Fitness Goals

I’ve been reading a lot of blogs lately discussing the topic of losing weight, eating better, exercising more, and such.  The new year oftentimes motivates people to make those changes and, I suppose, it’s as good a time as any.  I have been going to the gym for 4 years straight and I’ve seen the crowds come and go at this time of year.  Finding a free treadmill becomes difficult as people flock the gym at the first of the year to work on their new goals.  By the end of February… we’ve pretty much got the treadmills back!  They lose heart, until the next year.

When I started on my fitness journey in November 2004, I had every intention to follow through on my goals.  I was starting a program called “Body for Life” (I’m a HUGE believer in it).  Often times, people don’t give their program enough time to work (I’m as guilty as the next).  When I started BFL, I decided to give it one full YEAR before I made my final judgment.  I told myself, if after one year I’m not where I want to be fit-wise, then I’ll move on to something else.

Well, after 6 months, I had gone down 15 or 20 pounds.  After one year, I had lost 30 pounds and weighed 120.  From a size 10/12 to a size 2/4.  A full year into my BFL journey, between Thanksgiving and Christmas, I lost 5 pounds! Five pounds during the holidays, reaching my lowest weight.  And I was eating between 1700-1900 calories a day.

Not long after, people started telling me I was too skinny - which was NOT the look I was going for.  If you’ve ever seen Oxygen magazine… you know more what I’m after.  Guns.

Anyway, because I didn’t want the wormy look, I made the decision to start eating more to put on a little more size.  Well, that size is haunting me now.  I’ve regained much of my weight.  Most of the last three years has been a struggle keeping the weight off.  I work out like a fiend.  I eat healthy.  (I feel guilty over baked chips! Most people pat themselves on the back for them.)  I’ve rearranged our workouts more ways than you can imagine.  Just ask Jodi about the stuff I put us through.  But, the weight kept creeping up.  Frustrating!!  The more frustrated I got, the more I decided to not be as diligent.

I am 44, almost 45, so my age does play a part.  I keep hearing the word “hormones” over and over.  Something has to give, so Jodi and I made the conscious decision to take a methodic “gym break” for 3 full weeks. I never even missed a workout until a year and a half after I started working out.  This is the longest I’ve been away from the gym – ever!

The goal behind the “gym break” was to give our bodies a rest.  Maybe fool them into believing we are sedentary people.  (I did a good job of playing the part over the holidays.)  We have eaten LARGE over the last several weeks and now, we return to healthy foods and serious workouts.

I’m a believer in doing 12 week mini-challenges.  For twelve weeks, I will be focused on my weight loss/fitness goals before I regroup and set new goals.

Today, we began tracking our eating.  Journaling our foods, counting calories, making healthy choices.  We also waddled our hind parts back into the gym for a good starter workout.

I’m starting a new fitness blog to chart my daily stats and workouts – if any of y’all are interested.  Click HERE to access it.

I AM determined to get my head back into the game 100%.  Having Jodi there to do it with me is a HUGE motivator.

Anyone else interested in joining us for the next 12 weeks??