12 Weeks to Lose

Alright. I’m just going to say that the weekend is over and my excuses (which were lame to begin with) are officially all gone. I’m not going to let this derail me. If anyone’s reading this, I’m sure they can relate to the best laid plans going awry. It’s now February 6 and I’m sure I’m not the only person in America who has already stumbled on their New Year’s Resolution.

So, hello Week Two! For me you are Week One in spirit, i.e. a fresh start. No feeling sorry for myself or looking back.

Time to go to the gym, followed by a dinner of chicken wrap, baked sweet potato and broccoli. Take that, Mr. Taxman!

Ugh.

I thought I was so smart. I’d have a 12-week goal for motivation and a blog for accountability, and the rest would be easy. Well, it’s Saturday of Week One and I’ve already been bad. I haven’t posted since Tuesday, and I haven’t done other good stuff either….

I’ve been stressed and busy. I missed a few days at the gym, and helped myself to a few extra desserts. And by a few I mean…. Well, let’s just leave it at “a few.”

Like a splash of cold water to the face, this morning I got up and went to my Saturday morning cardio-kickboxing class, followed by an abs class at my local gym. It’s a great way to start the weekend, and I feel like I’m detoxing a bit from the past few days. I need to get myself back on track, although I’m not sure how I fell off it in just a few days. Isn’t the day you set your goal supposed to be the day you start behaving right? Somehow that didn’t happen.

OK self, no time for pity. Tonight I’m going to a friend’s birthday party (at a bar) and tomorrow is both my grandfather’s birthday lunch and the Super Bowl, neither of which are particularly conducive to healthy eating. Let’s just say we’ll eat in moderation, write-off Week One and get a fresh start on Monday – deal?

Deal.

Re-reading yesterday’s post, I realize that I didn’t give myself an explicit goal for this 12-week journey. In the grand scheme, I’d like to lose 30 pounds, but healthy weight loss realistically comes at around a pound a week. Even I know that. So I guess my goal for the next 12 weeks is to drop at least 12 pounds. But since I’m a little bit of an optimist, let’s round that up to 15. Although I may come to regret that little bit of math, it’s always good to challenge yourself, right?

The other thing I realized on re-reading my first post is that I hadn’t actually checked a calendar. It turns out that the start of my 12^th week is Tax Day! Yes, on Monday, April 16^th (we get an extra day this year because of the weekend) the taxman will be coming for a visit, and I’ll be starting the final week of my little self-challenge. It’s actually a good guidepost for me – don’t forget to pay your taxes, and don’t forget to eat better and excise. If I slack off on either, the results will not be pretty…

Well, here I go. Time to finally get serious about getting back into shape.

Growing up I was always a little chubby, and as I got older it got worse. I was never obese, but even my doctor used to tell me that I needed to lose weight. For years I was in a high stress job with crazy hours that didn’t leave time for fitness or attention to anything other than what was on my desk. When I hit 232 pounds (at 5’9”), I knew it was time for a change.

And change I did. I changed my career, changed my outlook on life, changed my attitude toward my health. I learned to eat right and to enjoy exercise. Over the course of a year I dropped 50 pounds and became a new, happy  person.  I was fit, and somewhat of a health nut.

That was six years ago.

I maintained it for a good year or two, and then life slowly seemed to take over. My new job started taking up more and more time. Family and relationships started heaping new challenges on my plate. Stress started causing me to eat for comfort. In other words – LIFE HAPPENED.

Now I’m back up to 217 and ready to reassert control. I’ve done it before so I know I can do it again, but I need to do it differently this time. I’m not sure how, but I need to find a way to get fit without it taking over my life as it did back in 2005 (I became a verifiable health nut for a short time back then, which was fun, but probably not sustainable on reflection). I need to define my goals and finally stop with the excuse of “I’ll start tomorrow,” or next week (or next year).

With so many different types of 12-week challenges out there for exercise and nutrition, I figured it was time to start my own 12-week challenge. I’m not going to lose 30 pounds in 12 weeks, obviously, but I figure it’s long enough to get a solid start but short enough to keep me focused on an attainable goal. This blog is a way to hold myself accountable during the journey.

Let’s see what I can accomplish over the next 12 weeks. What have I got to lose?