The 2012 Fitness/Food Plan

Some of you may have been following my fitness updates from last year as I pursued a goal of hitting 2011 miles in the year 2011.  I posted weekly updates for about six months with updates on my number of miles and how my weight was going, etc.  Well...  I hurt my leg in July and basically just abandoned the whole thing.  I gave up.

Have you ever been there?

Quitting for a little while may be okay, but quitting for extended periods is out of the question.  So, I'm going to take the opportunity presented by the new year to make a new start on my fitness.  However, I'm making some significant changes in how I pursue fitness and health.

One thing I've learned is that I can't be as successful with those big, strenuous pushes toward huge goals anymore.  I'm just too susceptible to injury.  Whether it's my foot, my achilles, my knees, my hips, or my back, something is going to betray me if I push hard.  As a result, this year I'm going to make small, incremental efforts and look toward consistency instead of quick results.  I'm going to do this with both my physical training activities and my eating habits.

Here's the plan:

Physical Training:
I'm going to track 5 things.  Walking.  Push ups.  Sit ups.  Pull ups.  Squats.  I'm not going for big numbers, but just a little activity every day.  For example, in January, my goal is to walk one mile every day, and do five of each of the other activities everyday.  Just five.  Not five sets.  Five.  In February, I stay at one mile per day, but go to 10 sit ups, pull ups, and push ups, plus 8 squats.  Small monthly changes.  Never any big push.  Consistency is the key.

Food:
Each month I will have three things to think about.  A focus.  A change.  A fast.  I will have one issue to focus my attention and consider with each of my meals; particularly my meals out.  I will have one significant change that will happen within that month.  Finally, I will fast from some particular food item for the entire month.  I will have Saturdays off from the plan except for the fast item.  I will also be flexible around holidays, special events, and vacations.  My January focus is to look for something new and healthy to try in my meals.  The January change is to give up french fries.  Lastly, the January fast is from all cookies and candy.  In February, the focus changes to eating chicken, the change is to increase water intake, and the fast item is pizza.  Each month, those three areas change to something new, but after spending a full month on some issue, there will be a carryover effect that should create a sort of a snowball effect.

In the end, it will be a combination of the consistency and the effects of the cumulative changes that should bring me some results.  One more thing, I will only be weighing in about once per month.  I don't want to start chasing the scales.

I won't be posting regular updates, but if I tend to be successful, I will probably share about things from time to time.

Wish me luck.  I hope you have a healthy and successful 2012.