OK.. so I've set myself a mini-goal of losing 20 pounds by May 31st and here I am making this goal public, which we all know is a good way of making yourself accountable.

I went to tickerfactory.com to make myself a little goal tracker:



How I plan to reach my goal:

1. Eat healthier- basically follow the tenets of the South Beach diet and watch portion sizes.
2. Exercise- starting with 3 half-hour sessions a week of whatever exercise I choose. I will probably go between riding my bike, walking/jogging around the neighborhood and using my Wii Fit.
3. Hiking with Daniel on the weekends.
4. Drink more water than coffee :) This actually won't be too hard for me because those are the two main beverages I drink throughout the day and I usually stop the coffee after a few cups.
5. If it's within 3 miles, walk or ride the bike. This includes the park, the community center and the library. I need to go to the library tomorrow, so I will drive home, park the car, change clothes and then ride the bike there and back. The library is about 2.5 miles from my door so that will be 5 miles round-trip.
6. Jumping rope. Daniel and I started a jump rope challenge a few weeks ago, but we haven't followed through on it much. Basically, however many jump ropes I do, Daniel has to do twice that. That's pretty easy for Daniel though so I may have to change his side of the challenge to three times what I do!
7. No more random snacking! This is my biggest downfall.
8. I will no longer accept treats and snacks from friends and family members just because they offer it to me- I am not obligated to make other people happy by accepting unwanted calories. Since I'm making this public, anyone who is reading this should know that if you want to give me something, it should not include sugar or high-fat- how about a veggie tray instead? :)
9. I will choose an item of clothing from my closet that's just a little tight and try it on once a week so I can really tell what my progress is. Pounds lost don't mean as much as inches lost.
10. I have a referral from my doctor to get my blood sugar tested. I will go this Wednesday morning to get that done.

What you should do:

1. Ask me how I'm doing with my goal.
2. Not offer me high-fat, high-sugar treats or foods - Or understand I don't mean anything against you when I turn them down.
3. Join me! Come hiking with me, eat a healthy lunch with me.. whatever!

So there it is- I've declared myself publicly! I'll keep posting updates regularly so you know how I'm doing. If I haven't posted in a while or you want to check up on me, leave a comment or send me an email.