the plan, in a really big nutshell

Exercise: Three days per week of cardio, two days of strength training. This is the minimum; anything else is just gravy.

Food: Don't eat like a jerk.

This one may require a little more explanation.

I have been on some kind of diet for most of my life. Usually I turn to Weight Watchers, because I know how it works and over the years I've built up an encyclopedic knowledge of points values that is, to be honest, a little terrifying. But I've counted calories, too. I've never done the low-carb thing, because hello? Bread is not called the staff of life for no reason. (Also, being a vegan on Atkins is probably some kind of military-grade torture. There is only so much tofu or seitan a girl can stomach.)

Anyway, the point is that I, like many, many women, have a pretty fucked up relationship with food. I count points until I slip up, and then I stuff every morsel of food in the tri-county area into my face like it's my damn job for about a week as... what, compensation? Punishment? It's ridiculous. So my goal regarding food is simple: eat like a normal person. I'm not stupid. I know what's good for me and what's not. Listen to my body, feed it healthy food when it's hungry, and if I want a cocktail or a chocolate bar on occasion then so be it. A life without junk food is not a life worth living.

So! That's the plan, for now. I did some strength training this morning, although not as much as I probably should have. Because you know what? I kind of hate strength training. It's so repetitive and boring. But it does get results, so I'll suffer through.