My diet plan

No, don't roll your eyes and run away! I promise it won't be a boring post. :)

I don't believe in setting goals that I can't guarantee I'll achieve given sufficient work. So I don't have any goals around finding an agent or getting a book deal. I DO have goals around how many agents I query and how much time and effort go into my books, because I can control those things.

So a weight-loss goal has always been very difficult for me. Training for half-marathons and so on? Not too bad, because there's a deadline date and I can see the result: can I run the distance or not? But weight loss is tricky. You can eat and exercise right and still not lose the precise number of pounds you want to lose.

So, after much thought today, I have a plan. From December 1st to February 28th, my diet and exercise are my number one priority. I will of course continue to work on my books, but my first task of each day is to make sure I am taking care of my physical well-being.

To do this:
a) I will adhere to the principles of the No S Diet. As the site's home page says, this diet involves: No Snacks, No Sweets, No Seconds, Except (sometimes) on days that start with "S" (which are Saturday, Sunday, and special days). I have tried this in the past, and I found it simple and easy to follow and I felt good on it. Why'd I stop? Why indeed. So I'm back. And you'll notice a little chart on the left-hand side of the blog, in which I will track how I do each day with my eating.

Green days on the chart are days in which I stuck to the rules. Yellow days are planned days off, weekends and special days. There will be a few more special days in December (Christmas with Mr. W, with my family, and with his family, plus New Years' Eve) but the other days'll be all green. If by chance I mess up (which I intend NOT to) that day'll be marked in red.

b) I will exercise two days in a row, then take the third day off, then repeat. Again, this has worked well for me. WHY I keep feeling the need to try to find a better system, instead ending up with nothing much, I do not know, but no more. One of these workouts will be a run (as I plan another half marathon in May) and the other will be primarily cardio with some weights. These workouts will all be at least 45 minutes long. (None of this is unusual for me: it's just the regularity that'll be a challenge.) I will also track the exercise on the left-hand side.

c) I will plan my meals for the week and ensure I've got good food for me and Mr. W to eat.

I do NOT intend to bore you good people to tears with this - nothing worse than someone who won't shut up about her diet - but I will post occasionally about how it's going.

And yes, I'll be doing it over Christmas. I'm sure that'll be tricky in some ways, but will also give me a great feeling of satisfaction WHEN I do it right. :)

Heather