Begin Again

I've been here before. Ready and determined to change my life by getting healthy. Healthy - not skinny. I've never been skinny and I can't imagine I ever will be by the world's standards. I don't think I would want to live that way. I'm not going to go on some crazy diet to lose weight as fast as I can so that I can quit when I reach my goal and go back to my old habits. I'm not going to spend hours working out every day. That's great for a lot of people, but it's just not me.

What I am going to do is make real lifestyle changes that will last forever. Changes that are not just for me, but for my entire family. I am going to replace white bread, white flour, and white rice with whole grains. I am going to use more vegetables in my cooking. I am going to eat 2 warm fresh chocolate chip cookies when I bake them for an occasional treat instead of 5 or 6. I don't think I'll ever be able to just eat one. I am going to walk to church, to school, to the playground, etc as long as I live in a place where it's possible.

Those changes are going to be great for helping me to maintain a healthy lifestyle. But my one year challenge isn't about maintaining - it's about getting to a level of fitness that I feel good about maintaining. I need to challenge myself in the frequency and intensity of my workouts. I need to learn to cook and eat healthy meals and snacks that are also delicious. I need to plan my meals every day and stick to my plan.

I have a lot of goals for this one year challenge, and I have a feeling I'll add more as the year goes on. Here are a few:

• Work out at Curves every day M-F
• Lose 72 lbs by August 27, 2014 (that would take me down to 150, and I haven't been there since before high school)
• Drink only water or skim milk for the entire year
• Drink at least 64 oz of water every single day
• Follow the Curves "higher protein" diet
• Learn to cook 30+ healthy dinners that my family will love
• Keep this blog faithfully - I would say daily but this mom of 2 girls under 18 months can't make that promise.
• Don't feel guilty about the expense of new jeans when the time comes. It's a reward, not a punishment.

So today I made a beginning. I signed up at Curves for the third time in my life. I am excited to use that membership to the fullest. I've been mostly following the diet for the last two weeks, and I'm going to keep getting better. I am committed, and I am accountable. Here's to the first day of my one year challenge.