The Plan

Awesome health, wellness, and fitness blog from an amateur-expert duo who have tried it all.

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What Laughter Can Do for You Infographic

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Drop over and say hi on Twitter.  We would love to see how you're doing with your resolutions on 2014 day 3!

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Got a pair of these from Santa this year.  Very awesome.

-PlanLady

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Love this blog so much. PlanMan recommendation: the Skinny Green Monster smoothie for breakfast.

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This doc changed A LOT of the things I thought about food.  Have a look and, maybe, open yourself up to clean eating.  PlanMan approved.

Stick to the plan,

PlanLady

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I spent the holidays at my parents’ house. I got there in the early afternoon on Christmas Eve, and left just before lunch on Boxing Day. Before going, I had spent some time thinking about what I could expect there (food, drinks, naps), and decided that for Christmas – Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, specifically – I wouldn’t count calories, worry about workouts, or concern myself with modified food products. And that is exactly what I did. Worse, even, than the food dramas on December 20, Christmas at my parents’ was decadent to the extreme. I ate sticky cookies my mom had baked, and drank sweet wines that my dad had made. I raided the pantry for chocolate in the morning and at night. I ate fried bread soaked in molasses, and drank hot cocoa, I chomped on salty bacon and licked at homemade jams, I sampled beers and flavored coffees. My brother roasted nuts and tossed them in sugars and I took whole handfuls from the bowl while we opened gifts. My sister-in-law brought rich home made cranberry sauce and I piled it on top of my turkey. Some of what I ate was clean, most of it wasn’t. And, at the end of Christmas Day, I felt very heavy indeed. But, I didn’t panic. I had decided this. I had given myself permission, prior to leaving, to eat all the things I wanted. Even when my ring wouldn’t fit, and I had to pack it, rather than wear it, or when my skin started to suffer from the sudden onslaught of toxins, I didn’t panic. I was aware of the potential consequences of allowing myself to free fall in to the holidays, and I accepted each one. I arrived back home to see that my driveway had been completely filled with snow while I was gone. Much as I hated the thought of shoveling, I also didn’t. It was a good motivator to get me moving again after a couple of days of laziness. It worked, as well. More snow today hasn’t given me a single second thought about running this morning. I will do both, and feel better for it. Plans for a yoga class tomorrow also have me feeling confident about the next few days. And I’ve come back to the comfortable nutritionally clean place I had left before Christmas, as well. And all the new gizmos my family gave me have made me very excited to become even more adventurous in the kitchen in the coming months. I haven’t been able to step on the scale, though. I will wait and, like I did on January 1, 2013 – 120 pounds heavier, and a world more worry on my shoulders – I will start my plan for the year. Knowing, now, how much I am capable of changing in a twelve month period powers me to do even more. Stick to the plan, ~PlanLady

BrainDrain: New Perspectives, December 27, 2013

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This is the first Christmas since... ever... that I haven't completely adopted the holiday season for all it's melty, sticky, sugary, glory. And it is HARD. Had a really great day with work friends celebrating Christmas together before we all break for the holidays to spend time with our families. Brownies, brittle, bacon: I ate it all. Now I'm guilty, and more than a little bloated. Should I have passed on the sweet offerings of my dear coworkers? The brownies were incredible, stuffed with pecans and smothered in chocolate and caramel that stretched and wrapped around my fingers after each bite. They were moist, and gooey, and exactly as delicious as I had imagined them to be when they were presented. The brittle, too, was amazing. Salty and sweet with just enough satisfying crunch to make each bite feel like a triumph. And breakfast. We cooked together - all the starchy, savoury breakfast necessities - and ate a massive feast around our boardroom table. I tried to stay light, where breakfast was concerned, but the sweets I could not resist. Was this, perhaps, the biggest mistake I've made, food-wise, in 2013? Not even at my brother's wedding, when I said I was 'taking the week off', did I eat this many wild carbohydrates at one time. And that includes the vanilla wedding cheesecake. Have I fallen off the wagon? Is my guilt founded? Or do I get a pass for the holidays? Should I just start over in January like everyone else? I think no. A quick pep talk from PlanMan, with a reminder that 'your body doesn't know it's Christmas', and I am back in the game. I have forgiven my transgressions from this afternoon - another of PlanMan's credos: what's done is done - and I have laced up and will use this tingly sugar rush I'm feeling to power me through a hearty Friday night run (incidentally, my favourite kind of run - don't dismiss the power of a long jog after a long week, especially at this busy time of year). I'm planning to focus my menu on juices (via my juicer) tomorrow, and hopefully I will flush away any negativity I have created within my cells today. I'm confident this day will not impact my body, or plan, too greatly. My body may not know it's Christmas, but it certainly knows today was a surprise and a shake up. And maybe I like that. What body doesn't like to be surprised with a naughty shake-up every now and again? Stick to the plan, ~PlanLady

BrainDrain: Holiday Sweetnesses, December 20, 2013

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REMINDER: You're a Champ.

