I recently visited one of two message boards that I had on MSN since 2002.  It has long since died but I was browsing through some of the info that I posted to keep members motivated and came across these.  (No, I didn't make this up and it's been so long, 5 yrs. ago that I couldn't even begin to remember where I got them)  I think this is a good place to start and so I am posting this just as much for myself as I am for those of you that may need a little help in devising a plan.  As you all may or may not know, I am a huge procrastinator so it may take me a little while to implement.  Enjoy!

SET GOALS

Here are a few 'real life' tools that will help get you started and keep you in the game when trying to reach your health goals.

• Pick a specific goal. You want to lose weight, but how much? For example, you would like to weigh what you weighed in high school (50 pounds lighter), but your doctor says it would be a good start if you would just take off 10 pounds. The goals you aim for don't have to be the be-all and end-all of your life, but they will help you get focused. The more specific, the better.

• Pick a reasonable time frame. Is your goal realistic for your time frame? You don't want to set yourself up for disaster and disappointment. For example, you have a wedding to go to in a month and want to lose 50 pounds. Sorry to say, but that ain't gonna happen; you're simply setting yourself up for failure. About two pounds a week is reasonable. Any more weight loss than that is unrealistic. If you're unsure what a reasonable time frame is, consult a fitness expert.

• Tell a friend. It can seem less embarrassing if you don't tell anybody what your goals are (just in case you don't accomplish them), but telling a friend helps hold you to your goals and can help provide some driving motivation. If your goal is to do 20 minutes of exercise daily and you're not feeling up to it, a friend can be the one to help you get your butt in gear. Enlist the help of a friend who's had some success in the fitness department. Or get a friend who could use a push herself to hit the gym or the road with you. It's often more fun when you're exercising with someone else.

• Make a Plan. Design your program by reading literature or consulting a health and fitness expert. Write out a day-by-day or week-by-week program that slowly but consistently increases exercise time and effort. For instance, try walking 10 minutes one day and then increasing the time by 1 or 2 minutes a day. You'll be up to 20 or 30 minutes in no time.

• Track your progress. How do you know if you are accomplishing what you set out to do? By keeping a training log so you can see where your improvements and weaknesses are. A simple calendar or weekly planner will do. It is rewarding to see that power-walking an extra tenth of a mile each day adds up to an extra half-mile at the end of the week.

• Be careful of injury. If you experience any signs of injury, revise your plan. Getting injured is one of the main reasons people fall short of their fitness goals. If you are trying to do too much too quickly, cut back.

The 10 Commandments Of Weight loss/Body Sculpting Perfection

Commandment #1: Belive in yourself!!    If not, you won't be able to achieve your desired
results!!!!

Commandment#2: Write down your goals. How can you get somewhere it you don't know where you are heading?

Commandment#3: Set New Goals Every Six Weeks. After 6 weeks, compare your results against what you had in your original goals.

Commandment#4: Place a calendar on your fridge. Mark a back slach on the days that you followed your diet without cheating. Make a forward slash on the days that your trained. If you trained and followed a good diet on a given day, you should have an "X" marked on that day.

Commandment#5: Place a picture of how you currently look somewhere that you will be able to see on a daily basis. This picture should provide you with additional motivation to follow the program.

Commandment #6: Take pictures of yourself every 4 weeks and place them on the refrigerator next to your "before" picture. That way, whenever you have a craving and go to the refrigerator you will remember the reason that you are doing this and also get motivated by seeing the progress that you are achieving.

Commandment #7: Write down the reasons why you are following this program and put them on your refrigerator. Same benefit as item 6.

Commandment #8: Keep your house free from any foods that are not good for your program. Only on FREE DAY can you bring these foods into the house. yayyyyy free day!!!!

Commandment#9: Remember to prepare all of your meals the day before,so that when you are at work, you already have all the food that you will need for the day with you. That way you limit the amount of times you will be tempted.

Commandment #10: Remember that only you can control what gows in your mouth. Food does not control you!!!!!!

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Feeling Good

Another day down.  I decided to do some upper body work yesterday.  Had to ease myself back into it so I only did one round out of the two that are required.  I'll definitely be working my way back up to that point. I even dragged out my old lunge bar  that I bought.

 

 I also did some stretching before working out, something that I never, ever, ever did in the past (I know, bad me) but honestly In an effort to save time and get the workout over quickly, I would skip the stretching before hand which can sometimes last a good while.  Not today, I did all of the stretching and I'll have to wait and see if there is a noticeable difference.

