30 By 30 & The Basics of Weight Loss

I weighed in today and, while I’m not at my peak weight (not graphed), I am approximately the same weight as when I joined Spark People back in 2009.  The weight has crept back on slowly over the last 3 years:

WeightGraph2013-12-26

I’m not surprised, I knew it was happening.  I haven’t been in a good place to stop it or get rid of it again but that is okay.  Is now the right time?  Who knows!  I didn’t know it was the right time when I lost it before.  I just did the right things and the weight came off.

Another thing that really helped was having a huge goal.  I was already motivated but needed an end point.  At the time, I had signed up for a 5K with a friend even though I had barely run a step since high school!  But I made the goal and I worked my butt off to complete it.  So this time around, I need another new goal, a big goal, something scary – just like the thought of running a 5K was to me before.

I had toyed with the idea of this goal in the past but it was too scary to do.  Then a friend said she was doing something similar and being the team player, friend-supporter that I am, I said why not? and set my goal:

30By30

When is my 30th birthday?  June 13, 2014 – 169 days from today.  That is:

  • 24 Weeks
  • 5 Months, 18 Days
  • 4056 Hours

What is 30 pounds by then?

  • 105,000 Calories Burned
  • 1.25 Pounds per Week
  • 183.5 Hours of Jogging

That is quite the lofty goal!  But like I said, I need something big, something daunting, something that scares me a little bit.  This intimidates and motivates me more than small goals set more often.

So how am I going to do it?  Well, just like I did before, but now that I have been successful before, I have a handful of guidelines I use that I consider my Basics of Weight Loss

BasicsWeightLoss

Of course, all these statements are a little vague but that is because they can be different for everyone.  For me:

  • Exercise Often:  That will boil down to about 5 times a week at 30 minutes a pop for me.
  • Strength Train:  This one is self-explanatory but I felt the need to put it in there because a lot of people (women especially) forget to do this when they are trying to lose weight (burn fat!)
  • Eat Enough but Not Too Much:  That is about 1400-1600 calories per day for me, depending on daily activity levels.
  • Eat the Right Foods:  I will start with Clean Eating but I lean more toward a Paleo Diet style for health reasons.
  • Hydrate:  I’ll shoot for 8 glasses (64 ounces) of water each day.
  • Track Your Food and Activity:  I’ll be using MyFitnessPal and FitBit for this (I’m sugirl06 – add me!)
  • Reward Yourself with Non-Food Items:  Sometimes you need to pat yourself on the back for a job well done, but don’t do it with cookies or ice cream (that sounds messy too).
  • Make Goals:  I already covered my big goal but setting small weekly or monthly goals will help too.
  • Find Support:  I have a Clean Eating Challenge I am part of for the month of January.  I also have many health and fitness groups that I can go to for accountability.  I also have a few friends that I email regularly for support, and finally, I have my blog!

Those will be my basic rules to get me started.  Now, I just have to execute them!  I’ll be giving a little 30 By 30 update each week to stay accountable.  Hopefully this will be the goal I need right now to get me back on track!

What are your goals for 2014?

9 thoughts on “30 By 30 & The Basics of Weight Loss

  1. You have a great plan in place, I have no doubt you will reach your goal by your 30th birthday!!! My biggest goal (fitness wise) and main focus in 2014 right now is to stay healthy so I can cross the finish line in Boston healthy and happy on April 21st!

  2. OH I KNOW YOU CAN DO THIS!!!! You’ve done it before, you can do it again and you can KEEP IT OFF this time around! You have the perfect mindset and we are all here to cheer you on/offer you advice, etc!! You seriously know how to do this! 🙂 A great goal for the new year!

  3. I love your “lose 30 pounds by your 30th birthday!” So fun! I’m sure you can do it too. I love all your guidelines. They are perfect. I always try to remind myself that I’m in it for the long haul and it’s a lifestyle, not just a quick fix. Just keep pluggin’ along and I’m sure you’ll reach your goal by June. Good luck!

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