Healthy Balance

It seems to be inevitable for me: Studying for the CPA exam does not equal weight loss no matter how hard I try. Sometimes I maintain. Sometimes I gain.  I religiously track every calorie that goes into my mouth. I use a heart rate monitor to track every calorie I burn during my workouts. I do the math. I burn more calories than I take in. So what gives?

I am an accountant. I sit at work for eight hours a day in front of a computer. I come home from work and I sit in front of the computer for hours on end every night studying.  My exercise time is 5 am every morning. After I am done getting ready for work but before I actually leave for work, I sit in front of the computer for those precious couple of extra minutes of study time. My life is in front of a computer!

This week was not the best week. I had to make a hard decision that caused me to be upset, but was the right decision. While I did not go over my calorie range the food I was eating this week was not healthy at all. No nutrients and no vitamins. My food choices have been getting progressively worse. I feel like I need to munch while studying. Am I hungry? No but I want to munch and crunch. This week the scale went up. Normally I am not one to focus on the number on the scale. I am more focused on how many push ups I can do, how high I can jump, how hard I can push myself. But I have not been focused on what I have been fueling my body with lately and the number on the scale this week shows it.

This has got to change! No more excuses. Yes I am still going to be sitting in front of a computer for hours on end a day. That can't change. I will always be an accountant, until I am a CPA. But to be a CPA I need to study. And studying means sitting at the computer all day. I am still getting up every morning and working out everyday. I will continue to do my 1/2 hour to 1 hour workouts a day. They help me stay on track. Get my blood flowing and give me the energy to keep studying. 

So what am I changing? My food choices and this mindless munching that I seem to be doing. My plan is to get back on the path I was before. Breakfast, morning snack, lunch, afternoon snack, and dinner.  I will make healthier choices. Breakfast is normally cereal. Morning snack will be fruit. Lunch will be packed full of protein. Afternoon snack will be veggies. Dinner will be a balance.

I will not let achieving one goal completely throw me off track from the other goal. The second goal may need to be slowed down so the first can be accomplished. I will work in unison to be able to achieve all my goals.