This is my goal.  I have decided that I want to lose 25 pounds by my 25th birthday. 

(source)

I will turn 25 on July 8th, and I’ve been doing a lot of reflection about what I’ve done over the past 1/4 century, as well as thinking ahead to how I want the next 25 years of my life to go.  One point always sticks in my head. 

“I don’t want to be this heavy anymore.” 

I’m tired of moving this extra weight around, and I’m tired of feeling winded after climbing the stairs at school, and I’m tired of being the size I am.  So instead of complaining about it, I’ve finally decided to get up and do something about it.  I worked it out, and it’s approximately 25 weeks until I turn the big 2-5, so the weight loss evens out to be about 1lb per week.  I’ve been slowly formulating this action plan in my head for the last few weeks, and incorporating small easy changes into my routines. 

My action plan – Food:

• Plan my lunches – We’re good at planning dinners, but I always neglect to plan my lunches to take to school, which leaves me scrambling for food in the morning, or buying something fast when I get there. 
• Snack more – I paid attention to my habits and noticed that I was always ravenous as soon as I got home from school.  This would lead to me stopping at a grocery store for some chips, or making a big batch of popcorn when I was home, stuffing my face, and then not being hungry for dinner.  By eating a snack at about 1:30 or 2, I can keep that hunger away until dinnertime.
• Eat at the table – Adam and I have made the commitment to eat dinner at the table as much as possible, instead of sitting in front of the TV.  This encourages us to be mindful of what we’re eating, and helps us tune into our ‘full’ signals faster.

My action plan – Fitness:

•  Booty Camp Fitness – I’m signed up for 6 more weeks of booty camp.  I’m really enjoying it (read  about it here, here, and here) and it’s helped me lose 5 pounds and over 18 inches since October.  This will be 2x per week.
• Gym – I have a gym membership that expires on March 1st.  I’m going to make the most of it and go 2x per week until them, to run and strength train. 
• Running – I haven’t run outside in ages, and I’m dying to get back out there.  I won’t run when there’s ice on the sidewalks and paths though, I’m way too much of a klutz to do that.  Hopefully by the time my gym membership runs out in March, it will be nice enough to get outside for my runs.  Due to an upcoming change in my work schedule, I can’t sign up for any races in advance, but I’m still aiming for at least 2 races this year. 
• Strength Training – I’m planning to use Susan’s Fitness Friday posts, and the Fitnessista’s wealth of workout inspiration to help me continue to build muscle and get strong. 

So that’s my plan.  Like I said, I’ve been working this plan around in my brain for a few weeks, and I really think I can do it.  I’ve already lost about 2lbs since the beginning of this year, and it feels like the more weight I lose, the easier it becomes to lose even more. 

Have you ever set a big life goal around a milestone birthday? I’d love to hear about it!  If you have any tips, tricks or comments about my plan, I’d love to hear those too.

Coming up later this week: before photos!