Hi Guys!! This is great - I like knowing others are on this journey with me. I've exercised and dieted since my early 30's - to stay the size I wanted to be. As I moved closer to my 50's - it became about health - what a motivator!! When I'm "into it" - I do really good. My problem is loosing motivation. Hoping ya'll can help - because I HAVE TO exercise and eat right for the rest of my life!! It's no longer an option or about the mirror!!

Tip for Today #1

GET MOVING

Exercise is probably the single most important change you can make. As my sister says "If you exercise you can eat what you want." She's about a size 2 and exercises more than most, but she's right.

The hard part is doing it when you don't feel like it. I slept very poorly last night and stayed in bed way past when I should have so when I got downstairs to excercise I only had about 10 mintues of my designated time left. Being a CPA I'm very structured and have routines so I really couldn't mess with that whole timeframe thing. And I was so tired from tossing and turning. But I did the 10 minutes anyway on my Wii. Free stepped 1,300 steps in 10 minutes.

Now I'm one-third of the way to today's 30 minutes. That should always be your goal - 30 minutes a day. And no, you can't stockpile them. Playing tennis once a week for an hour and half doesn't earn you two free days. You might not want to do something as strenuous the next day and you do earn a "break" if you want but aim for doing something every day.

What is "something". Anything that gets you moving. Parking at the end of the parking lot (I know it sounds trite, but it counts). Ride bikes with your kids. Take a walk after dinner with the family (teaching good habits to the kids is a bonus in this). Set aside your 30 minutes and schedule it if that works better and find your activity. If your house has 2 stories don't accumulate a lot of stuff and carry it all up at once but instead take everything up separately. Stairs are wonderful exercise! Walk your errands or walk to work if you can.

The point is there are lots of ways to get moving in this world. Find the ones that fit best into your day and then work to incorporate them. Once you get them incorporated don't give yourself a pass to skip them. You may have to break your 30 minutes down into pieces like I have today, but push yourself to meet that 30 minute daily goal. Exercise makes you feel better, think more clearly, and gets the rest of your body working.

Now have a great day!

My Story

I have another blog, Random Thoughts, and in one post I related my story of how I took charge of my life and my health and now, two years later, I'm about 50 pounds lighter. Others have seen that as an inspiration and, thus, this blog was started.

I am not a health professional in any sense, just an average CPA. I don't profess to be an expert. I made the right kind of lifestyle changes - you know, the ones the doctors are always telling you about - and the they will work for everyone. Its just a matter of taking charge.

Its also a process, and a slow one. I won't repeat that you didn't gain the weight overnight so you can't lose it overnight. Oops, too late. This has been a two year journey for me and I'm still not finished yet. And even when that number on the scale hits what you want, the journey is ongoing to keep it there. That's why these are lifestyle changes. It should, hopefully, make that phase of the journey easier.

You won't find any stories of magic pills. I don't endorse any program over another. That's not to say they don't have value and are successful, but not for me. I'm sharing how I did it, and others will participate as well, and that is the purpose of this blog.

Now. Having disclaimed any responsibility for anyone else choices, let's get started.