Resolution to Plan

Yesterday, a friend asked me the very benign & New Year appropriate question: "What's the plan for next year?"  My brain immediately went into scope creep mode.  Plan for...my continued shedding of pounds?  ...necessary improvements on the house?  ...my kids?  ...an exotic vacation?  ....a million dollar idea?  ...convincing Dave we need another dog?  ...saving for kids' college?  ...planting a garden?  ...cutting my hair short?  ...organizing my closets?  ...learning how to knit?  ...becoming an astronaut? 

When I finally rerouted my brain back to reality, I'm sure we had been sitting silent for the better part of a minute & I sputtered out something about training for my first 5K in the spring.  Which, yes, is part of "the plan."  Since then I have been thinking about plans vs. resolutions.. 

I've set resolutions nearly every year & they are always broken by the end of March.  "I'm going to lose weight."  "I'm going to drink more water."  "I'm going to walk to work."  The problem with most of my resolutions is that I had the what, I just didn't have the how.

So, this year no resolutions, only plans.  My plan for 2011 is to continue with the lifestyle changes in eating & exercise routine that have gotten me this far & add running to the mix starting in the first week of April.  That gives me a few more months to continue shedding pounds so that I don't hurt my knees & ankles by running on excess weight (& hopefully winter will be a thing of the past by then, but this is Iowa so that isn't a guarantee).  With these steps, my plan is to achieve & maintain a healthy weight in 2011.