Day 1:
As with some things, the beginning is always the most exciting part: the few bites of cake, before you realize you've eaten the whole thing and feel bad about yourself; the start of vacation, when you're just so relieved to have some time off, until all of a sudden it's almost over and you've got to go back to work, school, real life.....
This is how I feel about diets or working out. I get so excited to "start" them, and then something always interrupts and I'm thrown off whatever diet wagon I was on. It starts with a couple "cheat" meals, or not working out, and then before I know it, I'm off said Diet Wagon, and it's dragging my by a rope tied around my ankle. Eventually the rope falls off, the wagon is gone, and I'm left behind to go back to my usual routine.
To be fair, there's not really a "usual" for me, though, when it comes to food. I try to eat reasonably, with a few meals thrown in that I can "let loose" and eat the fries, cheeseburger, or whatever it is I'm wanting if we're eating out. Exercising has never been my favorite thing, though. I played tons of sports growing up, and now I just can't get into running, lifting weights, or paying a lot of money for the gym when I have a perfectly acceptable elliptical machine in my basement. I just need to GET ON IT! What is my problem?
I think my problem is commitment. I can commit to everything else in this world, but fitness and dieting...no such luck. I found out about the Diet Bet in Fitness Magazine, tore the page out, and slapped it up on the fridge. I signed up, and couldn't be more excited for this challenge! Now, I know I'm sounding like my usual "rah rah it's the first day of your workout/diet plan, woohoo!", but I do think the prospect of losing my $30 bet will keep me going. Yes, I know the goal is to win money, but for me that would be the bonus. I just don't want to LOSE money (you can maybe tell from this statement I'm not much of a gambler...). So, let the fun begin!
I've chosen Jillian Michaels' 30 Day Shred as my diet and fitness plan. I liked the idea of a shorter workout DVD (20 minutes), and a meal plan that spells everything out for you. The workout videos are in 3 levels; you do level 1 for 10 days, level 2 for another 10, etc., and so far, I'm really impressed with the level 1 video. I've always thought Jillian was cool, tough but fair, and really motivating. Her videos do not disappoint! I get bored very quickly, and this one went very fast, with workouts changing up every 30 seconds. I was definitely feeling the burn by the end!
As for meals and food...the 30 Day Shred has a printable PDF meal plan {find it here} with each day spelled out, along with recipes. My favorite thing about these options are that they seem easy and simple. I'm not known for having the most highly evolved taste palate (gourmet to me is adding pickles to my plain cheeseburger...in fact I just started liking mustard last year), so these recipes highly appeal to what I'm looking for as part of a meal plan, if I'm following one. It's all stuff I'd want to eat anyway! Plus I'm not the best cook...so I need something really easy in order to not burn the house down and explain that one to Mike, my wonderful and supportive boyfriend.
I'm going to keep writing in this blog on here, but I'll likely switch over to my new blog site when it's done (which should be soon! Woohoo! Also a new adventure, kind of like this Diet Bet thing...let's hope my commitment level to that is not on the same playing field as my previous commitments to dieting...). For now, I'm excited for this challenge and am going to try my very hardest to make the commitment to my workout routine and cleaner eating goals. Because as we all know, it's a lifestyle change, not a "diet", right?! :)
Hope everyone's first day of this challenge went well! Good luck and keep at it!
~Meredith
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