The 7 Ps – Proper Planning and Preparation Prevents Piss Poor Performance, or as more eloquently put by Benjamin Franklin
Over the last few years I have learned, sometimes the hard way that when it comes to fat loss, or indeed achieving any fitness goal that planning and preparation are key. This last week has served as another reminder to me that if I want to be successful then I need to take time to plan and prepare.
Last weekend I spent a glorious couple of days on the island of Portland in Dorset. I was there with Julia and a couple of friends that I’ve met through Julia’s fat loss programmes.
On Saturday we spent most of the day walking around the island with its stunning Jurassic coastline. We walked and chatted in the sunshine admiring the scenery and local wildlife – hundreds of butterflies, some rare orchids and a lizard – I felt like a real city girl oohing and ahhing at it all!
The coastal path was easy to navigate but had some steep ups and downs – we worked up quite a sweat. So much so that the braver of the group went for a dip in the sea (not me). It was one of those days when it felt good to be alive.
I arrived home on Sunday evening, tired after a pretty active weekend. Sunday is usually food planning and prep day for me but I just didn’t have the energy to do that on Sunday evening. I flopped on the sofa and told myself that it would be OK, I’d just work things out as the week went along.
And in some ways it was OK. Although I hadn’t planned or prepared my main meals I have lots of healthy choices available to me near work and we have a freezer full of chicken and fish to form the main part of our evening meals. No disaster by a long way. But because I hadn’t planned everything out I sort of lost track of what I’d eaten and by the middle of the week my stomach was feeling quite gripey and I felt generally lethargic.
When I stopped and looked back at what I’d had I realised that wheat had crept back into my diet without me really realising. Although I’m not ‘officially’ intolerant to wheat I do feel better without it in my diet and these days tend to have very little of it. In the first few days of the week I’d had a sandwich here and a bagel there – not outrageous amounts but more than I would usually have, and my body was feeling the effects.
By Thursday I’d got things back under control and had planned out what to have to the rest of the week. My stomach has gradually gone back to normal and my energy levels have improved.
This afternoon I sat down and planned out my food for the next week. I’ve bought this handy planner from Paperchase which I love and lets me write down my workouts and meals, with a separate space for a shopping list.
A quick trip to the supermarket, followed by an hour of cooking and I now have my lunches ready for the next few days. I feel back in control again and know that I’ll make good food choices as I’ve taken the guess work out of it for myself.
I started this post with a quote and I’ll finish with another.
From Strength to Strength 
Great review thanks for that! Have told our friends too!