My Health and Fitness Goals

My whole life I have battled with my weight which is funny because looking back now I never really had a problem...it was all in my head or other peoples issues being projectd onto me that I interpreted to mean I was fat. This has set up for me an ongoing cylcle of try a diet, loose some weight, rebel against diet, gain weight, usually more that what I originally lost. Over the years this cyle has lead me to continually gain weight little bit by little bit, year after year and this isn't who I am, I am an energetic person who loves activity, being out and about and playing with my kids. All of this has become alot harder lately though as my weight is draining me of all my energy and good health. I also don't want this type of lifestyle for my kids so I have decided this is the year of change. In order to do this I am going to have to change the way I tackle this issue. As Dr. Phil says, if you keep doing what you have always done, you will always get the same result...so Im going to come up with a different approach.

The first thing I need to do is not go on a diet, that leads me to think about it too much until it becomes an obsession which I then get sick of so I give in. I have been looking at what I am currently doing everyday that is leading to my unhealthy lifestyle and i have decided that the main issue is bad daily habits. I am also an emotional eater and I suffer from anxiety so this also plays a part but Im thinking for the moment at least I don't have to address this. As long as I am always changing something Ill get where I want to be. I also don't have to be perfect about this, any change I make is for the better, but not everything has to change all at once. I am in no hurry to loose this weight, I just want to loose it. My aim is to loose 12kg over 12 months. I need to loose probably double this but the way I am going to do it, this should naturally happen.

So my plan of attack is to change one daily habit each week. I am also only going to weigh myself monthly.
I started this new healthy lifestyle three weeks ago and so far it is working for me. I don't think I have lost any weight but that isn't the point of this plan, the point is to change my life habits into healthier ones.

So far I have:
1. started drinking lots more water. This was my first weeks challenge. I aim to drink a 300ml glass of water at every meal and snack, plus one before bed and one after exercise.

2. Stopped eating any food but fruit after 7pm most nights. This one has been a struggle but I did alot better this last week, I ate popcorn on our family movie night but thats it for the week.

3. Excersing for at least 20 minutes, 5 days a week. I am actually aiming to exercise for 40 minutes not 20 but I like the idea that if Im really not in the mood I can at least manage 20 minutes and then I haven't let myself down. Plus I usually find that when I get going I am happy to go for longer, its just getting out the door. This week I have done quite well at this goal because we got a Wii Fit and I did 30 minutes on 4 days. I also went for a 40 minute walk on Monday. I am so sore from the Wii Fit though! Its so much fun you don't feel like you are exercising. It gives great feedback too.

4. So this week I am going to aim to only eat fruit or something low calories as a snack between meals most days. This one is going to be hard! Sticking with the exercise is going to be hard too!


Other habits I am going to tackle over the next twelve months in an order to be decided are:

• Eating/ drinking low fat products
• Eating when out and about
• Muscle workouts
• Yoga workouts
• Healthy Breakfast
• Healthy Lunch
• Healthy Dinner
• Balance Workouts
• Eating more veg
• Eating more fruit
• Eating a variety of protein
• Challenging workout once a week

There will be more to come! I think this program will work because if I feel the need  to sabotage my success like usual, the whole program shouldn't go to waste. For example, if I stop exercising one week at least the other habits should still stick because they have become a part of your everyday life. If you stuff up you can still keep on track by focussing on the positives, like you didn't exercise but isn't it good that you drank all your daily water? I hope all that makes sense!

So each week I will report back on my progress but it wont be on how much weight I have lost, it will be about what changes I am making and what my next goal will be...

Im really excited by this plan and I hope the flow on effect will be a healthier life for my family to...