Time to get motivated!

Yesterday, I was feeling pretty rubbish about myself. Tuesday hadn't been a good day and Tuesday night was a late one (working till 2am). I looked in the mirror yesterday morning and saw a fat blob with a flabby belly and a tired, drawn face. Frustrated, I started grumbling.

"Why am I not losing any weight? I mean, I'm exercising every day, I'm not being really bad with my diet....OK, I know I ate a curry Friday night and had a couple of glasses of wine Saturday but I know people who drink far more than me.... I mean, most of the time I don't drink, I rarely eat cakes or sweets, only dark chocolate but only sometimes....It's just NOT SHIFTING!" .....and so on. Bob listened for a while and after I'd been banging on in this vein for a good 10-15 minutes he took advantage of a pause for breath to break in and tell me firmly and without mincing his words what he thought I should do:

1. Set aside a set time for exercise every day.
2. Make it the same time of every day.
3. Ideally split it into two blocks of time.
4. Prioritise sleep and exercise over work. Yes, I love my work, but it's more important to get enough sleep and stay fit.
5. Don't work so late. In fact, stop working in the evenings at all. There's no need. We're not going hungry.
6. Work during the day, as if I were in a salaried full-time job (apart from the kids' activities that I really can't get out of).
8. Make sure I'm in bed by 11pm AT THE LATEST every night.
9. Eat sensibly and cut my portions a bit.
10. Go on the wagon. OK, it's tough - but for me it's key in a weight-loss regime.

And you know what? He's absolutely right. My husband knows me SO well.

1.  He knows I'll respond to a timetable, a routine, a disciplined approach. The reason the weight isn't shifting this time is that I'm not approaching it methodically - either my diet or my exercise.
2.  He knows I actually don't find it too difficult to stick to being on the wagon once I've done it for a few days - I would rather be fit and feel good, than be drinking and feel fat and blobby.
3.  He knows that I need a firm talking-to if I'm ever going to change things!
4.  He knows that if he tells me "Don't worry darling, you look gorgeous to me" or "I love you whatever you look like" - I won't believe him. Because it wouldn't be true!!!  We've been together 20 years and he won't feed me a line like that. 
5.  He knows that I know he'll support me in whatever timetable I try to set myself, and will work round it. So I can't use his needs as an excuse. 

So, here goes. This is going to be the new routine, the new me, the new leaf.  Starting this weekend once I've tidied up a few work bits and pieces and appointments that are getting in the way this week. 

WEEKDAYS:
1.  Up at 5am. Run or bike between 5.30 and 6.30.
2.  Home by 6.30 to get the kids up for school and get them breakfasted and out of the door. Shower.
3.  Take Bob to work if needed.
4.  Back at the desk by 9.00 if possible. Work all day apart from:
   - Go to school to do Isabel's insulin at lunchtime
   - Swim or gym for 30-60 minutes at 5pm while the kids are eating dinner OR after they are in bed.
5.  Sensible lunch - low-GI carbs and lots of protein.
6.  If no work, or deadlines allow, spend the afternoon with the kids after they get back from school.
6.  Kids' bath and bedtime, pick up Bob from work/MRT, if needed.
7.  Evening - either swim/gym if not done at 5pm; sensible carb-free or low-GI dinner; no work; bed at 10pm if possible or at the latest by 11pm.

Exceptions - Thursday morning run at MacRitchie at 6.30am (so no run/bike at 5.30am). Friday morning Pilates at 10am (so no swim/gym later). 

WEEKENDS:
Saturday morning ride with ANZA at 7am. Sunday - rest day from exercise. Working at weekends - limited to max. 2 hours per day but only if there's a big deadline.

I plan to limit the work I take on to an absolute maximum of 2,500 words per day and only Mon-Fri if possible. I also plan to stop surfing around on FB quite so much when I am supposed to be working! I do NOT plan to neglect my cherished friendships on FB - no way - or neglect my many great friends here in Singapore. There's no reason why I can't fit in the odd lunch, coffee or dinner out. Just not that often during the day. I might have to suggest going out for dinner more often. And my FB surfing and blogging can be done in the evenings when I'm not working.  This allows me to have time with the kids before school and sometimes after school, to be around for Isabel's lunchtime insulin, to be there to do their bath and bedtime and Joshua's piano practice/reading/spelling with him and to spend time with Bob in the evenings instead of hunching over the PC as I have been doing.

Today, apart from putting pen to paper (finger to keyboard) and setting out my routine for the world to see (and to laugh at me about, if I fall off the wagon or otherwise lose the plot), I entered a whole bunch of races. Now I HAVE to get out there and start training. I've put money on it!

Wish me luck! Yes, I'm obsessed. Yes, I'm addicted. Yes, I'm quite possibly a crazy mad woman. But this is important to me - my wellbeing, my self-confidence and my approach to life. And I really want to set an example to my kids, about how to lead an active, healthy life.  So let's hope this works..... :)