Where I am today

My current statistics:

Weight with shoes and clothes: 59.4kgs

Height:160cm

waist measurement: 78.5cm

hip measurement: 101cm

bicep: 30cm

calf: 38cm

BMI:23.2

and two spare tyres around the waist.

My plan:

Exercise more eat less.

I have joined a gym and I am beginning with going 3 times a week.

2 cardio and 1 weights session.

Currently I can run at level 9 for 13 minutes and cover 2.18kms in 15minutes.

Goal is to run 2.4kms in 12.5 minutes so I have a way to go there.

I want to be able to do the shuttle run to level 10. I can currently can scrape in at level 7.5.

My upper body strength is not great and I want to be able to do a chin up or possibly 10. Currently I can't lift my body weight. :(

Eating

I will be following the weight watchers points plan, which is as good as any other plan.

I may supplement the plan with a protein shake as I find that these can help a lot with controlling hunger while exercising. They also provide a lot of basic nutrients.

I am going to minimise the amount of carbs I eat, by having at least 5 serves to a maximum of 7 serves a day. 1 serve is equivalent to a slice of bread if you were wondering.

Sugar, ahhh, my nemisis. What to do about sugar.

There are two options the complete abstinance approach or the only in moderation approach.

I am going with the moderation approach. There are times when nothing will suffice other than chocolate, but lets make sure that chocolate has a high cocca percentage and keep the amounts small.

So, tonight I am off to the gym to pound the treadmill and row on a machine.

I believe that the trick to doing anything is to make it as easy as possible to motivate yourself. So you have to know yourself well.

I can't stand the frosty mornings where I now live and the nights are cold too, so my usual exercise routine of taking a jog round my neighbourhood is not happening. So I have joined a gym knowing that it is easier for me to face a drive to an airconditioned gym with my favourite show on the telly, rather than deal with the cold.

I also know that I love a routine. Once going to the gym becomes a routine I will find myself going there with out thinking.

Secondly, I don't want to give up time with my husband to exercise, so he is doing it with me. Luckily right now he is keen. His motivation is worse than mine and we are both guilty of enabling our bad habits. It only takes one of us to cave for us both to cave in, in either our eating or our exercise. This is something I will need to address.

I am not one of these people that love exercise and I can think of a thousand more fun things to do.

Lets face reality here, being unfit and unhealthy does nothing for your appearance or your mood. Being fat and cranky is not my idea of fun. So all those other fun things I can think of doing will all be 100 times better doing them while fit.

I have made huge amounts of progress in the past few years, but I can feel some of that progress going backwards. So it is time to recommit and refocus.

I assume if you are reading this, it is because you are on your own journey to getting fitter or healthier. It doesn't matter what your goal, it matters that it is enough to get you started.