Around March, I started noticing a few of my regular blog reads posting fitness goals and talking about eating healthy and exercising more. Cool, they want to get in shape; good for them! That was the extent of my thinking about healthy eating and fitness. But as I saw more and more postings showing up in my Bloglovin feed devoted to these two topics, it made me re-evaluate my own habits and body (as I shove two mini tootsie rolls in my mouth at once).

Blogs I didn’t expect to see posting about fitness and health were now all about it. These ladies were the reason I finally put my own foot down and am deciding to take control of my health and well being. So Kelly, Raven, Whitney, Melissa, and Tyler…thank you for giving me the push that I needed!

The summer skirts and shorts are feeling a little bit more snug and the super cute tanks don’t fit as nice when there’s a little extra in the mid section. As much as I would love a brand new wardrobe (and really, what girl wouldn’t??), I don’t have either the money or the ambition to buy a size bigger than my usual. Now if I was going a size down, I WOULD FIND the money but that’s a whole different conversation if it comes to that! (It will…right?)

Toward the beginning of this week, Lauren Conrad had a post on getting healthy and fit (see? I told you everyone is talking about this business everywhere these days) and after going through it probably 5 or 6 times (it takes time for me to comprehend not eating chips or ice cream), I’ve decided to incorporate her tips along with other ideas I already had planned to present to you…

You guys. You know what I’m talking about right?! That inevitable food baby that comes after you eat too much. Except you eat too much every time and it’s permanently there now? Please please please tell me I’m not the only one with this problem! I suck it in really well but it’s getting a little old so I have spent DAYS preparing this plan for you! (Okay, maybe it was only two hours or so but saying days sounds so much better doesn’t it?) We all remember Tone It Up Tuesdays right? Yeah that series didn’t last long so don’t feel bad if this is your first time hearing about it. Unlike TiuT though, I am not going to give a weekly check-in with this fitness plan. That’s practically setting myself up for failure. Ohhhhh the pressure! Instead I’ll be checking in the first and third Monday of the month. I don’t want to go overboard with fitness posts but I do still want to keep myself accountable. I am not nor will I ever be a fitness guru. I’m not going to try to compete with all the other incredible fitness and health blogs out there that know WAY more than me but I do want to stay on track and be able to discuss my progress. Let’s hope there is actually some to discuss! Come to think of it, I started gaining weight when I made a huge blog change and this became Read, Eat, Create. Hmm…a little ironic dontcha think?!

So what exactly does this plan consist of? Here we go…

Part One: Food

1. Drink lots of water! You’re supposed to consume half your body weight in ounces of water per day. We all know I have problems drinking water, so I am going to use the incentive of every day I reach this goal, I am putting a dollar into a jar. Mind tricks are fun!

2. Trading certain foods for a healthier option. This chart that my friend Stephanie made is terrific for this!

3. Choosing healthier snack options. I work at an office job so I am constantly snacking throughout the day. Here’s a short list of things I’m going to trade my junk food snacks out for.

4. Choose one meal from every category every day (this was one of the big parts I took from Lauren Conrad post…I love that she included this!).

Breakfast Options

• Any of the options from the Busy Girl Breakfasts post
• Overnight Oats
• Ezekiel toast topped with 2 sliced up hardboiled eggs served with half of a grapefruit
• Perfect Morning Quinoa
• Egg white veggie omelet
• Slim Down Protein Pancakes

Lunch & Dinner Options

• Any of the options from the Busy Girl Lunches post or Busy Girl Dinners posts
• Rosemary grilled chicken with a side of oven-roasted carrots
• 1 Stuffed Bell Pepper
• Portobello Turkey Burger
• Two slices of cauliflower crust pizza with a side of steamed veggies
• Apricot chicken with a side of quinoa
• Salad with mixed greens, ½ avocado, 1 handful of cherry tomatoes, 1 sliced cucumber, ¼ cup slivered almonds, ½ cup cooked quinoa (mix together olive oil, balsamic vinegar, lemon, salt and pepper for the dressing)
• Pasta-less Spaghetti
• Chicken wrap with mango, basil and mint
• Baked Tofu Veggie Rolls served with ½ cup of brown rice
• 1 cup of your favorite low sodium, organic soup served with a side of steamed vegetables
• So Fresh & So Lean Tempeh

**OR**

I just bought this book and have been drooling over all the healthy living recipes Gwen shares so I’m sure I’ll be going back and forth between Gwen’s recipes and Lauren’s plan!

5. No soda.

6. No white bread or fried foods.

7. No sugar (candy, brownies, cookies, cakes…all the stuff that people bring to work all the time…this is going to be the worst one!).

8. Don’t lose sight of your goals. I am making a small goals list everyday so it will result in the big goal eventually!

9. Have one cheat day (this is definitely for me…I can’t do this without at least a little indulgence)!

Part Two: Fitness

1. Have two different workouts. One per week and alternate so your body never gets used to the same routine (<- look at that, I almost know what I’m talking about).

• I’m going to do this DVD. There’s three different levels on this workout plan so as you progress you’re going to be moving up levels.
• Instead of doing this workout every day though, I’m going to do this four days a week and two days a week I will be running 45 minutes or biking for 90 minutes. I’m also going to be doing 50 sit ups in the morning and at night and 60 second plank every morning and night.

2. Have one rest day.

3. Stay consistent. Every time I think of not working out one day, I’m just going to repeat the first quote. I love the 4, 8, 12 rule! Never would have looked at it that way!

Now that I’m reading through this again, I’m worried that I’m getting too ambitious. Eeks! I’m going to try my damn hardest and if I can do this for 12 weeks I’ll be fine. 12 weeks is nothing! I can do anything for 12 weeks! Good gracious I started the pep talks already! I plan on starting this on Monday (I have two concerts this weekend and a cookout…you better believe I’ll be indulging this weekend before this new plan of action) so at least I have the weekend to clean out my pantry and eat get rid of all the naughty foods! Once Monday comes, you can bet your bottom dollar I’ll be posting pictures throughout my journey. Follow along if you don’t yet, username readeatcreate!

I would love to hear if any of you are on any health or fitness plans to get bikini body ready! Maybe we can encourage each other!