hoping for.  This week, I will begin to change my diet in order to really get the ball rolling (via Weight Watchers...because apparently I need to pay for someone to weigh me each week in order to lose weight).  I have been thinking about it lately and have realized that is doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what the problem is here.  There are a few glaringly obvious obstacles to my weight loss.  Here they are:

1.  Eating what my children leave behind
I need to tell myself that is is okay to throw out what my children don't eat.  It is not a waste...what it is is throwing out trash (scraps of food that I should NOT feel the need to eat).  I am not doing myself any favors by eating those last few bites of mac and cheese.  The little bit of a hot dog that was left behind is better off in the trash (after all, those few bites would probably be about 5 grams of fat that I clearly don't need).

2.  Cooking on the fly
When I do not plan out what we are going to eat for dinner throughout the week, I usually just decide to make whatever is easiest...and sometimes this does not mean it is the healthiest.  This leads me to #3.

3.  Being unprepared with food/ingredients
I must make sure that I have everything I need for healthy, easy dinners.  This means sitting down and making a grocery list that clearly lists everything I need for the week.  Making sure I have everything I need will cut down on ordering out. Sometimes I go to make something for dinner and I find that I am missing something I need.  Instead of running to the store to get it, I find we run for the nearest take out menu.  It needs to stop.

4.  Sheer exhaustion
Sometimes I am so tired at the end of the day, that I decide to say "screw it" and I just eat whatever the hell I want.  I may be tired but making myself a nice salad doesn't have to take that much energy.  I can always make a big salad ahead of time and have it available when I am hungry.  Some people say that they are too busy and tired to find time to eat...why don't I have that problem?

5.  Life
The last obstacle seems to be life.  You only live once and I am sorry, but I refuse to be the person who comes to the party and doesn't eat or have a drink.  I remember going to Weight Watchers meetings in the past and people would talk about their Thanksgiving plans and how they were going to make a special low-cal dish to take to their family dinner.  To be honest, I would tell someone to go take a freakin' hike if they did that at my house on a holiday.  It is great to eat healthy on your own time, but seriously, sometimes you have to just let it go.  I think that as long you are exercising and eating well on a regular basis, you should feel free to splurge on occasion.  I just need to cut back on the splurging whenever the mood strikes me.  Yes, going to a fantasy football draft and having half a dozen beers is fine (in my book)...what is not fine is chalking up the whole weekend as a wash because of one event and have a  free for all with the snacks and booze.

So if I can get past at least 4 of the 5 obstacles, I think I will be successful.  Here's to hoping...