Am I Up To The Challenge?

My weight has been a disappointment to me for years and, yet, I've done nothing about it. My clothes don't fit right, I'm lazy, sluggish, and I'm tired of feeling like I'm invisible. (Yes, ironically, the bigger you become the more invisible you become. People just do not treat you the same.) I'm tired of thinking about being fat all the time. So, I'm issuing a challenge to myself to be healthier for the 31 days of July. They say it takes 3 weeks for a habit to form....here's hoping.

These things always have a set of rules or guidelines to help schlubs like me along, here's what I came up with so far. I'll add to the list as I go along and see fit:

The 31 Day Be Healthier Challenge

1) Absolutely Nothing Deep Fried!!!!    Rule number one because deep fried = garbage as far as diet is concerned. Good-bye mozzarella sticks.

2) Don't even think about extra cheese.  Enough said.

3) Banish the take-out.  Although there ARE healthier take-out options around, they never seem to be the ones chosen.

4) More Water!  I understand the need even though I will spend half of my day in the can.

5) Utilize the French Market for produce.  It's local, it's healthy, and it will help increase my fruit and veggie intake. I am constantly amazed at how little I eat of these items.

6) Be creative and cook at home.  Using what is obtained above.

7) PORTION CONTROL!!!    This is probably my biggest problem area. The amount of food I can put away in a sitting is sometimes astonishing.

8) At least 30 minutes of exercise a day.  This exercise will probably be walking for me. I'm saying 30 mins. because that's probably all I'll be able to handle in the July New Orleans heat. And then there's the fact that I'm incredibly out of shape and lazy.

9) One diet soda a day.  Need to get away from artificial sweeteners. And see # 4.

10) Less beef (and pork).  I have totally disassociated myself from the fact that what we buy in the store is actually sweet natured animals. When I see them, my stomach turns in disgust with myself for eating them. They break my heart.

11) Minimize Alcohol.  Not a problem for me. It just doesn't hold the same appeal that it did in my youth.

12) Deal with my affinity for sugar.  Another of my problem areas that needs major work. I am one of those people who looks at the dessert menu first when in a restaurant. I have a sweet tooth, what can I say?

13) With all of that being said, Allow myself the occasional treat.  I can not, and will not, be totally deprived. Life is just too short.

So there it is. My challenge to myself. Let me say here that this is not supposed to be a self-imposed quick weight loss bootcamp. I'm not even weighing myself at the start ( I don't own a scale). It's about being healthier and not looking at a vegetable as if it were a foreign object. I need to do something to show some love for myself. Plus, I have my BFF coming down next month and I want to have the energy to enjoy and experience her time here. I start tomorrow. You can too......are you up to the challenge?