My plan to get back to a healthy lifestyle

Like many people, I’ve wrestled with my weight and lifestyle habits. There have been times of regular workouts but poor eating habits and times of great eating habits but no workout plan.

Last summer, I vowed to do something about it. After a bit of research online, I came to the conclusion that I already knew: If you want to lose weight, take in less calories than you burn.

From June to December of last year, I lost 30 pounds without doing the slightest bit of exercise. Mind you, I’m not advocating no exercise, but my point is simple: You can lose weight without exercising.

I’ll get more into what I did in a later post. For now, know that I did not starve myself. I ate regularly — four to five times per day — and sensibly.

For most people — myself included — the 30-minute workouts will do little to burn enough calories for weight loss purposes. If you want to lose weight through workouts, you have to be dedicated to a rigorous schedule.

Without getting into the debates of cardio vs. weights (a healthy combination of both is the way to go), exercise for me is not about weight loss. It is about building up my metabolism, being healthier and generally feeling better throughout the day.

Leo Babauta at ZenHabits just started a new blog to track his workout progress. Mind you, he is already a runner and in good shape. Were I where he is, I’d be happy.

After five months of slacking, not to mention gaining back seven pounds, I’ve decided to rededicate myself to getting healthy. Two recent posts from ZenHabits, the announcement of the Unbelievable Lightness of Being Club and 17 Tips to Help You Get Leaner and Fitter, were good inspiration.

Therefore, this is the first of a four-part series and regular blog posts. Here’s what I plan to do:

1. Background: What I’ve done before in weight loss and exercise, including more details about how I went from 205 lbs. to 175 lbs. in six months.

2. Goals: Weight loss, waist size, workout and morning routine.

3. Tracking: Blog, eating diary, etc.

4. Daily blog reports: The key to being successful is being vested. If I commit to telling the world about it, then perhaps the shame of failing will keep me going.

My next post will be in the morning after I exercise.

And by the way, I started out right this morning. I was up at 5 a.m. I rode my bike and did a light weight routine. I ate toast (plain) and yogurt for breakfast. (3 points if you are doing Weight Watchers.)