Day 1 of the rest of my healthy new life …

Got sidetracked over the weekend with the Boyfriend (which extended into Monday, because we’re both off on Mondays), but I was back on track today.

Needless to say, the year so far has not been a great one for my theme, “just do it.” I’ve had moments, but most of the time has been spent NOT doing what needs to be done.

That changes now. I need to do this for myself … I need to do it to stop the scale’s creep in the wrong direction (up another pound since last Monday’s official WW weigh-in).

Today was a great day. I stayed in my Points, without eating any FPs, and I got in 20 minutes of exercise — a 15-minute walk, plus extra walking and some toning exercises while I watched “The Biggest Loser” season premiere that I taped earlier tonight. Right now I’m drinking green tea while I blog and watch the show, but as soon as I’m done blogging, I’m going to pick up the weights.

For dinner, I tried a new recipe. I bought the Hungry Girl recipe cards with part of my Christmas gift card from my brother and sister-in-law, and made the sesame peanut noodles (using tofu shirataki noodles). They were pretty good, though I think I prefer the “Hungry Girlfredo” fettucine Alfredo swap. Maybe if I bulk them up a little with some ham or chicken or something … I was hungry too soon after eating dinner. Had to have some beet salad and then some almonds shortly thereafter.

Then again, the total for all that food was just 7 Points (4 for the noodles, 1 for the beets and 2 for the almonds). That’s not a bad total for dinner (especially after several days of overindulging).

Here’s the Tweet, Eat, Post chart for the day:

Food	Units
ww 2-point almond crunch bar — yum!	2
ww cheddar twists	2
greek salad w/ chicken	6
fiber one pop tart	3
hg peanut noodles	4
orange-beet salad	1
15-minute walk
100-cal pk almonds	2
100-cal pak chocolate covered pretzels	2
2 clementines	1
Total:	23

Table provided by Roni’s Food Tweet, Eat, Post Generator.

Goals for Wednesday:

• Eat just 23 Points, using perhaps 2 or 3 FPs (no more)
• Get at least 10 minutes of exercise
• Drink at least 8 8-ounce glasses of liquid (mostly H2O)
• Track every morsel that goes into my mouth

Totally do-able, I know!

Reflecting on 2009, planning for 2010

Here in Arizona, there’s a little less than 90 minutes to New Year’s Day. I’m sitting on the couch, watching “The Twilight Zone” marathon on SyFy while trying to settle on my New Year’s resolutions.

They, of course, will involve finally getting to my goal weight. I was so close in 2009 … but just couldn’t manage to get over the hump. Somewhere along the way, I lost my focus.

I used part of a gift card from my brother to buy “The Spark,” by SparkPeople founder Chris Downie. I’ve skimmed through it, and one thing — under “Cornerstone: Focus” jumped out at me:

Are you working each day toward something that really matters to you?

I haven’t been — at least not when it comes to weight loss. (I have, however, been doing a pretty good job focusing on my writing in the last several months. But that’s another story. I need to be able to do both.)

Stephanie Quialo (Twitter name @skinnyjeans) suggests, instead of making resolutions, having a New Year’s Theme … it’s more flexible and fun — and (my added thought) hopefully easier to achieve.

With that thought in mind, I’ve been toying with ideas all afternoon. I thought about making it the start of “The New Me Decade,” where I do what I need to do to take care of myself.

I’ve also considered “no excuses” and “just do it,” both variations on the same theme: Doing things I might not always want to do because they are things I need to do. I need to get in activity and I need to eat within my Points.

I need to do these things even if I don’t want to do them. I need to do them to get to goal and maintain … I need to do them for me. For my health, happiness and peace of mind.