my 21 day challenge

January thru April were crazy busy for me this year.   But since we have gotten back from our vacation, I've been able to spend the month of May simply relaxing and taking care of my family and things around the house.  It's been really nice!  During my downtime I'm realizing that I needed to make my health a priority and now is a great time to get serious about it since I don't have too much extra stuff going on.

I truly wish that I could tackle my weight with the same passion and dedication that I tackled our debt.  It was so much easier for me to say "no" to spending money and "yes" to savings/debt reduction than it is for me to say "no" to food, and essentially saying "yes" to weight gain/poor health.   I've tried thinking of my extra weight as extra debt and it was a great kick start, but old habit eventually crept back up and the weight, of course, came back on.   What seems to work best (which is truly common sense) for me to lose weight is to eat whole foods, exercise daily, and have someone hold me accountable.  If you've read my blog for a while, you know that I'm constantly recommitting myself to weight loss.  And if you haven't been following me, you can simply do a search of "weight", see what comes up, and see that it's been an on-going struggle.  Will this time be different?  I honestly don't know.   But, I've got the time to focus on it now and I have you guys to keep me accountable. 

So, what's my plan?

I'm giving myself a challenge for the next 21 days.  I'm challenging myself to follow an eating plan that my (longtime ago...) personal trainer gave me in 2004.  The thing I love about this Meal Plan is that is shows what types of foods I need to have at each meal, along with how much I need to eat.  It's about 1450 calories a day.  For example, breakfast consists on 1 fruit (usually I would choose a banana, grapes or blueberries), 2 servings of milk (yogurt), 2 meats (2 egg whites and a string cheese), and 1 fat (a slice of bacon).  It ends up being a lot of food and a great way for me to start the day.  When I eat this way for breakfast I rarely need a snack before lunch!   Will I do this perfectly?  No...I know of a few social functions on the calendar where I'll want to eat something other than what's on the Plan.  But, my goal is to get right back on track after I have a fun night out.

Along with my Meal Plan, my goal is also to follow the running schedule that my marathon coach gave me back in 2003.  I haven't been exercising much this year, but the first 3 weeks of the running schedule are great for easing back into running.

Do you notice anything?  Back in 2003-2004, when my children were little, I had a trainer at the gym and was part of a running team with a coach.  Being healthy and having a healthy weight were so much more of a priority to me then.   I turned to exercise to relieve stress.  Now I turn to food and wine not only to relieve stress, but when I'm happy, when the weather's nice, and when I need a special treat!

So - 21 days, 3 weeks to commit to a healthy diet and exercise plan.  Of course I'm hoping to lose some weight, and in 21 days I'll be happy with the results and come up with a new challenge for the next 21 days.

If you have something you'd like to challenge yourself to over the next 21 days, let me know and we can support one another!