My Twelve Week Challenge: When Life Gets in the Way

I blame it on Katy Perry. She started the downfall …

Last week, right after writing this post where I was bragging about how well I am doing with my challenge, it fell apart in one night.

We took our kids to Katy Perry’s “We Can Survive” benefit concert at the Hollywood Bowl. It was a mad dash to pick up three kids from two different schools, get everyone in the car, and try to get to the Bowl by 5:00pm. I was so concerned about packing snacks for the drive, getting a change of clothes and sweatshirts for the kids, and making sure we had what they needed to get homework done (in between pre-show action and the concert), I neglected to pack any food for myself.

After a typical rush-hour in LA, we squeaked in just it in time for the pre-concert sound check and Q & A with Katy. But we made it. The kids (well atleast the girls) were thrilled.

In between the pre-show and the concert, our tickets included a hosted party with drinks and appetizers. I figured I could probably find something to eat there. Boy, was I wrong.

We got to the patio area of the Bowl and I checked out the fare – sliders, grilled cheese, chicken fingers and plates of cookies. Seriously. Those were our only options – and I was starving. So yes, I probably could have left my family, headed out into the crowds in search of some type of food that was 12-week-challenge approved – and probably way overpriced.

Or, alternatively, I could hang out with the family, not fight the crowds, and enjoy free food. As you could guess, I chose the latter. And man, was that the best tasting grilled cheese I ever had. I hadn’t had bread or cheese in so long, I may have slipped and had two – or three. Plus a glass of wine, or maybe two.

The next day, I woke up with terrible guilt, vowed to “never let that happen again”, got to the The12 for a great class and worked my butt off.

But, of course, it did happen again. A couple days later, I ended up with a house full of hungry teenagers on a Friday night. My plans for roasting a chicken that wouldn’t even feed half of them was not going to work. So, I did what you do when you have a house full of people you aren’t prepared for – ordered pizza. Yes, I probably could have made a chicken breast for myself while everyone else stood around the kitchen eating pizza…but as you can probably guess, I didn’t.

And then, about a week later, I went to a neighborhood Bunco party. I put a meal in the oven for the family, headed out the door as my husband headed in, and went there thinking I could find something to eat that was 12-challenge-approved. The food was delicious, but pasta, bread and salad – not a morsel of protein to be found. And of course there was wine, because, well that is kind of the point of Bunco.

This led to more next-morning guilt, kicking myself for “not sticking to the plan”. Plus I had a headache and a terrible night of sleep, because when you don’t really drink much anymore and people refill your wine glass for you, it’s a recipe for disaster.

Which is all to say that I blame this on Katy Perry, teenagers and Bunco.

Not really. The blame falls squarely on me. “Failing to prepare is preparing to fail.” Those are the words that are going through my mind right now. I know that I need to be better prepared. As I said at the start of this challenge, worrying about my own needs can be kind of low on my priority list.

So, I need to find a better balance. I am working on it but I screw it up sometimes. See, for me, this 12-week-challenge isn’t a sprint, it’s a marathon. I want to learn to make better choices that I can keep up – like forever. And forever is a long time. Mistakes are inevitable.

Another thing that is always on my mind is the example I am setting for my kids. I think finding a healthy balance that is not obsessive is important. I want my kids to remember how much fun we had as a family at the concert, not that mom made a big deal out of food and left to go find something she could eat. I want to remember having fun with my neighbors at Bunco, not the fact that I couldn’t eat my neighbors cooking because it didn’t have the perfect macronutrient ratios.

And when I look back on this past week, I want to remember this…

…not the fact that I didn’t achieve perfect macro’s each day.

Which is not to say that I am not going to try to do better. I really am. I think the key is not letting a few mistakes derail me and make me lose focus on my goal. So, while the bad news is I didn’t lose any weight this past week, the good news is that I didn’t gain any either. I guess I did enough right to make up for my wrongs. And, my fat to muscle ratio is still improving. Fat going down and muscle going up. I’m still making progress – it’s three steps forward and two steps back, but it’s still going in the right direction.

Most importantly, I still feel (in spite of these slip-ups) much healthier overall. I am sleeping better, have no aches or pains, have more energy, and most of my clothes in my closet actually fit – no spanx required!

So instead of beating myself up, I am going to learn from my mistakes, and try to find a better balance between living my life and sticking to the plan. Which should be especially challenging as we head into the holiday season.

I will not be perfect, but I will strive to do better – in the challenge and in life. Which in the end, is all I can really ask.