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Old habits die hard. No one said this journey would be easy, but I didn’t think I’d already flub up from the 
get-go. In my defense, this time wasn’t because of my lack of will power.
This morning, I thought I set my alarm clock for a half hour earlier than I usually get up because I wanted to make time for breakfast. I’m not a big early morning breakfast eater, and with an 8 a.m. class two days a week, I tend to just skip it or bring something quick like a pop tart to eat between classes. (Healthy, I know.)
Well, today? Turns out I set my alarm wrong. So wrong, in fact, that I woke up at 8 a.m. when my class had already started. That’s a pretty stupid mistake on my part, but the real unfortunate result is the fact that I’m nowhere closer to breaking my non-breakfast eating habits. As I disgustedly walked to class, all I could think was, “Great! Now I’m 30 minutes late AND I just screwed over my metabolism.”
It’s true. Apparently breakfast really does play a big role in maintaining a healthy weight. According to a WebMD article, 78 percent of people belonging to The National Weight Control Registry who have maintained a weight loss of 30 pounds or more eat breakfast regularly.
If I want to be one of those people, I guess I need to eat the 
most important meal of the day. So, I’ve decided that in order to be successful these next 10 weeks, I need to make a plan for myself. This means I need to know all the details about what I’m going to eat everyday and what kind of workout I’ll be participating in and when. Making my lunch the night before is a must. After all, knowing my history with this weight loss and gain dance, having no plan lends for impulsive eating… and perhaps attacking a giant Hershey kiss. (What can I say? This girl loves her chocolate!)
Even though I missed breakfast, at least I could rest assured knowing I had an incredible bag lunch waiting for me. As an Italian who loves to cook, I was very excited to try the recipes on SELF’s website. My chicken baked potato not only reheated well after spending half a day in my lunch box, but it was the most satisfying lunch I’ve had in a long time. The suggested snack was perfect as well. (Sargento string cheese is so tasty!)
SELF magazine’s Jump Start Diet already has a pretty great plan laid out, so making my own personalized schedule was not difficult at all. Today I even tried the 30 minute cardio sizzler developed by Jillian Michaels in my own living room. Yup, I cranked up Pandora on my computer and just had at it. Did I ever think jumping up and down in my living room would be a good workout? Never. Was it? You betcha. Thank you for getting my booty in gear, Jillian Michaels.
While I didn’t necessarily start the day out on the best foot, I don’t consider my efforts a failure at all. In fact, I think I’m well on my way to being the better and healthier me. Honestly, it’s been the first time in a while that I can actually see the finish line.
Question for you: Have you ever had setbacks when trying to achieve a new goal? Tweet me (@Nikki_Roberti #Freshman15) as you go through this process too!