My main goal for the year is to lose weight - a big goal indeed, that will hopefully leave me smaller. I have wanted this for a long time and I feel like this is my year and my time. This is the year it will happen. I have made plenty of goals this year (see previous post) and one of my goals is to make more time for myself and to take care of myself. If I want to start making myself a priority, a big way to do that is to lose weight.
My weight loss is going to be a process, one I will be happy to share here. I know it is a process, and it will take time. It is not something that will happen overnight. And I know the possibility exists that I may not lose all the weight I want to in a year. I recognize that there will be ups and downs, steps forward followed by steps backward, and times where I plateau. And hopefully, in sharing my journey, I can inspire someone else.
But I will not fail. This is my time. I am prepared to work harder when I reach those moments where I plateau. I am determined, ambitious, goal-oriented, and I recognize my will-power. This is what I desire and I will work hard at it. I am ready to not only work on the physical, but to examine and strengthen the mental and emotional aspects that are involved when you have a weight issue. I have someone (Matt) on my side ready to push and inspire me, to be my voice of reason, but also to listen and understand and to be the shoulder to cry on when it gets tough and frustrating. I have lost weight before and always put it back on. This time I will go the distance.
So here is my plan of action. I am sharing it so that people can help keep me accountable.
1. Exercise - Matt and I are committed to exercising 4-6 days a week. We are starting out at the 4 - 5 end and building up. My ultimate goal is to spend 5-6 hours a week exercising. Several days we will walk. Two miles is the magic number. I don't know how we picked that, but it sounds good. We also will incorporate our WII Fit as well as some DVDs. We have invested in Billy Blanks' Cardio Inferno, a Jillian Michaels video, and a Bob Harper video. They will probably be followed up with another Jillian Michaels video (she is the kind of trainer I need) and a Biggest Loser exercise video. I also have a 10 disk collection of fitness DVDs that alternate cardio, strength training/sculpting, and core exercises. Some days we will walk, some days do a video, and some days do both.
2. Drink Water - I encourage everyone to take a look at your consumption of liquids and watch what you drink and how much and when. I knew I did not drink near enough water, but when I actually looked it I was consuming an awful number of calories from sweet tea ( my love), juice ( I love juice almost as much), and soda ( I am addicted to Coke Zero). We will be drinking a lot more water around here. And whenever we go out to eat (which will be rare now) I will only order water. Can you imagine how many calories you consume from drinks when the waitress keeps refilling your drink glass with tea or soda? My goal for right now is 2 non-water drinks a day. So far I am on my 4th glass of water today and nothing else to drink, yet.
3. Food changes - Right now, Matt and I are not going on a BIG diet. We are making small, gradual changes to the way we eat. Matt and I do not eat that horribly. Our problems lie in small areas. Our first goal is to not eat after dinner. Dinner will be our last meal and we will not eat after 7:00. Our second goal is to eat healthier snacks during the day. We are cutting out a lot of sweets, but allowing treats occasionally (the doctor said it was good to reward yourself so you can stick with it). We will not be eating out (Hooray -we will also save some extra money). I will be looking for healthier ways to prepare what we eat. So we will probably not eat much fried food anymore. We will also eat less and healthier carbs, we will use portion control, watch calories, sugar, and salt intake, and we will go easy on stuff like mayonnaise, dressing, and barbecue sauce. Matt and I already eat a lot of veggies, and healthy meat like chicken and fish. We will just prepare them in healthier ways and eat a little less red meat. I have some recipes to try, and I can't wait. We will see how this goes. I am using some recipes from the Biggest Loser and the South Beach diet. If we need to for more results, we may actually go on one of those actual diets.
This is our plan. I will keep you updated with our progress. And I am hoping to post pictures with results down the road. Please stay tuned for progress, and maybe you can help hold us accountable. Thanks for your support!
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