The Next Step....

     I've been thinking a lot the past few days. Less about what I'm planning on doing, and more about how I'm going to go about it.
   
     I know what I need to do. Work on the two prongs of weight loss, exercise and eating, properly, a diet, however you'd like to phrase it. But when I think and look at those two points, I keep seeing where I screw up. I seem to never have a plan, or I go to the other extreme and over plan to the point of anal- rentiveness and either way I set myself up for failure.

    To begin with, I never really hold myself accountable. I say I do, I think I do... but really I don't. And for that I have no one to blame but myself. Things have changed though. I have a husband I love with all my heart and a beautiful little girl who is the other half of the center of my world. I am also now accountable to Miss Kitty and my other friends who are following this journey. I only hope to hell they hold my feet to the fire on this! Because I need this.

    So here's my deal, bug me, question me, quiz me..... and don't accept any excuses. I'll fight like hell because I hate change. Even as much as I know it needs to happen I despise it, and I need to be bodily thrown out of this rut I've managed to dig for myself.

    Now for the game plan:

      Phase 1: Figure out what my exercise level is.... and up it. So starting first thing in the morning I am going to start wearing a pedometer and tracking DAILY how much I'm actually moving. It'll give me the picture, then I can start to expand on that end. I already have some upper body strength and flexibility exercisers that the Physical therapist showed me for my neck and shoulders. and Hopefully starting next week we can start with the same for my hips and lower back. If I can add in some real cardio (probably after I recover from my surgery at the beginning of next month) that could put me on track to no longer be the weakling I am.

    Phase 2: My Diet (how I hate that word). Something's gotta give. Over the years, I've done modified Atkins's, calorie counting (I was spending upwards of 2 hours+ a day tracking my food), Weight Watchers, and the one I had with the most success was the Yoplait 2 week-tune up. I think I know why I did best with the yoplait thing. First, I planned for it out the wa-zoo! I must have spent a month making lists! First my daily meal plan, then lists of the recipes I would use, then lists of the ingredients needed, then finally shopping lists! But I actually stuck with it. And lost 7 lbs in those 2 weeks, but it was so restrictive for 2 meals per day, that by the end of week 2 I was ready to skin something! Right now I think I'm going to go with the Dukan diet. Yes it's restrictive, but not nearly as bad as the 2 week tune-up. It also includes tons of foods that I actually would eat (kind of a necessity). But for this to work, I need to get into that preparation phase. Because of the way the diet is designed to work there are certain food substitutes that you need to make for it to be a viable lifestyle. My plan is, from now, until I'm recovered from my surgery, to slowly start to try them out, give it a test run before I run headlong into this thing and get all burned out.

    Anyway, that's my plan, and I'm sticking with it!