7.21.2010

Have a plan....

work the plan.
I decided on a plan a month ago.
I got derailed for a week because I chose to be...
But that doesn't change an essential truth.
If you want to succeed, You need a plan.
I doesn't  have to be a complex plan.
Mine wasn't when I began.
It was "Eat 1800 calories and walk daily"
It grew more complex as time went on.
I just needed to get started and so made it as simple as possible.
I didnt muck those 1800 calories up with a  bunch of rules to start.
It was simply:
Stop at 1800.
After the first two weeks..
Or, After the dust cleared.
I realized I wanted to add a few rules.
No more than two cups of coffee.
Eliminate white bread.
Limit the sugar.
Eat only protein and veggies at dinner.
These choices evolved as I went along though...
They werent there right out of the chute.
My first priority was to stop the mindless eating.
So I counted calories..said no to drive through, and ate at home.
My latest innovation has been..
1500 cals 6 days a week...the gym 5 days a week (one hour and a half minimum).
M,W, and F. I do the elliptical for an hour...150 situps and upper body weight lifting.
This burns on  average 800 calories.
Tuesdays and Thursdays I do a 3 mile walk and 30 minutes on the stairstepper.
This burnes on average 550 to 600 calories.
I sit at 155 right now. 
On  Saturdays I eat 1800 or 2500 calories on alternating weekends.
I walk 3.5 miles on both Saturday and Sunday.
My walks aren't strenuous and are more a time to reflect than an effort to push my heart rate.
So my weekly deficit is right around 3650 on my 1800 calorie saturday and 2950 on my 2500 cal Saturdays.
Which..when all is said and done should give me a  3.5 lb loss per month (It will drop as my weight drops)
For the last 3 days I have stuck to this plan.
If I stick to it for a whole month, my numbers will tell me if I am right or if I am wrong.
Everyone's plan is (and should be) different, because it needs to work for you where you are.
Your plan will evolve.
Because life changes.
So if the old plan isn't working you need to look at what is not clicking and find a new path.
I am sure my plan will change again once I hit my goal weight in 20 some odd pounds.
Right now I knw what I need.
I have discovered these little Saturday breaks are important for me mentally.
It helps me push through with my workouts at the gym.
I do my best five days a week.
AND
I watch my intake and eat clean six days a week.
On saturdays I still watch it, but loosen up a  bit and maybe have something with the family...
I eat out, or I make a family favorite (like my lasagna).
I am finding my balance.
I am making my whole life flow together.
I have a plan and am working the plan.
It feels good.
Have a great night guys.
Hugs,
Chris

12 comments:

SeattleRunnerGirl said...

It's so true that you have to have a PLAN to make progress! There's a saying that goes something like this: the difference between a "dream" and a "goal" is having a plan. Congratulations on working your plan, Chris!

Beautiful Grace said...

Thank you Chris. I like reading about your plan and food choices especially. Some days I don't know where to start with the food.

JEN

Lori Ann said...

Great Plan - I need to write one down.

Love the Lynyrd Skynyrd song :)

Anonymous said...

What an incredible amount of wisdom in this post Chris. I couldn't agree with you more. I have phrased it as "stop the bleeding!" Once the bleeding is stopped, then you can worry about how to heal the injury. In our world that means stopping the mindless eating, then working on the lifelong plan. Like you, I have adjusted mine over time. I have over-adjusted and had to correct. that is all part of it.

Helen said...

I'm going to beg to differ with you on your use of the word derailment. A derailment is unexpected. What you did was actually planned. So by choosing to have no plan, you still had a plan.

Love that you are working to make your whole life flow and work together.

That's the real secret to success, right there.

Beautiful Grace said...

Hello again. Thanks so much for your post on my blog about digging it up. Just dig it up and write about it?? I know it seems like a simple answer. My husband says to give it to Jesus, lay it all down at his feet and I'm so literal that I just can't seem to go there in my head. I am a believer and I know what Jesus can do, but do I believe he can do it with me? Ugh....

To be continued.....

Thank you again!!

Robin said...

It is all about figuring out what works and what doesn't. I suppose what is most accurate is letting go of what doesn't. I don't know why we hold so tightly to things that we know aren't working in our lives. Now that is a thought for the day...

Retta said...

You are sooo right about having a plan. And then adjusting it, tweaking it as you go.

You said: "I am finding my balance."

I felt immediately drawn to that sentence. I haven't found mine yet... I long to. It'll come, I know...

But reading of yours helps, it really does. Pumps me full of hope!

Loretta
=^..^=

Alexia said...

i needed this: i so need to get back on plan!

Anonymous said...

Planning is definitely essential to continued success!

Traveliztera said...

I agree about having a plan... It makes you have this limit in everything and it takes such commitment to be disciplined and make it part of your lifestyle in the long-run. Once your body gets adjusted, it becomes effortless. :D

Congrats on your weightloss!!!

karen@fitnessjourney said...

I like that part of your plan is to reassess after a month to see how things are working.