My Weight Loss Plan

Way back in January I talked about my Christmas weight gain and how I planned on somehow trying to lose the weight. I can say I've probably lost 1 1/2 pounds, though it's hard to tell on any given day. (My weight fluctuates, but lately it's about 1 1/2 pounds down from my highest weight after Christmas.) I haven't really done anything specific, though I am watching what I eat and snack on. I only eat one muffin at dinner, only one piece of garlic bread, that kind of thing.

Three days ago I decided it was time to add exercise to the routine. I am not a great exerciser. Although I was extremely active in high school (cross country, basketball, track, summer league softball), I just don't have the self motivation to keep myself moving on a regular basis. I go through periods of good exercising, followed by periods of complete laziness. My best exercise period was in 2005. I was in my sister-in-law's wedding in the Spring of that year, followed by my college 10 year reunion that June. I had excellent motivation. And lost a lot of weight through regular use of Pilates DVD's and careful eating. But once those events were over, so was my regular exercising.

I find that when I exercise, I eat better, because I don't want the exercise to go to waste. So if I can just add exercise to my regular daily routine, I know I'd have a better chance at losing weight. So this is my plan. For now, walk on the treadmill at least ten minutes a day. I know it's not much. I know it won't kill thousands of calories. But it's a start. And for me, the thought of finding a half an hour or more to exercise is difficult. But 10 minutes? That's nothing. I can start a show for my kids on the TV, run down to the basement, start the treadmill up and be done before the show is over. It feels doable. I know to really lose a significant amount of weight, I'll need to do more than 10 minutes on the treadmill. But for now, if I can just make this a regular part of everyday, I think it will help in my weight loss and help me to lead a healthier life.

That's my plan. I'll let you know if I don't stick to it.

New Year, New Weight

This post had the possibility of being about my resolutions for 2009 (which I do have a few of), but instead is going to be about me bitching about my ever expanding waistline.

Towards the end of the summer, I put on a few pounds. Not much, just two or three. I knew I needed to lose them before Thanksgiving, because let's be honest, Thanksgiving is about eating, and I was going to do my fair share. Despite not losing the two or three pounds, I managed somehow not to gain any weight at Thanksgiving.

So I set out to lose the weight before Christmas. Once again, it didn't happen. I decided to go into the holidays happily but carefully. Maybe I could just gain one or two pounds and only be five pounds over my happy weight. I gained two pounds the weekend I went to my mom and dad's house, the weekend BEFORE Christmas. Not a good sign.

And so, after watching the scale continue to rise throughout this last week, I've finally had it. I officially gained 5 1/2 pounds during the holidays and now I'm 8 1/2 pounds above where I feel comfortable.

It might not be so bad if the holiday food was limited to the holidays. But unfortunately there are still Christmas cookies, Fannie May Eggnog Creams, Starbuck's Truffles (okay, these are all gone, but I ate them after Christmas), Eggnog, candy canes, and other waistline threateners. It doesn't help that I discovered the yummiest way to make a mocha or cinnamon latte at home. (It involves sweetened condensed milk for both, and for the mocha, Hershey's syrup). Luckily my birthday cake sucked, or I'd still be eating that, too.

I have to make some changes, and right now I'm weighing what those changes need to be. I will try not to be whiny, but as I figure out these changes, I will probably be sharing them with all of you. I want to be held accountable, and the blog seems like a great way to do that.

Hoping all of you had delicious but calorie free holidays! Hope 2009 is a good year for you all!