I plan my days when I can. I know that I can’t always do this, but when I can, I do. This means if I’m home and I know I’ve got nothing going on, I usually have a plan.  The fact that I’m usually “boring” on my non-dinner meals helps. I am perfectly happy eating the same thing most days for breakfast and lunch, along with my morning and afternoon snacks. I have more exciting dinners and night-time snacks, so the “boring” food earlier in the day helps.  

I don’t expect any of the people I work with to plan and/or measure forever. That’s not the goal here.  I hope to give all my folks roots and wings.  Learn how to do this, maintain what you’ve learned, know that you’ve got the tools to come back to if you need to reset in the future. BUT, I do still plan and measure when I can.  It’s weirdly therapeutic for me. Like all of us, I have a lot that I can’t control.  Work, day-to-day things that come up, etc. This is something I can.  So I do.  

One thing I’ve done from very early on in this journey is to have a fun “safety net” to eat while I wind down the day hanging out with my wife. We’d hang and watch a TV show, a movie, or just talk. That would be my night-time snack and it’s usually Greek yogurt mixed with instant pudding and PB2, popcorn, and some kind of candy or sweet treat. Sometimes it’s ice cream. If my day goes awry, I have something I can “rob” from later in the day to make it work. This has kept me from going off the rails so many times. A perfect example was this past weekend. My younger son just turned 17 and had a bunch of friends over to hang out and celebrate. When getting snacks for them, we were at Costco and I grabbed one of their trays of the full-sized cookies. He grabs the bucket of smaller cookies and says, “Dad, get these, they’re so much better than those.” I told him he was nuts but put down the ones I had and we got what he had. When we got home, I robbed from my “safety net” (in this case, I had planned to have Rolos later with my popcorn, so I just had a couple less) to have one of the smaller cookies. I do feel the need to tell you that I was right, the bigger ones are better (he still disagrees).  

Before starting with Falcon so many moons ago, I would’ve had the cookie and all the Rolos. Small changes like this make a big difference over time. A few days over here and there add up. That’s how we get into trouble in the first place. I’m not saying to not eat the “fun” foods. Not at all, I’ve got the world’s most stupid streak. I’ve had some kind of sweet or dessert every single day for the entirety of my time here. That’s going on seven years! What I am saying is to be smart about it and have a plan to fit it in if you want it.  In my case, I know sweets are a thing for me. One of the very best things I’ve learned is to have a plan to make it work. I’ve never once run away from the sweets. BUT, knowing that I’ve got something fun planned for later has definitely helped me stay away from donuts and cookies in the break room at work. Planning for the win!