Exercise Is Hard But There's Enough Time

I think I'm going to cancel my gym membership or at least suspend it for a few months. I'm not using it and I'm probably not going to use it in the near future. Cardio right now slows down my weight loss and I'm having a hard enough time staying on my eating plan lately. I've started doing some strength exercises at home. I have a teeny tiny routine I do about 3 times per week. I say teeny tiny because I am a weakling!! Here's what I'm doing:

Plank
Lunges
Squats
Push-ups
Sit-ups

So I can only hold the plank for a good 10-12 seconds before my back twitches. This is an improvement because it used to be 5 seconds only about 2 weeks ago! Then I do one set of 10 reps of each: squats, lunges (which I "cheat" on by holding onto the wall or a chair), pushups off my high counter and then a set off the normal height countertop, situps with arms crossed, and then another plank. Sometimes I try to turn the plank to the side and sometimes I do some other back strengthening exercises like opposite arm/leg raises, bridge, etc. This routine really takes very little time to do and I usually do them quick when I get home from work or while I'm bored watching TV in the evenings. I pulled my right quadricep really badly the first week I was doing lunges, so I'm really lax in actually doing them correctly without hanging onto something for help. So far.

My end goal with this routine is to strengthen my core. That's been lacking for as long as I remember. I had a very strong core when I was a kid and even a teenager. Once I went to college, everything just went to hell. Oh how I wish I could get back to that long & lean 17 year old body!! :) I can get to a long and lean 40-something body with saggy skin and wrinkles -but with muscle definition underneath. That's a realistic & worthy goal. I can't wait until I get to there! :)

I'm revising my weight loss goal. I probably won't be at my final goal weight, 150-165ish by the end of April. I have to get REALLY serious about eating and getting these strength exercises in. I have time. I have nothing going on in my life and no one in my life to distract me. I'm the one who reaches out to friends to do stuff. Maybe what I need to do is become a hermit and work on myself instead of being the one to initiate plans with people. Obviously they can live without me in their life so I've got the time to spend.

But first...suspending my gym membership.