Weekends: The Challenge To Survive The First 2012 Weekend Without Blowing It (and a gush about really good TV).

“The weekend? What is a weekend?” as said by Maggie Smith playing the snobby Dowager Countess, Lady Grantham in the British Mini Series Downton Abbey (season 2 starts Sunday) and she get's some funny snarkey lines.

The first week end of 2012--ARGGHH!! The highlight for me will be watching Downton Abbey on Sunday night. But, I've got to keep it together folks. I think it's pretty common for weekends to be tough to get through for those of us with food issues or on diets. Weekends have historically derailed near perfect diet / exercise weeks for me in the past.

This was a good ( not perfect) week. My goal/food plan this week was no binges and no food or diet / scale obsessions. Goal met and I lost weight. I have binge eating disorder and restrictive dieting and diet focus escalates that, so I'm just so grateful to have had this good week. Even better it was a good week for my emotions, spirit,and mental wellness. When I say I want balance and peace in my life, this is as close as it gets.

My problem with weekends:
-- lack of structure
-- relief from being stuck to the chair / the computer / desk / phone of work tends to make be exhausted Friday night and then off track.
-- I tend to drink less water.
-- I don't always want to get out of my pjs to go to the gym on Saturday morning.
-- I make lists of all the things I need to do and get overwhelmed and stay home from the gym or a park and then don't get anything done.
---OR, I fill my day with either running around doing fun things and eating out.
---OR, molding my butt to be the same shape of the couch as I nibble through a few hours of television.
-- Sometimes I over-exercise one day and then I'm injured for a day or so.
-- We tend to eat out one or two meals of the weekend, and one meal at a restaurant usually results in a gain every time (just from sodium/fluid retention)
-- Naps after eating out.
-- Sunday night 11 pm comes and I want to hit the rewind button

It's not that it isn't ok to do some of this, but each weekend is a combination of all of the above somehow.

FREE TIME versus ME TIME versus all the things I WANT TO DO, NEED TO DO, DON'T WANT TO DO BUT HAVE TO DO. Inevitably, there will be things I just DON'T do.

And then there's the hubby, my food enabler and dealing with making decisions about food with him .

I'm telling myself now that whatever list I come up with --it just isn't all going to get done. One day at a time and One moment at a time.

Oh, but I will definitely , unless due to personal or world crisis or a loss of cable, watch Downton Abbey season 2 on PBS on Sunday night.

Good weekend to you all.