routine Archives - A Weight Loss Adventure

As I am sure most of you are aware, I am a binge eater. For the most part I have had in under control for a while and only had minor issues here and there. However, the changes to my day during the quarantine due to the covid-19 pandemic, this change has thrown me for a loop. I started reading some of my favorite bloggers and one of them touched upon this time being a trigger. Shout out to Andie Mitchell! How could I not have realized that my lack of a routine has triggered my binge eating?

What is binge eating?

Binge eating is an eating disorder where you have an uncontrollable urge to eat unusual amounts of food. Back in the day, I could easily eat a bucket of ice-cream, a whole pie and add in some chocolate on top. I would finish it off with take out food. I would be so full I would need to go and throw up to simply feel comfortable. If you think you might have a binge eating disorder, I do urge you to reach out to your doctor but you can also read a bit about it at the Mayoclinic or at National Eating Disorders.

Dealing with binge eating

I have had days, where I felt myself slip into my old habit. I would simply say, I could just grab a few nuts to tide me over. But I would return 5 minutes later to grab another handful and an ounce of cheese. And that is how my day would continue. So I have been gaining a little weight.

I am not alarmed… yet! However, I do need to build a new routine for myself so I can stop myself from binge eating. Anyone with an eating disorder thrives with routine. With the changes of working from home, my hubby is now losing weight and us having struggled as a couple, it has been rough finding my way.

Building a routine

This week is the week I am figuring out how I can build a new healthy routine. It is all about making my day manageable but busy enough that I don’t think about food more than I need to.

In a day, I have daily routines that we all need to take care of:

Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
Plan meals for the day
Work
Workout

Those are the ones I need to focus on. I need to leave the rest behind to ensure that my essentials are taken care of. Once I have those down, I need to have a to-do-list that I can lean on so I can keep myself busy and out of the kitchen.

Structuring my day

Normally, I would meal prep on Sundays to ensure I am set for the week and I spend less time in the kitchen. However, the changes to my routine, had me thinking that I did not need to meal prep. Clearly, that is still needed. But until Sunday comes around my day starts the day before. I need to plan for my day. What will I be eating? What will Mike be eating? When will we be eating and how much time do I have to prep. When will I be working out. Are there other chores I need to add to my list?

Once I have my meals planned out and I know what to do when in the kitchen, I can move on to the when I will be doing my workouts. Workouts are very important to me. It keeps me focused, makes me feel better and with lack of movement for sitting on my butt all day, it is key in staying healthy.

My plan for tomorrow

7AM: Wake up
7:20AM: Get dressed, brush teeth, personal grooming
7:40AM: Make breakfast (Yogurt, hulled hemp seeds and banana for me and grape nuts, milk with a bit of brown sugar for hubby) and coffee! We can’t forget the coffee!
8AM: Eat breakfast
8:30AM: Spend time with Mike
9AM: Start work
2PM: Make lunch (Heat up Red Thai Curry for both Mike and myself)
2:20PM Eat lunch and spend time with Mike
3PM: Start last 3 hours of work
6PM: Wash dishes from breakfast and lunch
6:20PM: Make dinner (Turkey meatballs with onion, mushroom and red pepper mix (and sweet potato for Mike)) during cooking, I will plan my next day.
7PM: At home workout
7:35PM: Eat dinner
8:15PM: wash dishes
8:30PM: Shower
8:50PM: Spend time with Mike
11PM: Bedtime!

My weekend To Do List

This is a typical day for me. The challenge always comes when the weekend rolls around as there will be no work to keep me busy. That is why a to-do-list gets handy. This is my to-do-list for the weekend:

Create weekly meal plan
Meal prep as much as possible
Vacuum
Clean bathroom
Take pictures of clothes and other items to be sold online
Study for 4 hours
Create a weekly social media plan
Take images/videos of workouts

This should keep me pretty busy.

Will this cure my binging?

This prep time is no guarantee that I won’t binge or struggle with the urges of binging. However, it will put me in a place that gives me greater chance of success. If I know what I am eating and when, this eliminates my time in the kitchen and the need to find something to put in my mouth. It, also, creates a structure where there is a sense of security as I know what I will be doing next. These are both really strong support mechanisms that I can implement myself.

If I should get the urges to go and eat more, my last resort is always to talk to my husband about my need for eating. That usually helps as most binge eaters are extremely embarrassed by their lack of self control.

Should you be like me and struggling with your eating, always know you can reach out. I know what it is like. The mind can convince us of many things and they can be hard to control. You are definitely not alone. I know, I’m not.

I have always been of the mindset that, if I am going to the gym, I might as well make the most of it as the hard part is getting out the door. That is still the case for me but not in the sense you might think.

The past week I have gone 11 days out of 14. This does not mean that I give it my all every single time. It is about being smart when going to the gym. I do the full workout 3-4 times a week and the rest I do a simple walk or elliptical for 30-45 minutes. Those minutes are to help my joints not get completely stiff after a tough workout and it really helps. There is nothing worse than the day after a tough day at the gym and it hurts when you are trying to sit down. The walk the next morning, is the solution but never forget to stretch after a workout.

I was doing a bit of research online to find out how I could make the most of my workouts and most research agreed with what I am already doing. Whew! What a relief, cause I like my routine.

If you are looking to learn how to run longer or faster, most suggest 3 days of actual running and 3 days of some other exercise with 1 day of rest. Military.com, Runnersworld.com and Active.com vary slightly so all in all it depends on your motivational level. Military.com is what you would suspect. Hardcore with no resting days until you get to a pretty high level but they are starting you off slow to avoid injuries. Runnersworld.com has you set at 5 days of training and 2 resting days while Active.com has you average out at also 5 times per week but you can get away with 4 times per week but they do not specify if you need rest in between.

I know these are simple articles and perhaps not as trusted as medical advice or university research but when I do a simple google search for university level research, the results are not too dissimilar. John MacKenzie at Delaware University, also, suggests 5-6 days of training with 1-2 days of rest in alternating weeks. Although, his take, is slightly different from the articles I first found. He has you running all of the days but in different speeds, styles and levels. The Mayo clinic is similar to John MacKenzie’s style with 5-6 days of training but they are adding in more walking in between. This has been my primary style, when I have been training for a run.

I had never really done proper research on how I should be running or training for a run but it looks like, I was not too far off. Although, I am not training for a run (although I have one coming up next week), I am using the same principles for my workouts. And why will come in my next article about training, which will be about the balance between cardio and weight training.

I would not suggest that you start off with a 5-6 day training routine per week as for any starter that will be too much and you will lose your motivation. If you are a newly starter or you have a hectic schedule, go for a more manageable training schedule of 3 days per week but if you have a sedentary job, think about taking a couple of smaller walks during the day. Personally, I try to get to roughly 10,000 steps per day as that will add roughly 500 calorie burn per day. That is 1 pound per week, in weight loss or more of the delicious food that you like to eat. Mind you, this is for me and my current size, the smaller you get (are) the farther you need to walk to burn the same amount of calories.

I am no doctor or training expert but I have done my fair share of research and I have tested it all out on my own body. With minimal injuries, I would say, my recommendations are not too off. However, it is always important to listen to your body and seek medical advice if you are unsure or over the age of 40.

Let me know if you want to work out with me. I couple of you have already signed up to be a support 😀 Love it!

XOXO

When Lack of Routine Triggers A Binge Eater