Happy New Year!

2012 is going to be an amazing year. I can already feel it. Mayan Prophecies be damned I know it is going to be a great year. I have lots of goals and high hopes for this year. There are the typical average American goals. Lose weight, Get healthy, get organized blah blah. I also have other goals, getting better acquainted with God, being a better mom and wife etc. I am aiming really high but I don't only have high expectations this year, I have a plan. I spent every free moment the week before New Years laying out this game plan. I want to lose weight, how do I do that? I want to be healthy, what do I need? I clearly laid out a plan for each goal. I think this is necessary...goals are not achievable without a plan.

Since this blog is going to be focused on my weight loss goals that is the game plan I am going to focus on in this post. Everyone knows to lose weight and get healthy & in shape you need 3 things. Exercise, eating right & the discipline to do both. I will be honest, I am not one for discipline. I am more of a fly by the seat of my pants whatever I feel like doing that day kind of person. I dislike that very much and am going to become that disciplined person with a routine and the determination to get it done.

The first thing I did was get a journal. I looked at options & ideas online, on amazon and Pinterest. I am a very creative person and love to craft so when I came across SMASH* Journals (see below) I found my perfect journal. It is a fun way to scrap your life or in my case my fitness. Then I laid out my plan. Small goal to reach the bigger one. Goal one to complete 30 days of Jillian Michael's shred. One month dedicated to 30 minutes of exercise per day. Goal two transition to a Clean diet...first thing to eliminate sugar. These are two small things I can think about every day and not get overwhelmed. Next I decided I would tweet and blog what I was doing. This helps to keep me be accountable and liable for what I do and don't do. I am doing this with no followers of my blog and a few people following my tweets but the thought that one person may read it and see I am slacking is all the motivation I need to be accountable.

Now the fun stuff, here is my journal and what I have done so far. I started my goals a couple of days early after reading the "yesterday you said tomorrow" Nike quote. If not today when right?

The cover, I add little bits here and there when inspiration hits...

Page 1, with my goals listed all 10 of them. It had a fat piece of cake on it I covered it :)

Opening page to week one. I use a post it tab to label each week and start each one with a motivation page. The left is full of great pics and motivation I found on Pinterest. The right is my weekly goals, pics of me at the beginning of that week as well as motivation.

Days 1 & 2. Food log at the top, a bit of thought below and some motivation all around.

Current pages days 3 & 4.

Last but not least I found this really cool page near the back and so I decided to make it my reasons for losing weight. What you will not see on this list is so I will look better or feel better about myself. I already took that journey. I love myself already. I do have quite a few reasons so far, like so I am healthier and will live longer to see my kids grow, so I can wear my favorite things...leggins (lol) Some reasons are deep (like so I set a positive example for my daughter) some are shallow (see leggins) but they are all really true reasons and personal motivations. I recommend this !

This may be a bit more than you want to do for a food/fitness log but it is really fun for me and I am eager to fill my pages and just cut loose on it. A simple composition notebook with just your dailies written in works as well. I need things to be interesting, my life is fast paced and so is my creative brain. I always used colorful notebooks and pens in school because it made it interesting so I know it works for me. However, you must use a journal to succeed, no matter how simple or complex you chose to make it you absolutely have to have one. You need to lay your goals out in front of you and read them every day. Plan your course of action and stick to it. Fill it with uplifting quotes and reasons for losing weight. Commit.

I hope that in this blog and my journey I can motivate others to work toward their 2012 goals. It is going to be an amazing year!!! God Bless.