Today is June 1st, and you know what that means: time to get my beach bod on, haha! No, but seriously, since starting college, my weight has been an issue, always up and down, but never down far enough where it was before I started college. With a BMI of 27 I am considered overweight. I am interested in losing weight this summer for a couple reasons:

• Becoming healthier
• Feeling better

I want to do it for all the right reasons, and none of the fad-diet malarkey; I want to make small goal-oriented steps to make my weight loss dream a weight loss reality. In today's world of appearance obsession, its easy to say that I'm just jumping on the band-wagon, but I think I can safety say that I am doing this for my health and not because I have a poor self-image of myself. 

Here is the rundown of where I am at:

My goal is to lose 12 lbs

My weight now is 208 lbs

My target weight is 196 lbs

I have three months (12 weeks), I can safely lose a lb a week and keep it off for good! If I lose more than 12 lbs, I have exceeded my goal and I will be that much happier.

Diet

I am a vegetarian and consume very little eggs and dairy (almost a vegan). I typically eat a balanced meal with 2 servings of fruit a day and more than 5 servings of vegetables a day, usually dark leafy greens and colorful veggies (carrots, tomatoes, etc...) My protein comes from beans, legumes, nuts, tofu, soy milk, and rarely eggs and dairy.

• Add more fruit
• Cut empty calories (soda, candy, etc.)
• Even more legumes (so healthy!)
• Cut alcohol (this will be for my health in more ways than one)
• And something I've been wanting to do for a while: I've been trying to reduce the stimulants in my diet, so I want to switch from coffee to green tea. Green tea is rich in antioxidants and fat-burning chemicals. Also, when I drink green tea, I don't add cream or sugar to it (something I brought back from Japan)

Exercise

Now, this is going to be the hard part. I wouldn't call myself lazy, but I just really don't like to feel pain. I do like to exercise, but things like P90X, Brazilian Butt Workout, and all those other high-intensity exercise programs are not my cup of tea. I mean, they are effective in losing weight, but given my weight loss goal, I don't think it is necessary to do that kind of program. The CDC recommends 150 minutes of moderate activity a week, or 75 minutes of high intensity activity a week. For losing weight, they recommend double these numbers. What I think I am going to do, because I'm kind of a lax guy is these things:

• Cardio - jogging around the parks, jumping jacks, dancing, etc.
• Resistance training - weight lifting (I just got an 8 lb set of dumbbells), not too much, but enough to feel a burn
• Yoga - for cultivating relaxation, flexibility, and mediation
• Getting active in small ways - taking the stairs, walking to the store (when possible) etc.

So there you have it! I think this sounds like a pretty solid plan, but if anyone has suggestions, please comment below and let me know! I hope to show everyone that I am the type of person, when I set my mind to it, that can complete any reasonable goal! <3