#NOtivation: All Aboard the Skinny Train!

Can you believe it is the third day of September already?!  Summer has come and gone and we're entering fall, my favorite season.  I love the cooler weather, the leaves changing colors, being able to enjoy hot chocolate, and football season.

I've decided that with the new month upon us it would be the perfect time to get back on the healthy lifestyle wagon.  Or maybe if you're like Mallory from Mal Smiles you refer to it as the skinny train.  Whatever you want to call it, I'm on it!

To look at the big picture, I'm joining Faith from 'Cause You Gotta Have Faith on her 90 day challenge.  It isn't a specific challenge where the goals are set for me already so I can make it whatever I want it to be.  I thought this would be perfect to help me kick start my trip on the skinny train.  So what are my goals for this 90 day challenge?

• Lose 13 pounds - I'm guessing that I'm back at 205 {or higher, gasp!} so if I lose 1 pound/week I will be at 192 pounds by November 30th.  With a BMI of 32.2 I am not only overweight but I am considered obese.  Losing weight is not optional, it has to be done for my health.  Of course there are other reasons why I want to lose weight but first and foremost is my health.  I want to be healthy.
• Make working out a habit - I have never made working out a habit before because I have never stuck with it for any length of time.  It takes just 21 days to form a long-term habit and now I want to stick with it for 90 days.  If working out isn't a habit of mine by the end of these next 3 months I did something wrong.
• Pay attention to what I'm eating - Since I'm just getting back on the skinny train I'm not looking to overhaul my diet just yet.  But that doesn't mean I can't pay attention to what I'm putting into my mouth.  I will start watching my portion sizes and paying attention to serving sizes.  This also includes working on my addition to Mountain Dew and increasing my water intake.

Now to back it down and take a look at September only I'm going to join Heather from Pretty Strong Medicine in her Sweatember Challenge.  Heather took the words right out of my mouth when she shared this in her Sweatember Challenge: Day 1 post, "The goal for this challenge is to make exercise/physical activity a mandatory activity in my life just like brushing my teeth, eating breakfast, etc..."

For me getting on the fitness train is the hardest part of getting on board with a healthy lifestyle.  Changing my diet or tracking what I'm eating is easier for me than working out on a consistent basis.  So I figure if I focus on fitness this first month of getting back on track with a healthy lifestyle it will make sticking with it long term that much easier later on.  During October my focus can be on my diet and I shouldn't need to worry so much about the fitness part because it will be a habit and just another mandatory part of my life.

Normally when I wrap up a post like this I would say "hopefully..." but this time there is no hopefully.  I will be committed to changing my lifestyle for the better.  I will stick to the Sweatember Challenge and the 90 day challenge.  I can do this!

I'm linking up for Curing #NOtivation for the first time.  I'm curing my #NOtivation by committing myself to challenges with other ladies who are also on their way to healthier versions of themselves.  And not only am I committing to these challenges but I am also making them public knowledge so all of blog world can hold me accountable!