The Daily Burn - Prologue

Over the past several years I have made MANY attempts to lose weight and get into better shape (preferably a non oval-based shape). I failed to do so, more times than I care to admit. Even recently when we moved to CA, I promised myself that I would workout every other day, eat healthier, and swim at least 5 days a week. I have not swam once this week, and today is the first time in a week that I've been to the gym. Not to mention the fact that I've eaten out or gotten something from a fast food chain 3 times this week. That's definitely not the kind of life I want to live. What I've come to realize is that I've never had anyone to hold me accountable, other than myself. My husband couldn't care less, because he doesn't think I need to lose weight or get into better shape, because round is a shape, after all. So I've decided to reach out to the one group you don't have to pay (unlike trainers) for support, encouragement, recommendations, and ruthless criticisms (we all know it's true)... the internet. My plan is to post to the blog, The Daily Burn, at least once every day. Anyone who's seen my other blog, "Me Myself and I", may be wondering why I didn't decide post there instead.  In short, I wanted a place dedicated to keeping tab on my progress, to further help me feel held accountable for my daily habits and efforts. These posts will talk about what I ate that day, my workout (for the days I work out on, which hopefully will be every day), and humerus anecdotes should there be any that day.

My planned workout schedule:

Monday - Cardio
Tuesday - Weights + Minor Cardio
Wednesday - Cardio
Thursday - Weights + Minor Cardio
Friday - Cardio
Saturday - Weights + Minor Cardio
Sunday - Cardio

Strictly cardio days (Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday) can be either on a machine, free running, or swimming. But for weights days, It'll either be in the gym or using Xbox Fitness. The plan is to workout everyday for at least 60 minutes

Here's my general plan for meals:

Breakfast: Cereal and fruit, or an egg on a whole grain "half bagel" (Thomas' Half Bagels have quickly become my favorite types of bagels!) with light cream cheese.
Snack: Not sure, probably something light from Nature Box or fresh fruit/veggies.
Lunch: Salad with various fresh or thawed organic produce and light dressing with fruit on the side, or a grain mix (barley and quinoa mostly) with grilled veggies (again, organic) and fruit on the side.
Snack: Not sure, probably something light from Nature Box or fresh fruit/veggies.
Dinner: This will probably depend on the day, but it will follow similar guidelines as above, with the possibility of pasta or tofu (I'm a vegetarian).
Snack: Not sure, probably something light from Nature Box or fresh fruit/veggies.

As can be observed above, dinner really will very. However, I'm typically very consistent about my breakfast and lunches as I do not eat too much, so that (hopefully) I can start eating snacks in-between meals, as many health and fitness professionals suggest doing. The other thing I'll note, is dinner; Many recommend having one "cheat day" or one "cheat meal" per week. To fulfill this, I will use our weekly date-night as my cheat day. It will most likely usually just be a cheat meal, but sometimes we do dinner and a movie.

Two things I know I need to/probably should do:

• Buy a scale. The last time I weighed myself was about 3 months ago, and I weighed 207 pounds.
• Buy a fitness tracker to help keep better track of my activities. Any recommendations would certainly be appreciated. :) 

This is my "rough" plan of what I will be doing for the next 6 months, at least. It will change as needed, but I'm hoping to mostly stick with this kind of a plan. The first workout post will be up shortly.