Next Month

Wow. It is totally December. 2012 is right around the corner! I am not going to lie. I have done very little planning for this project. I've been mostly thinking about January and trying to figure out what to do there.

Confession: Part of the reason I chose to start the year on health has to do with weight loss.

A couple of years ago I was in a very unhealthy relationship and my way of dealing with it was to focus on making myself perfect. I tried to do everything just right. I worked myself to the bone. I was hyper critical of myself. However, something amazing came out of this. After a six month period of living with my ex, I was in the best shape of my life. When I was in the best shape of my life I felt energetic and HEALTHY.

I contribute this to a lot of things about the life I was living. First, I had a routine. I worked out at the same time every day and I ate meals at the same time everyday. I really think that helped my metabolism a lot. Second, I was effing broke. The result was that I ate a lot of pre-packaged foods that may not have been too yummy or healthy but that were pretty low in calories. I called this the "Cereal-Soup-Microwaveable Meal Diet." Third, I had a great work out routine. Six days a week I did a half hour of aerobics and I did a short toning routine afterward three days a week. Fourth, you are damn active when you think that everything has to be perfect. Do you know how many calories you burn scrubbing a house? What about shoveling gravel? Weeding a garden that has been covered in grass clippings? Chasing a dog that isn't yours around your neighbors yard because you don't want your boyfriend to yell at you? Painting an entire house? The answer to all of the above is: a shit ton.

Boy, am I glad that isn't my life anymore.

However, in the meantime I have managed to pack on a shameful 13 lbs. (And that's after I lost 3.) Nobody tells you that you are going to gain weight when you are dating. Boys like to impress you with food and one of the most impressive things about me is that I can inhale a half pound mushroom and Swiss burger in about five minutes flat. Faster, even, if I try. In the past two years I have discovered wonderful new foods like sushi, falafel, gyros, Spam, and corned beef hash. I have also learned how to relax which isn't that great for being active.

Now, for January. I want to focus on some basic goals. We'll call it getting back on track, if we must. My life should be calming down a little bit and I should have an easier time getting a routine going. I wanted to focus on three main goals per month. That should be enough of a challenge. However, for January I want to add an additional small goal that shouldn't take much.

January Goals:
1. Do aerobics five days a week for at least 25 minutes. I am going to confess that this started out as 30 minutes a day, six days a week. However, I don't want to get up any earlier than I do so it usually works out to about 27 minutes. And, let's be honest, I probably won't work out on Saturday or Sunday. This is still an improvement. I can do videos or go for a walk but it must be a work out. Anything else is extra.

2. Tone three days a week. This worked last time. I will develop a routine that is quick enough that it won't seem like such a pain in the ass to do it. I'm going to pick up as much of the old routine as I can. I was doing something for my back, chest, arms, abs, thighs, and legs. I got nicely toned and had function to my muscles. It was kind of awesome.

3. Eat between 1200 and 1500 calories five days a week. I took a test on About.com that said this should be my target weight loss range. Don't diet on the weekends. It makes me sad. However, I am going to eat closer to what I was eating before. It made me feel so good.

Mini Goal: Take vitamin C. I just read that Betty White takes it and she hasn't had a cold in twenty years! It couldn't hurt to try it, right?

What am I hoping for out of January? Well, it seems to me that it is probably easier to be happy when you don't feel like shit. It would be nice to lose some weight because I know that I can be better. Those are fair thoughts, right?