My Family Fitness Plan for 2013 - Get Fit Feel Epic #GFFE

This is my entry for the ‘Get Fit Feel Epic’ competition hosted by Kate on Thin Ice

It's always good to try and plan how to get fit rather than just rushing in willy nilly although every year I set out with good intentions and usually fail! This is because I don't stick to the plan... 

2012 was a partial success as even though my weight didn't drop significantly I feel in better shape. So how do I manage to do it better in 2013? I need a workable plan that I can stick to whatever life throws at me...

My Diet

To lose weight I know that I have to consume less calories than I burn off. Its not rocket science but I don't manage to keep my calorie intake down often enough to make a difference. At my Rosemary Conley classes we are given plenty of advice on how having a low calorie, low fat and low GI diet I just need to pay more attention!

January is always the month when I am most successful at losing weight. I am so enthusiastic and determined that I stick to my goals. Its easy to ditch the junk and the alcohol for a month to help maintain the required low calorie intake. This year I'm boosting my chances by using the Hairy Dieters recipe book to provide me with healthy yet enjoyable meals. As its only me eating them I've had to adjust quantities but so far everything has been delicious:

If this is dieting then I'm going to find it much more enjoyable than previously! Tracking my intake through My Fitness Pal makes it much easier to see what I am doing and whether I can have anything else to eat ;-) 

Getting my children on board will help a lot too. This is easier with my 9 year old as she is more adventurous than her little brother. He knows what he likes and getting him to eat new things is too much like hard work. Once they are at school things will be easier as they will be having school dinners so will need less feeding at home! I have told them that I'm not buying any more naughty treats this month. The last of the crisps have gone and they are slowly getting through their Christmas chocolates. If there isn't rubbish around then I can't be tempted. One problem is my daughter is eating all the fruit ingredients I got in for the recipes! Looks like I need to get even more next week...

Exercise

This is something I was starting to get right last autumn. I joined my local leisure centre gym and as I had to go twice a week to get my money's worth I made sure I got there! Having an individual exercise plan from one of the instructors was worth the small extra payment too. Things weren't quite as good when I took on an extra job and had very little child free time to do more than my 2 sessions. 

My other regular exercise is my weekly aerobics which is part of my Rosemary Conley class. Luckily my parents babysit once a week allowing me to go. I did a week of the 30 Day Shred and it was making a difference to my waistline and abs but life got in the way especially when my children keep covering the front room in toys! 

What I need to do is schedule in my exercise to make it more regular. I also need to make sure the front room is clear enough for me to be able to workout at home. There are plenty of DVDs and Wii games that I possess to help me get fitter and burn off the calories I just need to use them. Just hope I don't need to set my alarm for an earlier time in the morning to fit it in as I'm not a morning person... Even just making sure I'm more active when doing housework and going about my every day life will all help.

Getting exercise with the children is also going to be an important part of me getting fit too. We need to get out together walking, cycling or swimming. Let's just hope that the weather in 2013 is drier than 2012! 

Support

It is almost impossible to successfully lose weight without support. I'm gathering as much as possible both in real life and online. Going to my Rosemary Conley classes provide great motivation and group support. Some of us are also supporting each other in groups on Facebook. Sharing blogposts with other people and charting the highs and lows is also very useful. The My Fitness Pal community is also very supportive.

So here is hoping that a) my plan for 2013 is a good one and b) I can stick to it.... Watch this space to see how I go and if I win the FitBit activity tracker and a set of smartscales from Kate then it will help keep me on track to getting fit and feeling epic! This is part of Money Supermarket's “Get Fit, Feel Epic” campaign