Healthy Girl 365, Day 34 - Meal In A Box

I never wanted to be one of 'those dieters' - you know the ones. They tell everyone within listening range "I'm being good", they won't eat your delightful home-baked cookies in the name of weight loss, they fill their freezer at home with frozen diet meals, they strap on their pedometers at the start of each day, they start running... you know the type. Well since starting this project, it's dawned on me. Guys. 'Those dieters' are the ones who are losing weight! No, it's not a recipe for success but I'll be damned if those things don't contribute to successful weight loss. I mean what's the alternative? Instead of "being good", you tell everyone "I'm being bad" and you eat McDonalds every day for lunch to prove it. Instead of avoiding cookies, you chow down on at least 3 before lunch in appreciation of the home-baked goodness, plus 2 more for afternoon tea. You fill your freezer with mini pizzas and pies and dim-sims, so on the days when you don't have the energy to cook, your meal choices are fatty, fatty and fatty. Instead of monitoring your exercise and trying to squeeze more of it into a day, you feel satisfied with yourself for taking so many trips down the hallway to speak to a co-worker, instead of emailing or phoning them. Yes, 'those dieters' are a cliche but it's for a reason. Now, technically I'm not keen to use the word 'diet' because I'm making permanent, sustainable lifestyle changes but that doesn't mean I shouldn't be implementing some of the tactics I mentioned above. This past weekend I was feeling pretty crappy. I hardly left the couch, except to celebrate a friend's birthday for a few hours. Cooking? Not a chance. I didn't even force myself out to the grocery store. Luckily for me, in a fleeting moment a week or so ago I'd made the brave decision to stock up on some Lean Cuisine for times like this. I haven't eaten a frozen meal since before I got married. This is some serious re-programming here people! This past weekend, instead of scrounging together whatever comfort food I could concoct into a meal, I ate a Lean Cuisine. Was it delicious? Heavens no. But it did save me from consuming way more fat and calories than I wanted to. And that's good enough for me!