What to Do with the ... tell me if you've ever done this: It's Monday ... You decided ... that starting today you ... to 1) eat right, and 2) start to get regular ex What to Do with the Leftovers?Okay, tell me if you've ever done this: It's Monday lateafternoon. You decided yesterday that starting today you weregoing to 1) eat right, and 2) start to get regular exercise, and3) give up all your bad habits. So, you're picking things uparound the house and starting to notice all the little bits andpieces of leftovers from the past weekend. Namely, cookies here,and small bits of candy there. In my house today I noticed I hadthree large shortbread cookies (I'm overly fond of shortbreadcookies with icing), several bags of the candy that resemble realrocks which I keep saying I want to put in a jar, but I haven'tfound just the right jar (for display, you know), and theleftovers from the latest summer picnic, which in my case isabout five pounds of fruit salad - not bad in itself, but I canonly eat so much fruit salad.And Then There's the WineOf course, I had to buy some wine at a tasting on Saturday (Ialways buy it, don't know why I think those wine tasting's aresuch a great deal - they always entice me to buy), and nowthere's an open bottle waiting.So, my thoughts are, "Do I eat this, or not?" "Do I throw it awayand WASTE it?" "Oh, my, dear no. That's not a good idea," Ithink. Oh, I just remembered there is also an entire plate oflarge cinnamon rolls (Cinnabon style) I made Friday night.They'll be stale soon. That's not good. It'd be such a shame tothrow them all away, and I only ate one.And so it goes. Do I talk myself into eating up the last remnantsof the weekend, thus going into Tuesday and possibly Wednesdaywith the taste of weekend indulgence still on my lips, or do Idecide, really decide, I've had enough? It's time to eat better,like I just said, last night. Remember last night? It seems solong ago now ...What if We Just Start Tomorrow?It's interesting how easily we talk ourselves right out of whatwe had decided yesterday was such a good idea. So what's wrongwith just starting tomorrow? What's wrong is that tomorrow nevercomes. It's always today, right now. You'll never reach thatelusive tomorrow. Yes, the date on the calendar changes, but you,standing where you are, right here, right now, are still here, inthe present. You can't live in the past, nor can you live in thefuture. You can only live in the moment.Decide Right Now: What Do you Want?So if you want to decide, then decide right now. What do youwant, really want for yourself? Do you want to continue toindulge yourself at every turn, or do you want to exercise just abit more discipline and see if you can get into better shape?It's not about what you'll miss out on, it's about what you willgain. Better health, more energy, endurance. You'll feel better,you'll look better. It's all about what you'll gain, but in theimmediate moment, it's so easy to think only of right now. Yes,but right now this would taste so good, wouldn't it, and there'salways tomorrow.I've found that when I make a mental shift, a real shift, notjust a decision but a true change in my thinking, then I followthrough, and not until then. All the times I try to talk myselfinto doing things that I don't really want to do, are notsuccessful. Probably they're not successful because I don'treally want to do them.How do you get yourself motivated and stay that way? I start witha list. List all the reasons you want to lose some weight. Thinkin terms of a mini goal of five or 10 pounds. Make it a one monthgoal, not a lifetime goal. It's fine to have long-term goals, butif you really want to learn to change for good, then you need tomake it something you can live with. Incorporate real change intoyour lifestyle and you can indulge at a holiday party without itmaking any difference; without it throwing you off the deep end.When you go on vacation you'll come back maybe a couple poundsheavier, but it won't matter. You'll have eaten what you wanted,you'll have had a wonderful time, and not stressed yourself overwhether you're gaining weight.Why I want to lose WeightWhat's my first mini-goal? (1 week to 1 month). What's mylonger-term goal? (1 month to 1 year)How strict must I be for this to work? (Pre-planned or legalizeddeviations works very well for many people)Sometimes, especially if you use a plan that incorporates"legalized cheating" then you'll end up with some leftover food.Get used to getting rid of it. Give it away, throw it away, itreally doesn't matter. You're not doing yourself any favor byeating all the leftovers. So what if the cinnamon rolls go stale?I ate one and really enjoyed it, and that's what's important.Others also ate some cinnamon rolls, and even if no one had any,did I make them to eat them all, or did I make them because I wasin the mood to make cinnamon rolls? Does eating them all myselfmake any sense at all?Sometimes I feel a little guilty making goodies and then givingthem away because I think I'm not making it any easier for othersto stick to their plans, but then I remember what I do in thatsituation, and I have to assume others are adult about how theydecide to take care of themselves too. If I decide I'm going toeat in a more healthful manner, and someone brings somethingunexpected, it's not difficult in most all circumstances tosimply say, "No, thanks. I already ate," or take some on a platefor later.Since I don't go on "restrictive" diets, then I can incorporatepretty much anything into my day's food plan. I just eat it, whenI'm hungry. I find it so much easier to base my eating on whetherI'm hungry, than on whether something is there. Just becauseunexpected people show up, doesn't mean you use them, does it?Honestly, do you think anyone is upset when you leave a bit morefor them? I don't think so.The Case of the Missing Wedding CakeWhen I was a teenager my mother remarried and I offered to buythe wedding cake. I had an ulterior motive though. My favoritebakery, Beaverton Bakery, was where I intended to get the cake,and I knew by ordering far more than would be necessary there'dbe lots and lots of leftovers for me to gorge myself silly onafter the festivities. Ha.What happened instead is a blur. I don't know really whathappened to the cake but I do know I not only didn't get anyleftovers, I never even had a piece at the wedding. I tend to getcaught up in the people and don't usually eat at parties, so Ipaid it no attention, and much to my dismay someone else hadbundled it up before I got there to do so. Alas, I was never totaste that cake at all. Such a disappointment - it must havebeen, I still remember it now and that's been more than 24 yearsago now! LOL.Food memories stick with me for a very long time. That day is myprime example of how I would not have minded one little bit ifmore people had said, "No thanks, I just ate," and passed on thecake. I just wish I'd been a little more alert in setting aside ahunk for later. Article Tags: Cinnamon Rolls, Really Want Source: Free Articles from ArticlesFactory.com