The plan is not to have a plan: 174.8

After a lot of reflection, I've realized that the very essence of the problem with my fitness plans is that they are plans and I am a perfectionist. My personal motto that I coined myself when I started college is, "Do it 100% or don't waste your time." It has served me well in most areas of my life, but not with fitness.

The problem is that the second I do something that I perceive as violating "The Plan," I throw the plan out the window. I don't give myself room to make mistakes, which is a huge no no in fitness.

So my new plan is not to make a plan!

I am a teacher, and I am constantly setting goals with my students and celebrating their progress. I need to do more of the same with myself. I am not forbidding myself from doing anything, I'm not counting calories, I'm not requiring exercise. All I am doing is setting goals and tracking my progress.

I already like the plan.

I created a bar graph that I shade in every time I ride 10 miles. I'm aiming for 240 miles a month to reach my 2,500 goal by the end of the year. Sometimes I only feel like riding 5 miles, so I shade in half a  bar, no biggie. I've got a place for tally marks for number of times I had fast food as well as a space at the bottom of each month to track my weight.

I don't officially start until February, but I'm already in the mentality and have gone 15 miles towards my goal. I also didn't go out to eat today because I didn't want to add a tally mark to my chart.

It's amazing what little things can do.

My husband asked if there's a reward for me. I thought about it and I am not planning one. My reward is that I will look and feel great. If there's an extrinsic reward, I'm bribing myself. If it's intrinsic, I'm changing my lifestyle and mindset for the better. The latter sounds much better to me.

How I felt last night after an hour of biking.