Budget

They say that keeping a budget is what you should do to stay out of debt or to keep from stressing out about finances in general. I think the same could be true to keep from stressing out about weight and food.

Sometimes at the end of the month, I wonder—where did our money go? How did it slip through our fingers? We surely didn’t spend that much! But I really don’t think anyone robbed our bank account when we weren’t looking. If I were to tally the costs of the month, the trip to the grocery store here, the restaurant outing there, I would see that we really did spend that much.

Pretty much the same thing happens when I don’t budget what I eat. I get to the end of the month and wonder—why haven’t I lost any weight? I surely didn’t eat that many calories! What’s wrong with my body anyway? But if I were to tally up the calories, a couple of munchies here, and can of soda pop there, I would see that I really did consume more calories that I should.

Scheduling a weekly meal plan and logging daily calories are a sure way to know that I am where I should be in my eating. If I stab at a guess, I’m usually wrong. It seems simple, but simple things aren’t always fun. Some days, I just plain don’t feel like doing it. But I’m a smart woman, and as all smart people know, I can’t let temporary feelings keep me from trying every day, even though I don’t feel like it.