What am I willing to do?

This year, I will have one of the BIG birthday's.  I don't know how it happened but somehow, I will turn 40 in less than 3 months.  That got me to thinking about a few things, one of them being quite a few pounds that I didn't want to take with me in to the next decade of my life.  I have tried to lose weight before, some times I have been successful at it, then to find out shortly after, that I was pregnant again...Well, that isn't going to happen anymore and it has been seven years since I became pregnant with our last baby.  NO MORE EXCUSES!  I really want to get rid of at least 20 pounds and then reassess the situation and decide if that is enough.
 The truth is, I have made some changes in my eating habits over the last couple of YEARS, eating brown rice, wheat pasta, wheat bread, more fruits and veggies, not drinking sweet, southern ice tea all day every day but drinking 8-10 glasses of water a day! (I told you I don't accept change easily, I am a slow mover) Making sure I eat high protein breakfasts every day. (I remember the days that I could eat 4 Reese cups or 4 Krispy Kreme doughnuts for breakfast with a glass of whole milk and not break 100 lbs on the scales...no kidding this was a regular diet for me in high school.) Sorry, I digress...
.I have never enjoyed exercising but recently Maelee asked me if I would start running with her...uuhhh, WHY??? are we being chased?  Sometimes, we need a nudge from someone and an accountability partner always helps too. Anyway, she and I have decided on a Couch to 5K plan that we are following and then also a workout routine that we(sometimes only I) are doing daily.  It has been almost 2 weeks and we are making progress!  I realized that 20-30 minutes a day is doable for me right now.  I am not where I will be in 8 weeks but I am not where I was two weeks ago...PRAISE GOD.
 Don't be afraid to start small, make adjustments where necessary.  The inside routine we are following suggests doing 3-5 sets, well, that was  IMPOSSIBLE the first week but is getting closer to a possiblity.  The first week, I did it once a day, now I am doing twice a day but not at the same time.  Next week, I would like to increase again.  I am having shin splints that cause my legs to hurt just when my pants rub against them so I am modifying a couple of things so that the impact on my shins is less, trusting that  something is better than nothing.  If I am not willing to be committed, press through, and keep the end in sight, I will make NO progress at all, but doing a little more than I did yesterday will get me to a better place tomorrow!  These are the things I am following

Week	Workout 1	Workout 2	Workout 3
1	Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 60 seconds of jogging and 90 seconds of walking for a total of 20 minutes.	Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 60 seconds of jogging and 90 seconds of walking for a total of 20 minutes.	Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 60 seconds of jogging and 90 seconds of walking for a total of 20 minutes.
2	Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 90 seconds of jogging and two minutes of walking for a total of 20 minutes.	Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 90 seconds of jogging and two minutes of walking for a total of 20 minutes.	Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 90 seconds of jogging and two minutes of walking for a total of 20 minutes.
3	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then do two repetitions of the following: Jog 200 yards (or 90 seconds) Walk 200 yards (or 90 seconds) Jog 400 yards (or 3 minutes) Walk 400 yards (or three minutes)	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then do two repetitions of the following: Jog 200 yards (or 90 seconds) Walk 200 yards (or 90 seconds) Jog 400 yards (or 3 minutes) Walk 400 yards (or three minutes)	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then do two repetitions of the following: Jog 200 yards (or 90 seconds) Walk 200 yards (or 90 seconds) Jog 400 yards (or 3 minutes) Walk 400 yards (or three minutes)
4	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then: Jog 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes) Walk 1/8 mile (or 90 seconds) Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes) Walk 1/4 mile (or 2-1/2 minutes) Jog 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes) Walk 1/8 mile (or 90 seconds) Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then: Jog 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes) Walk 1/8 mile (or 90 seconds) Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes) Walk 1/4 mile (or 2-1/2 minutes) Jog 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes) Walk 1/8 mile (or 90 seconds) Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then: Jog 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes) Walk 1/8 mile (or 90 seconds) Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes) Walk 1/4 mile (or 2-1/2 minutes) Jog 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes) Walk 1/8 mile (or 90 seconds) Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)
5	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then: Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes) Walk 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes) Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes) Walk 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes) Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then: Jog 3/4 mile (or 8 minutes) Walk 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes) Jog 3/4 mile (or 8 minutes)	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog two miles (or 20 minutes) with no walking.
6	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then: Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes) Walk 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes) Jog 3/4 mile (or 8 minutes) Walk 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes) Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then: Jog 1 mile (or 10 minutes) Walk 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes) Jog 1 mile (or 10 minutes)	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 2-1/4 miles (or 22 minutes) with no walking.
7	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 2.5 miles (or 25 minutes).	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 2.5 miles (or 25 minutes).	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 2.5 miles (or 25 minutes).
8	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 2.75 miles (or 28 minutes).	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 2.75 miles (or 28 minutes).	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 2.75 miles (or 28 minutes).
9	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 3 miles (or 30 minutes).	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 3 miles (or 30 minutes).	The final workout! Congratulations! Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 3 miles (or 30 minutes).

 Rick mentioned the possibility of taking a cruise to celebrate my 40th and I was resistant because I didn't want to take along the extra baggage on my body with me so my goal is to have at least lost 15 lbs by March 26.  I'm not sure that the cruise will happen or not, but this will be my gift to myself and I think he might enjoy the benefits too and I will live a healthier, more fit future!