Every tiny move you make toward a healthier lifestyle should be celebrated.  All those moves add up, and before you know it, you’ve turned one hundred and eighty degrees from the thoughts and activities that had kept you from being your happiest and healthiest.  No matter what changes you want to make – weight loss, fitness, nutrition – or how large, each positive step you take is bringing you closer.

Recognize the hiccups, though, as well.  In the same way that you recognize your triumphs, owning your discretions is equally important.  If you make a choice that goes against the nutritional plan you have decided for yourself, for example, take time to understand why it was you chose to do so.  Does the menu you set out for yourself need tweaking to ensure your comfort?  If you’ve caved to a craving, would there have been anything within your eating plan that would have satisfied you?  You will learn a lot about yourself as you do this; there will be aspects of your motivations that you may not have been so aware of before, and recognizing these will help you adhere to your plan.

Kick the modesty to the curb, as well.  There’s no need to be modest with yourself.  Exult yourself with each piece of chocolate your turn away, each glass of water you drink, or each staircase you choose instead of the elevator.  Likewise, explore yourself with each workout you skip, or every glass of pop you drink.  Take nothing you do, while you’re in this transitional stage, for granted.  These are helpful habits to form and, as you continue to congratulate yourself, and learn more about yourself, you will love your new life more and more. 

Stick to the plan,

~PlanLady

Says PlanMan: “Set attainable goals.  The milestones you set may not feel near enough to your end point, but the feeling of success is an important motivational factor in eventually reaching your desired outcome.  New goals can be set all the time, as successes are achieved.”

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Helpful Links!

Basal Metabolic Rate Calculator

Caloric Burn Calculator (by exercise)

Body Fat Calculator

Info on Calculators

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Wheatgrass to start the year and clear away anything residual from NYE.

[Image recycled from Instagram - check us out there! Instatheplan]

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About Us...

The Plan: Your unique design for a new way of living that excites you, and suits your lifestyle. 

Not to be confused with, or associated to, the book, this blog is meant to be a place for inspiration, information, and celebration of healthy lifestyle choices.  Here, we hope to use our experiences with health, nutrition, fitness, and wellness to help you find your way to make positive changes in life, and create a framework to maintain those changes for years to come.

There is always a goal in mind when the decision is made to participate in a healthy life change.  Whether interested in weight loss, or increasing fitness levels, everyone who commits any change is aware of where they wish to eventually be.  The best way to acquire any goal is to create a plan; an action scheme that will help guide the way.  With a world of resources and information available online, anyone can make a fairly informed decision regarding how their plan will take shape.  Whatever form it does become, though, it’s important to stick to it. This is where we hope to help: by providing our own stories, advice, and encouragement.

We’ll strive to make at least one new post per week and provide a little commentary about our own progress with goals (BrainDrains) as well. 

Hopefully, together, we can all make our health and wellness wishes come true.

Who we Are:

PlanLady:

I am an amateur when it comes to nutrition and fitness.  Following a New Year’s resolution – January 1, 2013 – to lose some weight, I successfully managed to take off 120 pounds!  Today I am healthy, happy, and excited to share my weight loss trials and tribulations so you can avoid making some of the same mistakes.  I eat clean, and my fitness interests include running and weight training.  You’ll hear from me most – it is my January 1, 2014 resolution to keep moving my healthy lifestyle to the greater levels - so I hope we can help each other, and you enjoy this blog!

 Plan Man:

He is the expert.  Formerly an Olympic hopeful, he has competed at some of the highest levels in judo, wrestling, rugby, swimming, tennis, and competitive sailing.  He has over thirty-five years of participation in the sport world, and is here to provide his thoughts, opinions, experiences, and knowledge to keep us all on track.  Currently his workout focuses are on cardio by way of running, cycling, and boxing, and weight training using both free weights and body weight techniques.

Says PlanMan: “Though I have only minimal education in nutrition or kinesiology, I have had the good fortune to train with, and be trained by, some of the world’s leading athletes and coaches.  I will use that experience and training to offer whatever help and advice I can.”