routine schmoutine

Bouncing off of Stine's post, I hear the word routine and think "blahty blah and boring...Ta!"

But she's onto something there. When it comes to food, predictability and built-in safety nets--be they in the form of carrot sticks or a walking buddy or menu planning--seem to be the necessary "evils" of weight loss. But the true evil is spontaneity. You see your neighbor after work and she asks what you're doing for dinner--when you respond with "dunno," a door in the universe flies open and in strolls the question"wanna grab a pizza?" Now you're caught: you have nothing planned because you haven't gone to the grocery store yet this week and MAN, a pizza sounds good but there's this THING you're trying to do and it does not involve a secret (or not so secret) assignation with a pizza.

Convenience and spontaneity can ruin a perfectly good OP day. Harrumph. If it happens to be a day wherein you already feel like a distant relative of Moby Dick, you're in luck, because you'll probably say to your neighbor "no thanks, I have dinner plans" when you really don't and you're starting to daydream about a pepperoni pie. But if you went to the gym that day and have barely eeked out 15 points yet for the day then...why not? You can just have ONE piece, right? Frankly, this line of thinking feels horribly backward.

So this routine thing. I guess it HAS been a part of my past successes with WW, and if I'm to continue down this road to wellness, I've got to slam that Universal door as soon as it flies open. Maybe I'll add a couple deadbolts for good measure. I have to let go of the notion that there is something wrong with (read: that I am out of control otherwise) food routines. It's that balance monster again come knocking. Good thing I added those locks. I might just need me a bouncer though, for good measure.