I've mentioned before my smiley-face-sticker-strategy ("SFSS") for motivating my lazy ass to get to the gym. Basically, every time I go to the gym and burn a set amount of calories, I get a smiley face. If I burn double that set amount, I get a star. (There aren't too many stars on there.) If I get there twice in one day and meet my goal both times, I get two stickers. I put them on my monthly calendar I have hanging above my desk in my apartment, and when I see more than two or three days go by without a sticker, I start to feel guilty. So far, the plan has been working pretty well... I go to the gym more frequently now than I did before implementing the SFSS.

However, I'm still not seeing the results I'd like to see. I'm sure that has something to do with (a) the fact that I don't plan my meals in advance so I end up just snacking (although mostly healthy stuff) all night long, rather than eating a balanced dinner, and (b) I really have just been meeting my minimum calories-burned requirement for the gym.

So, in order to drop those ten extra pounds I managed to pack on since this time last year (we'll work on the remaining ten extra pounds I put on the year before that later... baby steps), I have to make some changes. First, I am upping my minimum requirement of calories burned in order to get a sticker. And, if I can manage to get 20 smiley stickers for the month, I'm going to treat myself to something fun. (Not sure what yet, but something.) Second, I am adding a new sticker for doing weight training at the gym. (It'll have to be a heart sticker, since the smileys and the stars that came in my pack are already claimed.) Third, I signed up for this to plan three or four dinners a week, which I am super excited about. I already bought the groceries to make four of this week's dinners. Hopefully eating regular dinners will mean that I won't snack so much at night, but I am also going to try to be very mindful of the extra calories I absent-mindedly consume after 9PM. (I even bought super strong mint gum to help out with that.)

Aside from my weight-loss goal, I have also decided to motivate myself by signing up for some races. I am going to sign up for the Race for the Cure 5K here in DC in June, and then hopefully for the Marine Corps Marathon 10K (like I could do a full marathon anytime soon... yeah, right) in October. I know I could go out and run a 5K right now if I was so inclined, but a 10K? I've never run that far without stopping ever in my life. So that'll actually be a bit of a challenge for me. I know I can do it, it's just going to take some real motivation for me to get there. And it's not even physical fitness... I could probably do it tomorrow (albeit, painfully) if I had to. It's really about the mental stamina more than anything else. But if I am ever going to run a real marathon, I've got to get over the boredom factor.

Plus, runners can eat anything and look great. Who wouldn't love to be able to do that?