It's a new year, and with this it seems I'm suddenly on a frenzy to make some changes. I spent a good part of today cleaning out my walk-in closet. What a job! But it feels so good to feel like I've accomplished a job that has been nagging at me for the last six months or so. My side (okay, I admit that my side is a good 3/4 of the closet) is finally organized, I have a bag of shoes for a friend who is collecting shoes for charity, a good six bags of clothing and purses to bring to the Goodwill, and a bag of clothes that I need to take to the tailor for hemming. (I couldn't believe it when I found two pairs of pants I bought years ago, tags still on them and waiting to be hemmed. I can't fit in to them at the moment, but I will!) I finally admitted that I will never get down to the size 4 clothes cluttering up my closet, so I dumped them all. But the size 8 ones I've saved...because I WILL get into those one day!
It was made very clear to me this evening that I'm out of shape. My back and arms are so sore from the up and down of cleaning the closet, and by 8pm I was pretty much maxed out and collapsed on the couch. By 10pm I caught my second wind and sat down to plan out more of my journey to get fit. I'll be using the Arbonne 30-Day Feeling Fit Kit as the basis for my daily quick meals and eating low sugar, low carb for my main meals. I've learned that I can't fully deprive myself of the things I want to eat or I just won't stick with it, and so my "diet" allows for an occasional glass of red wine, dark chocolate, and reasonable portions of what I want when eating out. As for meals, I'll be working with recipes from Jorge Cruise (The Belly Fat Cure), Hungry Girl, and Arbonne's 28 Days to Healthy Living program. A little over a year ago, I did the 28 Days to Healthy Living program and lost 11 pounds in 4 weeks. I never felt hungry, the meals were very filling, but there was too much deprivation for me to stick with it beyond the 28 days...no gluten, no dairy, no sugar, only organics. This time I'm taking a more reasonable approach that will better suit my lifestyle.
Today I signed up for a weekly Aqua Exercise class through the city. The pool is outdoors, but it's heated so hopefully I won't freeze...and if the weather we're having this week continues it shouldn't be a problem. What a glorious 85-degree day we had today...who would ever guess it's January! I also plan to walk 3-4 days a week, starting with one mile and working up from there. I plan to "read" some books while walking (thanks to my iPod and Audible subscription), which should encourage me to get out there and get the walking done, especially if the book is good. I'm still looking for a program that will give me some weight-bearing exercise without going to the gym. I've discovered that I'm just not a gym person...I've had memberships for years and rarely used them. Maybe, once I've got some walking and aqua exercise under my belt, I'll try a boot camp. Maybe with a regular small group I'll be more inclined to go. (I can always find an excuse not to sweat!!) A friend suggested I try the Wii Fit or Wii Zumba; she thought the "fun" element might be a plus for me. I'm a total klutz with very little rhythm, so when I took some Zumba classes I was well out of my league...but maybe in the comfort of my own home with no one to see me I could work my way up to trying another Zumba class. We'll see.
Would love to know if any of you are as exercise challenged as I am, and how you managed to get beyond all the excuses and stick with a physical program. I could use the help.
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