Taking Down 45 – My Weight Loss Journey Week 1

Its not just the new year that has motivated me to make some goals and changes. I have been wanting to do this for a while, but Santa has been keeping his workshop full of toys in front of my treadmill. Now that Christmas is over and my room is finally free of all elves, I want to really start dedicating myself to getting back into shape and into my favorite pants 😉

I am currently at about 225 lbs – and I have a goal to lose 45 lbs (to start with). I figure that healthy weight loss is about 3-5 lbs a week 1-2 lbs a week, so that will put me at about 15 weeks (or 4 months) or less if I can do better, but it may take more too. Things don’t always go as planned, but this isn’t my first time losing “baby weight” and I know what and what not to do (I just haven’t been doing it). If you feel motivated to lose weight or want to lead a healthier life style, I would love for you to join me in my journey, and we can work together, encourage each other and share tips and tricks about what helps and what doesn’t.

I am going to make a list of the things I am doing now, and the things I want to do that will replace those. I am going to work through 1 item each week in hopes that this will also help me on my weight loss journey.

15 THINGS I AM DOING (OR NOT DOING) NOW:

1. Not drinking enough water
2. Eating to much sugar (sugary foods)
3. Eating after 7 pm
4. Staying up to late
5. Not eating breakfast
6. Not exercising (cardio)
7. Not exercising (strength)
8. Not stretching
9. Not eating every 3-4 hours (small meals)
10. Eating out too much
11. Not eating a balanced diet
12. Not active enough throughout the day (sitting for extended amounts of time)
13. Not taking a multi-vitamin
14. Not eating an apple a day
15. Not cooking at least 5 dinners a week

15 THINGS I WANT TO CHANGE:

1. Drink 8-10 glasses of water a day
2. Eat more fruits and vegetables
3. Eat dinner at 6 pm and stop eating for the rest of the night
4. Go to bed by 10:30 pm and get up by 5:30 am
5. Eat a healthy breakfast every morning
6. Walk on treadmill for at least 45 minutes a day
7. Do strength training exercises and weights
8. Stretch for at least 15 minutes every morning and 10 minutes after working out
9. Eat every 4 hours
10. Limit eating out to 2 times a month
11. Make sure I am eating balanced meals and snacks
12. Get up for at least 10 minutes every 90 minutes and do light exercise or house cleaning
13. Take vitamins and supplements daily
14. Eat at least 1 apple a day
15. Plan a menu and cook meals every day – enlisting kids for help

I am going to pick one thing each week, not necessarily in the order listed above, and work on it. If I struggle with something for the week, I may choose to extend it to another week so I can do better.

My goal right now is to lose 10 lbs by 2/23/14 – that gives me about 5 weeks – I should easily be able to do this.

If you have any tips that have helped you or if you want to join me then let me know by leaving a comment below. You are even welcome to list out your goals!