Five Habits of Fit People

A few weeks ago I received a most distressing email in my inbox.....

Hello class of 1985

We hope you'll join us for our upcoming 30th High School Reunion

to be held at some local hotel,

on June something, 2015.

What?  Has it really been 30 years since I graduated from good old Mariner High?  A quick calculation proved that this was indeed correct.  Well, shoot.

Another look at the calendar told me that I have only eight weeks to get ready.

I'm not a particularly vain person, and I don't spend much time worrying about what other people think of me.  My husband says I'm pretty and that's what really matters.  But there's something about spending an evening with people who judged your every move for four years that makes you want to look your best.

Although I exercise fairly regularly and eat pretty well, I'm still carrying around what I like to call my "winter hibernation layer", which weighs approximately ten pounds and definitely needs to be shed before June 27th.  But talk is cheap, and if I really want to achieve this goal, I need a plan.  Time to get busy.

So I called my friend Nasca, a personal trainer and one of the most upbeat, positive and fit people I know.  I swear she doesn't have an ounce of fat on her - and she has three kids. She shared with me her 5 Habits of Highly Fit People, and assured me that if I follow them, I'll be ten pounds lighter by the time I face visit with my former classmates.

1. Set a goal.  Sounds simple, but it must be quantifiable and realistic. Otherwise, you're just wishing for results rather than taking action and making a plan.  Ten pounds in eight weeks seems realistic.

2. Write it down.  Hence this blog post.  Not only am I writing it down, I'm putting it out there for the whole internet to see.  That should keep me accountable (fingers crossed).

3. Watch what goes in your mouth.  Up until a few years ago, I could eat whatever I wanted as long as I was consistently working out, and I didn't gain weight.  That ship has sailed.  Nasca told me that at my age (!!!) diet is 80 percent of the equation, and exercise is 20 percent.  Bummer.  I'm much better at exercising than dieting.  But apparently you can't exercise away poor nutrition.  Fine - no cookies for eight weeks.

4. Make fitness a priority.  Which means I have to move every.single.day. Even if I just go for a quick walk.  I'm aiming for three days of cardio, three days of weight training, and leaving Sundays for something fun with my family, like hiking.  I'm also trying to exercise first thing in the morning - otherwise I put it off until it's too late and/or I'm too lazy to care.

5. Exercise effectively.  Nasca reminded me that if I'm taking the time to exercise, I need to give it my all - I can't just go through the motions.  It's important to focus on the workout and try not to be distracted by the other million things I have to do.  After a few weeks, if I'm not happy with my progress, then it will be time to increase the length, intensity, or type of workouts I'm doing.  

In the end, I know our high school reunion will be fun, whether I lose the weight or not.  My husband and I graduated together, and there are lots of people we're looking forward to seeing.  But as soon as it's over, I'm having a cupcake.

Linking up with Turn It Up Tuesday