Let's do this!

Here we are; it's the butt end of April.

Grass is finally filling in the dry patches throughout the yard, the rosebushes are blooming, I already have a flip flop tan lines and by actually looking at the reflection in my dresser mirror I am clearly unprepared for bathing suit season. (Where DO these extra curves come from?)

I am finally coming to my senses and deciding it is time to get something happening here. Time to add some more fruit into the grocery cart and walk passed the Little Debbie selection without grabbing a box or two. Time to start making my body actually work hard for a while. Time to want to wear colors that don't hide flaws as loyally as black does. Time to make a game plan.

I know that working out and eating better is mandatory for the next months. I'm not expecting a total transformation (even though it would be soooo nice) but I do want to be able to see a difference in myself- so I will do a few different things.

First thing is to take a good look at where I am. Weigh and MEASURE myself. Around this time last year I lost 4-5 lbs within 4 weeks. I knew my body had changed a bit, but because I didn't measure I didn't really know how much. I want to change that this time. I want to make myself aware of the results from the work I've done. Maybe it will make me work harder.

I am revisiting Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred for the third time because I know it worked for me before. It is at least a starting point. I may choose to add some more things to my workout routine but I am going to begin with Level 1 of her DVD and work my way up from there.

Counting calories is a must for me. I have gone back to MyFitnessPal.com, this time via an app on my phone so it makes it even easier to track how many calories I've eaten each day and how many more I'm allowed to consume to stay within my goal. I am setting it to around 1200 calories per day, but not going too crazy to stick under it to starve myself. I don't believe in taking it that far. This girl has GOT to eat!

A new thing I am trying is having a smoothie in place of my breakfast. This is something I am working into- I won't cut out breakfast cold turkey because I don't want my body to hate me. The first smoothie I have made for this week is The Green Monster. It has banana, strawberries, orange, spinach, yogurt and ice. I will admit I am not a fan of spinach or plain yogurt at the moment but by adding about 1-2 Tablespoons of honey to the mix it comes together nicely. I made a big batch and froze servings to be able to eat through the week. I'll let you know how that goes and if the freezing ordeal works for me as I go along.

And last but not least- I want to keep up with it online. Blog.. vlog... just have some sort of daily check in.

So- where am I in all this?

My second day.

I started yesterday with a nice day one 30 Day Shred workout and kept my calorie intake down around 200 below my goal. By doing the workout it adds 200 calories to my allowance so I can technically eat 1400 calories per day and this helps a lot. 1200 is not much but I can add another snack or small meal because the calories I burned working out.

Today (Day 2) I have already worked out, finished my lunch and have over 800 calories left to eat so I am doing well. I did not get my smoothie in yet because I forgot to thaw it out last night (whoops!) so I may skip it until tomorrow morning. We will see. I feel like it is eyeing me from across the kitchen for the last hour. The green is a bit intimidating but it actually did taste good and I am as picky with my food as they come.

My video diary entry attempt yesterday failed. I was able to record some but kept getting interrupted and I didn't want to have to edit it much so I didn't finish it. I feel like by keeping something up online with how my days are going will make me stay consistent and help me see my progress so I really do hope I can keep it up. It may also help someone planning to do the same thing. Sharing whether or not this plan worked for me and how I liked it may be worth reading to someone else.

I'll get some info to share as well with how/where I am measuring, when I am weighing in, recipes for both smoothies and food I enjoy and anything else I feel would be beneficial to others.

Thank you for reading and I'm hoping to share more of this journey with you again soon :)