A New Plan, A New Year

A new year.  I`ve given  up on making resolutions over the years.  Inevitably I break em in the first few weeks. It's one of the reasons I never resolved to stop smoking on January 1st.  A recipe for failure most of the time.

The past few months I've put on weight consistently and I was in a bit of a panic as to how to stop it.  I had  pretty much given up on the whole Curves type of exercise.  The sad truth is, I didn't feel motivated to go there.  I didn't feel comfortable at any of the 3 locations available here in Brampton.  And quite frankly I wasn't getting the cardio that I so desperately need in order to speed up my metabolism.  I eat all the right food, I just eat too much and I'm clueless about portion control.  The biggest issues for me are portion control, too many carbs, even if they are the right ones and not enough exercise.

So I changed from Curves to Good Life Fitness.  Not only does one of the gyms have a pool that I'll be checking out but the best part of all is the one nearest to me is open 24 hours!  Awesome!  I was on afternoon shift last week and I went at midnight to work out so I could sleep in the next day.  It was lovely not having to get up early and hustle to get over there, no trying to decide whether to spend time with Lia or go to the gym .  Believe me I can talk myself outta going no problem at all lol

I have an appointment with a personal trainer, actually 3 visits with one and they will do fitness tests on me, create a cardio, lean muscle building program and a diet program that will leave me feeling full and what to eat when. Let`s face it, most of us know what to eat, what not to eat and that we need to exercise more and eat less, but most of us don`t know exactly what it is we need to do to achieve results consistently that then keeps our motivation up. I`m hoping this trainer will be what I need to make the change. 

It`s been almost 2 years since I quit smoking.  In 5 weeks actually.  It`s time to get in shape and get my cardio vascular working for me.  It isn`t enough to quit smoking, I need to lose the accumulated weight, and improve my stamina so I can keep up with the kids when we go sledding, or swimming.

The last two weeks I`ve been filling up on veggies and looking for ways to cook them so I can and will eat em every day.

Two of my faves are roasted brussel sprouts and spaghetti squash. The squash has spaghetti like strands and is freaking awesome with homemade spaghetti sauce over it.  I ate it 4 times last week and am making more this week.  It`s filling but it doesn`t give you that heavy, I need to sleep now, feel afterwards that pasta does. 

I made roasted sprouts and cauliflower and broccoli today.  Steamed a bunch of broccoli and cauliflower, made spaghetti sauce, cooked some chicken up and am making chicken vegetable soup.  For me anyway, it`s important I have it made and waiting during the week because after working all day, fighting the traffic and going to the gym, the last thing I want to do while I`m hungry is try to make smart choices with food.

No excuses, just results is what I`m aiming for. I`d realistically like to lose between 25 and 30 pounds by June.  I`m writing it down in a bid to be accountable.  After I get back from my one on one with the trainer, I will be posting my weight,  measurements and goals.  Every week after I plan to post my weight, any new recipes I find or create (and thank goodness for the Internet and YouTube, I`d be lost without them!) and once a month post my measurements.  If putting it out there is the only way to make me accountable then that`s what I`ll do.

I don`t want this to become a `diet blog` and it won`t be the only thing I talk about but it`s what`s important to me right now.

Wish me luck!