The Wagon

I tell my son regularly that every time he quits smoking is a good day.  Even though he's picked it up again every time, he's still doing his body good every day that he doesn't smoke.

Well, I've started giving myself the same advice.  I was doing so well with my diet and exercise March through July.  In August, I started slacking.  In September, I DIDN'T exercise or eat well more than I DID.  Time to get back on the wagon.

In looking back at what worked for me, it was all in the planning and tracking.  Planning my meals and my workouts and then tracking the results.  Not just tracking pounds lost...but calories eaten, calories burned, steps taken, miles traveled, reps completed.  I was eating, breathing, dreaming, talking health and fitness so much more during those months that I was seeing positive results.  I need to get back to that.  Not only do I have a lot more weight to lose, I have some of those pounds to lose AGAIN!

So, I spent the morning coming up with a plan, both for my workouts and my diet.  I'll spend tomorrow afternoon shopping for the foods I'll need to make it happen.  It's probably a silly short-coming of mine, but I like starting things on 'the first'.  Monday happens to be October 1st.  Lucky me!  Though I plan to eat better and get a 2.5 mile walk in tomorrow.

So, here's the plan...

MENU
Breakfast - Shakeology
Lunch - salad with tuna and at least 3 servings of vegetables
Dinner - chicken or fish and veggies
Snacks - boiled egg, yogurt, or fruit
**notice no processed foods and low carbs

EXERCISE
Les Mills Pump - weight workout 3x every week
Les Mills Pump - hard-core abs 3x every week
45 minute walk every day (2.5 - 3 miles) - I want to get back to hitting 10,000 steps every day.

WATER
No less than 3 cups in the morning, 3 cups in the afternoon, and 3 cups in the evening.  More when I'm working out.

My goal is to focus on the activities one day at a time.  No need to stress myself out about menus and workouts that are days away; I just need to accomplish my menu/workout each day.  I'll have the entire week in the back of my head though, as that's how often I'll weigh myself.  And because the eventual results are what keep me motivated, I'll continue to picture significant success for each month.  But because I'm a planner, I've already created somewhat generic calendar/plans for October, November, and December.

GOALS
Daily:
     10,000 steps
     1200 - 1400 calorie in-take
     9 - 12 cups of water
     350 calories burned during workouts
Weekly:
     1 - 2 pound loss
Monthly:
     5 - 8 pound loss