One of the sessions I attended at the Orange Conference was called How People Change. The speaker, Carey Nieuwhof, said – among many things – that incremental change brings incremental results.
Small changes = small results.
He was talking about making changes in churches, but my brain immediately applied that theory to weight loss. In my never-ending attempts to lose weight, I try to be practical. I make one or two small adjustments to my everyday habits and truly believe I’m going to drop major pounds. You know, the habits that landed me at this particular spot on the scale?
So, inspired by Niewuwhof’s words and Made to Crave by Lysa Terkeurst, I decided last Sunday to give up carbs for two weeks. Well, not all carbs. I’m not giving up fruit (especially now that they’re zero points on Weight Watchers!).
My plan was to start on Monday. I lasted for about 10 hours. Then I devoured an enormous, smothered baked potato and polished off more mini muffins than I care to share.
The problem was that I hadn’t planned any meals – or gone shopping for any non-flour-based foods. And, to be honest, I don’t really know how to cook meals without carbs. Faced with all that, I panicked.
“What should I make for dinner? I’m going no-carb, so I have to fix something without carbs. Ummm…okay, chicken. Do I have any chicken? I didn’t thaw out any chicken! What about spaghetti? NO! Duh! Carb City! Okay, then maybe we could do pizza? Right. No. Pizza has carbs. What doesn’t have carbs? What is a carb? I can’t go no carb!!!”
Yeah, it went pretty much like that.
Later, after I calmed down (and yes, sat on the couch in a muffin-induced carb coma), I realized that Mondays are simply made for failure.
Every time I start anything new, I try to do it on Monday. Up until bedtime on Sunday, I’m living it up – eating badly, not exercising, yelling at my daughter, not reading my Bible, ignoring the laundry, whatever it is that I’m giving up the next morning. And then I expect myself to flip a switch the moment the calendar turns over a new week.
When I do that – expecting perfection just because the day is called Monday instead of Thursday or Saturday or anyday – I’m setting myself up for failure.
Am I the only one who does this? Are your Mondays made for failure?
P.S. I spent some time this past weekend planning meals without carbs, and so far – two days into a new week – I’m hungry, but eating well!
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Mondays are totally failure days. As are the first of any month. I’ve learned that if I’m really going to do something {and do it right} then I need to plan and then pick an random day {like a Thursday} and just go. That might have a lot to do with the fact that I find Mondays to be rather evil and out to get me… Or just because every time I try to make some huge life-changing I’m-going-to-be-so-much-better-this-time decision it blows up in my face {and always on a Monday}.
Thursday sounds good to me! :)
I totally do this – I expect a flip to switch and to magically do better! It doesn’t make sense, this magical thinking, and you hit it right on to plan. Planning makes success possible, don’t you think?
Good thoughts – thank you for sharing!
Yes – planning is KEY for me. Weight Watchers uses the cliche – Fail to plan, plan to fail – but it’s so true!!
though i can totally relate to the whole “what’s a carb anyway?” panic and the muffin induced coma (especially today), i don’t agree with the blame it on a monday philosophy. i started a blog last month. i named it “the gift of mondays”. i think just like the term “used car salesman” or “mother-in-law”, we’ve developed habits of feeling certain ways about certain people or things without great reason. to me mondays mean possibilities and clean slates and anything is possible. mondays are 1/7th of my week, 1/7th of my life. mondays aren’t set up for failure…they’re set up for greatness!!! let’s make a plan to make next monday the best one yet…we’ll do it together…and even if we stumble we’ll still celebrate a day in our life. remember, nothing’s too big for God to handle, even mondays!!!
You are so right! I totally could have written this post! That ridiculous all-or-nothing, gotta-start-on-Monday mentality is exactly what resulted in quite a few (like 100) extra pounds for me (in spite of always trying to lose). I would start on Monday, as soon as I failed, I would give up until “next Monday,” when, of course, the same thing would happen again.
Yep. I hear you. Maybe we should start – whatever we need to start – tomorrow. Sunday. ?
It’s funny to me that the only time I’ve ever had any weight-loss success, I decided after eating a doughnut with breakfast that I was going to South Beach. And I did. For months. I’m not saying I didn’t have a mini Hershey’s bar here or there, but for the most part I stuck to it.
I wish I could flip that switch in my head about certain things and with that determination!
Jessie, that’s an awesome story. I’m with you, too, though – where IS that switch??
Oh you are so not alone! I am reading a new book by Candace Cameron-Bure called ‘Reshaping It All’ that talks alot about weight struggles and living a more Godly life. I am loving it. Downloaded it on my kindle app on my iphone and am reading it during late night feedings (of my newborn, not me, hah!). Good luck with the rest of the week :)
I’ve heard good things about Candace Cameron’s book. I just added it to my to-read list!