The Plan

It's time for a change. 

I've known for awhile that I need to change my diet and try to get into better shape.  I have worked towards this in bits and pieces, but have not been successful to date.

To be blunt, I'm overweight which is starting to lead towards some health issues.  I'm also incredibly out-of-shape.  Although I started doing some regular exercise before winter set in - and I did see some improvement in my cardiovascular state - it didn't make much difference in my weight. I know that exercise alone will not help me reach my ultimate goal, so I have to change the way that I eat as well. 

With all that in mind I, along with millions of others, have decided to use the New Year as a starting point to change my diet. I realize that New Year's resolutions are rarely maintained, so I'm going to try to use everything that I've learned about the mechanics of change to help me accomplish this. This blog is apart of that process.  I know that by making my journey very public, I'm more likely to stick with it.  I'll also use a goal setting process to help me along the way.  I'll set a moderate, but achievable, short-term goal and try to reach it in order to meet my long-term goal. 

What are those goals, you ask?  Well, here we go:

The long-term goal is:

I will lose 40 pounds by December 31, 2017. 

That, in and of itself, will be difficult, but I need to break it down into smaller, more manageable chunks to be successful. Here's how I will start that. 

First, I'm going to change my diet.  I will start off by trying to eliminate grains, sugars, and most dairy products from my diet for a month to allow my body to "reset" itself and to get away from my sugar addiction (yes, I have one!)  I'm going to try a Paleo/Whole 30 approach to accomplish this.  I won't be a Nazi about getting "grass-fed butter" or "free-range chicken" but will try to stick to the basics as much as possible. If you want to find out more about the Paleo diet, try this link; for the Whole 30 diet, try this one. 

My primary tool in this part of the plan is a book that I bought called Paleo in 28 by Kenzie Swanhart.  This book is helpful because it has a 28-day menu already laid out.  In the past, one of my biggest stumbling blocks was putting together a meal plan.  I like the fact that this is done and she also includes shopping lists.  Anything to make this easier, right!

The second step will include more organized exercise including some basic weight training. Everything that I've read states that to accomplish try, long-lasting, weight change, you need to include strength training. I do not plan to join a gym but will use body-weight exercises and walking/cycling to achieve this portion of the plan. 

With those thoughts in mind, here are my secondary goals for the month of January. 

Exercise Goals for January:

• Start off doing five pushups and add one pushup each day to end the month doing 35 pushups.
• Start off doing five sit-ups and add one situp each day to end the month doing 35 sit-ups.
• "Plank" for 30 seconds adding 5 seconds each day of the month.
• Take 10,000 steps each day. 

I'll track these goals during daily blog posts and also track what I've eaten and how I feel each day. By doing this publicly I realize that I run the risk of humiliation.  However, public tracking of these goals will also make me more accountable. Feel free to help keep me accountable. 

Let's start the journey.