newfound determination

it occurred to me that those of you who read this little blog of mine may not know the multi-faceted reasoning behind my new exercise/healthy eating regimen. so, here's the scoop:

during a recent visit to my doctor, she suggested that i lose ten to fifteen pounds. according to her scale (and other doctors' scales over the past two or three years), i weigh 163 pounds*. after initial feelings of annoyance (and, yes, defiance), the following list of reasons to lose the weight came into my head:

1- simply put, i am not in good shape.
2- i've been saying for years that i want to work out regularly and eat more healthily. it's time i follow through.
3- as if i weren't set in my ways enough, it's just going to get harder to change my habits as i get older.
4- one day, david and i would like to be parents. better to get into shape and take care of myself now so i don't have to do it in a pinch as we await a child's arrival.

that list made, my goals are these:

1- lose the aforementioned ten to fifteen pounds.
2- exercise three to five days every week for at least an hour (to start).
3- eat healthier foods and watch my intake of the less-than-healthy.
4- cut out daily sweets.
5- drink more water.
6- get more sleep.
7- make a weekly/monthly menu in advance and shop for it (more on this later).

now, as long as i can keep from becoming this girl (thanks, cathy!), i think i'll be just fine:


* after some research and reading, i have learned that weighing oneself in the morning after "using the facilities" and before eating will give a more accurate reading. for me, this resulted in a weight of 158 pounds, as opposed to the 163-pounds-at-2-p.m.-in-the-
doctor's-office-with-my-clothes-on i thought i weighed.