Self Spring Cleaning

I've cleaned and cleaned, scrubbed the walls, sprayed at stains on the carpets, shaken cat hair out of blankets and curtains and washed them, and ... time to spring clean ME. I decided to do this over the weekend, laying out my plan - diet, exercise, clothes. Little bits at a time so by summer in SIX weeks, a happier, calmer, maybe a few pounds lighter Abby can greet the warmer weather.

First up - food and drink - the first thing to go was my glass of wine in the evening. Empty calories add up and I've no room for that! I pulled out (most) of the junk food, keeping a little for treats and putting them in inconvenient places - ice cream buried in the freezer and cookies way up on a top cabinet shelf (I'm short and getting to them will be a pain). Next came really thinking and planning out my weekly meals - I spent an hour or so on Sunday chopping, grating and dicing peppers, mushrooms and veggies while cooking mini ears of corn, a bag of brown rice and baking chicken breasts. I love a bit of salmon mixed in my scrambled eggs so I chopped that as well, plus spinach. Now - no excuses for not eating good-for-me food. I'm drinking water like crazy - at least 8 oz every hour. I'm looking at the frequent bathroom breaks as adding steps to my daily total. :)

Second was exercise. I'll be honest here - I get bored REALLY easily when it comes to exercise. All those long programs by the fitness experts? Yeah, they're great, but by the second or third week (I've managed to get that far a couple times) I'm bored and thinking 'what's next?' Especially the ones that repeat the same routine every day - really? BORING! I flipped through the binders (yes, multiple) of the exercise DVDs I have and decided to focus on bellydance for at least six weeks - I have the BellyTwins and Rania Bossonis. Through in some yoga and maybe some walking (Leslie Sansone's Punch up your Walk - four miles is a fave), and I figured there would be enough variety to keep even my hop-skipping brain engaged. Soooo - I started Monday with Rania's Hip Hop Hip Drop. That was enough to make me realize I needed to do this slowly or my back would go 'nope, no good. We're outta here.' I walked 20 minutes at work on Tuesday and this morning I did the BellyTwins' Basic Moves and then Hip Drop. Much better. I'm going to do those this week to get the body 'warmed up and ready' and hopefully not let enthusiasm get the best of me.

Third - clothes - sigh. And shoes. Double sigh. But  really, I don't need or wear stuff from five years ago? It's in the way and I can't get to (or see) what I really want to wear. Or can. (I've still got a bit of winter poundage to lose.) The plan - every time I see something in the wardrobe or drawers that I haven't worn in a couple years, can't wear or am 90% sure I won't wear, it goes in a blue plastic bag. Same for shoes. Right now, I have a bag full of shoes and a half-full bag of clothes. Goodwill will love me in a couple weeks!

So, would you like to join me? Let's Spring Clean ourselves and get ready for summer!