Here we are…it’s Monday and I’m not exactly raring to go, but I’m ready to get started. Yes…I have totally conflicting emotions this morning! On one hand I’m ready and on the other hand…NOOOOOO!!!
In case you hadn’t guessed. I am writing this on a Monday morning! So I think it may be totally obvious as to why I’m not raring to go! Yes, the weekend is over, and I’m not feeling the start of this week….AT ALL! But oh well, the rent needs paid and the pets need food!
So if it’s a Monday, why am I ready to get rolling? Well, I have a plan and I’m ready to get started. What plan doth I speak of? Why, my 12 week get healthy plan of course!!! I know, I know, I know! I have written about so many plans and so many starts! But we shall see. I’m motivated!
The plan is a 12 week plan. I chose 12 weeks simply because I had been looking at purchasing a 12 week exercise/get fit plan. I kept hesitating though about spending the $100. I wasn’t sure the plan was for me. It was a cross training plan for mountain biking, so it did hold some interest. But….well, I haven’t exactly been a mountain biker of late! Sure, maybe the program would have pushed me back in that direction, but doesn’t that sound like a little bit of a stretch?
So I hesitated. But I kept going back to the 12 week thing. I started to think about doing my own thing…but it was all thoughts and no action. That is until I was in the shower on Sunday morning. I was thinking about how much I can’t wait until vacation. We have time planned at the beginning of October and we had started to talk about finalizing our plans. And of course we will be active with biking and hiking on vacation (at least that’s the plan) so I was thinking about losing weight and working on my fitness before vacation. So I was in the shower thinking about that and then I realized that vacation was 14 weeks away! Really? That would allow me the perfect opportunity to slip in a 12 week program into that time slot before vacation! How perfect!
I did some research and found a very basic plan that I tweaked to make it my own. I created spreadsheets and documents to track my progress. And decided to start on Monday morning. It’s Monday morning and I’m ready!!
This plan is very simple.
1. Strength training (there are about 10 different strength training moves…lunges, crunches, planks, etc) to do 5 days a week. The amount that I do each day changes daily. Some days I may only do 10 reps/seconds of something but the next day I might do 60. The reps and actual exercises are what I found online at multiple sites..a preset plan.
2. Calories calories calories! I KNOW where my calories need to be for me to lose weight. That is where I need to eat…no if’s ands or buts! 1200-1300. That’s it. It’s a budget. When I reach that number I’m out of calories. This is a budget and there is no credit extended! One higher day is ok. One dessert a week is ok. ONE!
3. Cardio- I get my cardio through my exercise bike already. But I will be incorporating more interval training during it to up the intensity. 5 days a week. Not just when we I feel it. I will build up my intervals in length and intensity as the 12 weeks progress.
4. Water- 64 ounces. It just has to be so. It’s healthy and honestly should be non negotiable!
5. I will still strive for my 6 miles a day for the 2021 challenge. This challenge is still going strong and I am not giving it up! 6 miles a day will keep me on target to be done with my miles by the end of the year (with time to spare) I am good with that. But if I am honest with myself, I would admit that I would LOVE to be able to say that I am done by vacation! I could then wear my 2021 challenge tee shirt with pride because I would have earned it. And since we are vacationing in October it COULD be cool. Ok, last year’s vacation was perfect temps. Comfortable in teeshirts and not sweating crazy! The year before that was terribly hot and I ended up with Sun poisoning. The year before that? We wore Long pants and long sleeve sheets/hoodies! Each year our vacation was at the same time…the first week of October! So the weather is totally a guesstimate!
So there you have my plans for this 12 week challenge! Pretty simple right? I am motivated because I feel miserable at my current weight. I ache and hurt! I know that getting off some pounds will make a huge difference!!! So here we go! Let’s see how much I can get off in 12 (14 before vacation) weeks!!!!
Weekend Fun
We had a great weekend. On Saturday we ran our errands (groceries and whatnot). That took up a huge part of the day! But the fun part was that we celebrated Mertz’s 12th birthday!