August | 2013 | It's Time To Lose Weight

I have been on travel for the entire month and it really shows. This is the biggest reason I cannot lose weight. I’m out of my routine and I feel it. I have driven two hours each way to the work site and stay in a hotel during the week. I try desperately to eat well but I don’t get in the exercise.

I’m always inclined to say that my age is a reason but in this situation I believe it to be true. I get up early and get a good breakfast before the start of the day. I’m off to the work site which is very remote. I either need to bring my food or rely on someone driving into town to bring back lunch. Without access to any method of cooking, I’ve been eating sandwiches. I bake gluten free bread to take with me but even that has too many carbs. Snacks have been limited to fresh fruit. That’s good but not enough. My day ends at the work site around 5:30 but I have another half hour drive to the hotel and then look somewhere for dinner.

Dinner is always hit or miss. Even with the best of planning, it is not always easy to eat as well as I should. Even without a dessert, I am sure that restaurant meals have too many calories than I should eat. I even try to eat only half portions.

But my day is not done. I go back to the hotel to put in another 2-3 hours of work preparing for the next day. Working late hours, trying to get in at least 7 hours of sleep, and rising early the next day make for an exhausting week. I can’t find the time to exercise. Everyone says you can find the time. But I can’t find the energy after working 10-11 hour days. And it’s taking the toll on my weight loss and overall health.

One more week of this and back to the weight loss routine…

Since I have traveled for work lately, I’ve not stuck to my routine. As a matter of fact, I completely blew it. I managed to gain five pounds. How embarrassing! It’s totally my fault, I get it.

I was watching Extreme Make Over: Weight Loss and began crying. Each time the person loses track and falls off the program, they gain weight or fail to lose the weight they’ve agreed to lose. That’s my problem. I can’t stay focused on JUST losing weight. I don’t seem to be able to live the rest of my life and keep weight loss my priority. I don’t have Chris Powell pushing me to keep going.

How does the average person manage to lose weight – serious weight, not just vanity pounds – when they have to work a full-time job, go to school, or raise a family? Each of those has so many components to them that it’s not just one thing. It’s a variety of things that make up the whole. At my age, I am facing extreme fatigue at the end of the work day. I don’t know how I managed to do the other things, like raise my family and still have time to keep fit. Is it just growing older? I don’t like that thought.

I’m back on the road tomorrow. This time I am packing healthy snacks to take with me. A cooler with frozen gel packs should help me store things until I get to my destination. My dear husband bought me fruit and veggies to take with me. He tries to help me so much. I’m the problem. I know it. I need a mental break-through. I need the equivalent of a Chris Powell in my head to keep pushing myself – no matter where I am.

It’s only a couple of hours away on the road but a million miles away from my food comfort zone.