Time to Begin the "Be Gone" - Weight Loss and Fitness Plan, Week 1

(Originally posted June 26, 2012)

At age 41, I can no longer tell myself that there is still time to have the body of my dreams.  I am even running out of time to get fit for a healthy start to my older years. But keeping up with a meaningful exercise program is so difficult during the school year, when defiant 14 year olds, boring meetings, and mounds of grading sap my energy five days a week.  Weekends are the only time my body and mind feel rested enough to face a real workout, and so light yoga and easy strolls suffice on weekday evenings.

But the scale gets less friendly, the pants get tighter, and with each pound, and each passing week of not dealing with it, the road to fitness gets steeper.  So when summer started this year, I had a plan.  First of all, I escaped for nine days, not allowing myself to begin any kind of regimen until I was properly unplugged from my work mind-frame and schedule. A nine-day camping trip in the Sierras did the trick. Sure, I did a little hiking and rafting, but plenty of sitting around and reading, too.

Week One officially started the after the camping trip ended.  And it started it with a bang.

My first plan of attack was to sign up for a barre exercise class, which I had taken before but only sporadically. This one began that first Monday morning, and I would attend every Monday every week of the summer that I was not out of town.  An hour and fifteen minutes of intense small muscle work reminded me of how out of shape I was, and so I sketched out the rest of the plan that day: Mondays - barre class; Tuesdays and Fridays - yoga and a one hour walk; Wednesdays and Thursdays would remain flexible, with a good run on at least one of those days, leaving the other for weights, or a social walk or hike, or any other desired form of exercise.  I lined up friends who would go on my Tuesday or Friday walk with me, so I was committed to that extra activity on those days.  Weekends would be unplanned, but would likely include some kind of family activity outside, such as a bike ride or walk around the lagoon.

With my exercise plan well laid out, I decided to think about food intake.  I am not a dieter; I hate counting calories. But when I think of food as fuel, I am able to be mindful of what I eat and to consume less of those foods that don’t support my plan. Knowing this, I went shopping, stocked up on tempting veggies like broccollini, cremini mushrooms, snap peas, vine tomatoes, and an all-in-one bag of kale salad. I had never eaten kale salad, but this one, with shredded carrots and cabbage and Asian sesame ginger dressing, sounded like a great way to start a new food habit.

That first evening, the walk up and down the stairs in my house told me I had worked hard, and I rewarded myself with an udon noodle stir fry loaded with the fresh veggies. At 5’7” and 150 pounds (there, I said it), Week 1 was off to a good start, but I knew I had a long way to go.