On another note, I'm still going back and forth on whether or not I want to keep up with my gym membership or let it go.  Truth be told, I can't even remember the last time I've set foot in Bally's.  On top of that, they keep raising my monthly fees to the point where I'm not even sure what it is now.  It was $8 a month and now who knows what it is.  I just hate to let it go and lose all of the money that I put into purchasing it but what's the point if I'm not going?  I just wish the gym was a little closer to me (it's not really that far but I'm spoiled like that)  The plan was to keep it for another year and see what happens and then make a decision.  I may still do that but I have to call them and see what's up with these increasing fees.  Bally's Sucks (just in case ya didn't know)

Eating was okay.  Had Tacos(yeah, yeah I know) but I promised the kiddo that I would make them today, especially since  their hearts were set on getting them yesterday.  Now what kind of mommy would I be had I let them down? lol  

Time: 22:30
Cal: 221
Max HR:155
Avg HR: 124

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Day 1 update!

So, Last Night I was thumbing through this issue of People MAgazine and I found it very inspiring.  While most of the people featured in this issue lost their weight using a diet plan (LA weight loss, Jenny Craig, Weight Watchers, Optifast) I still found  their success to be rather motivating.  While I don't plan to pay for a diet program, I do plan to change my eating habits (which by the way, yesterday was a bust). 

 I don't know what happened but at dinner time, as usual, I fell off.  I just didn't feel like cooking so I threw in a frozen pizza for the kiddies and it was a wrap.  I didn't over indulge but It wasn't the healthiest, most balanced meal I could've... no, I should've prepared.  Anyway,  I think I will be following a piece of  advice that I gleaned from the article.  Since I am just starting out AGAIN, I will focus on working out for the first one or two weeks and then after that, I will concentrate on overhauling my diet.  That doesn't mean  that all food will be ago, it just means that I'm going ot focus on one thing at a time.  MAybe one week, I'll do less sugar, the next, water, the next more veggies, and so on.  You get my point.  Anyway, that's the plan for now but as with everything, it is always subject to change.  Oh yeah,  If you need motivation or inspiration, pick up that issue of People!

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New Year, New Me!

So I am back on it again.  With all of the holiday festivities behind me I am once again getting myself back on track.  I got on the scale this morning and it said 215.6 lbs.  An all time high for me.  You would think  that with what the scale showed me this morning, working out would be no problem, but my mind was telling me a whole "nother story.  I really didn't feel like doing anything today.  When I woke up, I was all gung ho, but as the day drags on I get less and less enthused about working out.  I told myself that I would just start tomorrow instead of today( my mantra as of late) until I realized that tomorrow would be the same thing.  With that, I decided to get up off of my fat behind and do something.  I did my 20 minute turbo jam with every intention of starting off slow and not putting much effort into the workout. (Hey, it's my first day back working out, but after I got more and more into the music I found myself jumping, running, and sweating up a storm.)  I felt great afterwards and realized how much my body needed that.   The only bad thing is that I had about 4  chocolate chip cookies today, (they were a good size too). I'm not going to beat myself up about it but instead I will  do better tomorrow.  I plan to do a 7 day  partial fast with my church starting on the 14th until the 21st.  Haven't decided what I will be giving up yet.  

Week 1 Goals:

Drink at least 64 oz of water this week

Eat at least 2 servings of fruit and veggies

Work out at least 4 days this week.

I'm striving to get below 200 by march and hopefully lose considerably more by July 31st of this year. 

Time: 18.27

Calories: 269

Max Hr:178

Avg Hr:159

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2 down and I'm still hanging in there

I really didn't feel like doing anything yesterday but I  got moving in spite of.  I did my Turbo Jam tape yesterday and realized just how out of shape I am as well as what a difference a few months of inactivity can really make.  I used to be able to do that tape with no problem just a few short months ago and now I have to huff and puff my way through.  Damn shame!  I'm still struggling with my eating though.  Didn't even bother to keep track of what I ate which is a major setback because I really need to see the numbers.  It helps me to stay on track and allows me to see exactly how much fat, carbs, protein, etc I am getting and adjust my diet accordingly.  I don't really eat all that much so my damage comes from what I'm eating.  yesterday I had this little lasagna meal for one (from the frozen foods section) for lunch , steak, baked potato( little butter, no sour cream and believe me that was a feat in and of itself because I have never eaten a baked potato without sour cream....EVA!  It wasn't due to any type of sticking to the plan type thing,  I just didn't have any on hand and wasn't about to go to the store to pick some up) and asparagus spears for dinner.  Oatmeal (weight control)and  2 strips of turkey bacon for breakfast and that's about it.  Oh yeah, I did have one little slip up,  the kiddo made some cookies yesterday and that cookie dough was calling me.  I tried to resist but the kiddo was making it look so good and all my willpower went out the window.  Anyway, I'm okay with it.  I don't expect to never have a slip up and this time around, I will not beat myself up about it. Today is a new day and I will be making a concentrated effort to do better.  

