The Priority of Exercise

I can't believe it has almost been a week since I posted here. Not that I don't have things to share with you, it's more that things like my upcoming fantasy novel going through editing, writing the sequel to Beyond the Fifth Gate and keeping up with my freelance work is time intensive. This is one of the reasons it's easy for me to gain weight and keep it on. The writing life can be very sedentary if you let it. I'm over that. Between last month and this month I've actually made time to exercise...l have it on my schedule. If it isn't a priority, it won't happen.

I've been walking almost daily for about an hour. It's a great time of reflection but also a time of temptation. Temptation you ask. Yes, because I live in a very tiny subdivision with only two streets. I walk the whole thing and it is one mile...not enough. So I actually walk past by house on each lap coming and going. When I started this I was always tempted to cut things short and get back to work. That's why I've given myself the one hour time slot. Not one mile, two...or three. I'm not done until I put an hour in. That has more or less reduced the temptation. :)

So far this challenge, I've been able to stick to my goals. Last weigh in, I've lost 6 pounds since the first of the year. Slowly but surely, I'm inching toward my ideal weight!

January 21 Challenge Results

Hard to believe we are fast approaching the end of January, but this January I'm happy to say that I have stuck with my health and exercise goals. Most people fall away from their weight loss resolution goals by the middle of the month! The 21 Day Challenge approach works for me because I set goals for the first 21 days of the month. It breaks things down to smaller manageable pieces. Instead of a whole year, I focus on 21 days. It is said that it takes 21 days to establish a new habit. The days in between the 21st and the start of the new month let me see how well the new habits stick, and it also gives me the opportunity to tweak my goals for the next month. That flexibility helps me stay on target.

My January 21 Day Challenge goals were to:

Follow the No S Diet

Drink 64 ounces of water daily

Exercise 3-5 days a week

These goals worked and I plan to continue them in February. Overall, I'm going for slow healthy weight loss and as of the end of the January 21 Day Challenge I have lost 5.2 pounds. I was hoping for 3 pounds, so I'm happy.

Over this week I'll talk about why it is working for me and the new habits that are helping me move to a healthier weight.

New Year and the 21 Day Challenge

I've toyed with the idea of coming back to this blog for a number of reasons. First of all, I still have people leaving comments on old posts. Secondly, it's that time of year again when everyone is sick and tired of being overweight and we look with renewed determination at the New Year thinking we can actually lose that weight!

I've been facilitating a 21 Day Challenge elsewhere that has people setting goals--diet related goals--for the first 21 days of each month. I've made some new friends and couldn't help but think of those friends I left behind here.

It takes 21 days to establish a new habit. That means we can establish a new habit every month in the New Year. The goal is to work toward healthy lifestyle habits. Let’s get together and set some goals to springboard into a healthy 2010! I’m ready to lose all my excess weight! How about you?

If you want to take steps to a healthier lifestyle whether it involves losing weight or not, I encourage you to join me on or before January 1. Post your goals here and lets spur one another on to healthy living.

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For more check out my Diet News Blog.