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1 down too many more to go

So yesterday went well.  I got up and moved my behind and did some upper body work.  I only completed 1 round (out of 2) and am choosing to stick to my motto.... baby steps.  Hell, I haven't worked out with any consistency since August so my body needs to adjust to the trauma of exercise  first. lol.   I'm usually the type to jump in head first and over do it which leads to my getting burned out real quick so I had to purposely slow it down a tad and make an effort to start off slow.  I also decided to revisit some of my favorite fitness websites and have made it a point to even join a challenge.   Someone on one of the forums posted about this site quite some time ago and I do like it, if for no other reason than  its a chance to meet other people who are in the process of losing weight. Its similar to Myspace but for people who are interested in weightloss.  I think its kind of cute and I love the fact that they have challenges that you can enter to win prizes.  (I know ya'll are probably thinking well, dayum!  What's the name of the site? ) and I'm getting to it... PATIENCE! . But  anyway, you can even start your own private challenges.  There is one starting on Jan 2 entitled The Biggest Loser, but unfortuantely, it is all filled up.  I'd be interested in starting one if anyone is interested.  Anyway, here's the site and please feel free to add me as a friend,  I am Soon2Bfit on the site!

Oh, yeah, I got so caught up in talking about other things I forgot to give an update on my eating.  I did fairly well , I didn't get around to plugging in all the numbers to see my exact stats (I'm using a program that tracks your nutrition.)  Towards the end of the day I was hungry as hell, I know ya'll know that feeling , so I ended up eating a bowl of life cereal.   I didn't eat too much  but I was having some serious cravings.  Let's just hope that it was due to my body ridding itself of all the bad junk.  I know it will take time and I don't expect to just get on this healthy eating kick in one day.  As is everything this go-round.  I will start slowly!  This week's goal is to get back to drinking more water.

WEIGHINS

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Back in the saddle

Yes, it is beyond time for me to get back in the saddle again.  I've been going to the casino and we all know that the food at casinos is no joke. All you can eat pastries, meats, salads, soups, chinese food, pizza, veggies,pancakes, blintzes... you name it they have it!  On my first trip there(firs,t meaning the first out of many last week) I damn near ate myself into oblivion and I felt it.  I mean, I have never felt so miserable  in my life.  My stomach was literally protruding.  Needless to say I looked at myself in the mirror and I was not pleased AT ALL!  My plan was to work out everyday until I go out of town which will be on the 27th of this month but being that the 1st fell on a Saturday, I decided to start today.  I don't care how much I don't feel like working out, I am going to do something.  I am also thinking about letting go my Bally's membership because when I bought it my monthly fees were $8.00, now they keep raising them and now I am up to about $13 and I want to know how long they can do this. Will I end up paying $20, $30, $40 a month?  Anyway, I haven't even set foot in the gym in about 6 or 7 months anyway, so it really is a waste.    Not even when I lost the weight back in August did I need the gym to do it.  I stepped on the scale on Saturday I think and was up to 213.8 lbs. which is an all time high for me.  Hopefully it was water weight or something. Anyway, I plan to do both cardio and weights, alternating between the two (sort of a BFL style thing).

I will be taking measurements, if I can find my tape measurer and possibly photos which I will have to think long and hard about possibly posting.  I've seen people wayyyyy bigger then me be successful at losing weight and keeping it off and I know that I can definitely do this.  I just need to get up off of my lazy ass and get moving.  I tend to use others weight loss successes as  motivation for my own journey and am highly pissed that I missed Oprah's recent show about people losing significant amounts of weight.  Wouldn't you know it, I was at the casino  stuffing my face and losing my money all in one fail swoop.

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Time to get back on it!

Nothing like a reality check to get one back on track. I was doing some end of the summer cleaning and was moving a full length mirror from one part of the house to another. Just so happened to catch of glimpse of myself and , well let's just say that I was not a happy camper. Yeah, I know that I need to get myself back into shape and yes, I have seen myself plenty of times but it was just something about that day that meant a little bit more to me. Now I don't know if it was the angle at which I was carrying the mirror or because it was "that time of the month" or what have you but I was looking particularly pudgy that day. So this day October 29, 2007, I have resolved, not only to get with the program, but also to STICK with the program. I did workout a bit last week but not enough to actually write about. I'm still sticking with the baby steps until I'm well into the routine of doing it the way that I know it needs to be done.

My goals this week are:

Keep track of everything I eat for at least 5 days
Drink at least 64 Oz. of water per day
Workout at least 5 days this week (alternating strength training and cardio)
Eat Veggies with at least 2 of my daily meals.


I want to get back into the gym. Shoot, I'm paying for this membership which hasn't been used in about 8 months. I'm just lazy and with the weather getting a bit colder, I know I don't want to get up and go to the gym which is a good distance away from where I live. I also need to find my membership card. (i think my aunt lost it this weekend)I keep it in the visor of my car and when my aunt pulled it down , it must've fallen out. I did check underneath the seats but Ill give it one more go before I buckle down and pay another $10 for a new card.

Anyway, that's about it me. I'll try to be more diligent about updating when I actually have something to update!

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