The Four Letter Word

So I have decided to start something that I had hoped I would never officially have to do. A diet. [duh duh DUHHHHHHH] In general, I am against diets. I am more for keeping tabs on your weight and/or health as it fluctuates and make changes accordingly, as desired. But that's not the only reason. I have a serious problem with cutting foods I love. I just love food too much. But the time has come for me to make a change and try out this four letter word that I have avoided. And as a way of being accountable, I will talk about it on here.
My reasons for doing this drastic thing are as follows: 1) I want to look better and 2) I want to feel better. And for those to occur, I want to temporarily limit what I eat while I increase my exercise so that my body will go through a change that will make me happier with it. Get it? Good.
I've opted to go for at least a month on a low-carb diet. Not NO CARB, but LOW CARB. I will try to minimize my carb intake while increasing my protein and veggies uptake, and still having some dairy, and every once and again, a low-carb something or other. And lots and lots of water. And a bit of dark chocolate [Sounds crazy, but good quality dark chocolate is actually good for you in moderation, and it's on the diet! I'm saved!] And once a week, I can have a treat. A real, honest to goodness, carb laden treat. But that treat will not come without consequences.
You see, I am also going to start a serious exercise regimine. At least 3 days a week, I will be doing cardio of some kind, whether it will be running, swimming, eliptical, or something else I can figure for at least 30 minutes. Also, at least 3 days a week, I will be doing yoga. I think/hope it will help me with my stress relief and my flexibility as well. In conjunction with those, I will also be doing some core work, as I want to have a flat tummy, which I haven't managed since I was...well, it's been a long time. I don't want washboard abs or anything, and I know that all females have some natural fat in the tummy area, but I want to get mine as flat-ish as I can. So my once a week treat will mean an increase in the workout in the day or two following, depending on the treat and the danger it provides to my self-control.
Why am I doing this, you ask. There is no wedding, no guy, no jeans to fit into, and I've completely missed swimsuit season. This is for no other reason than that I want to. I know I will never be a size 2, and I never want to be. It is not in my body frame to be a 2. I want to be healthy. I want to look good and feel good for me. I have a set poundage in mind, but that is not set in stone. If I lose less but look and feel good, I'll be happy. If I can lose more in a healthy way and not go crazy without bread, all the better!
Once the time is up and I am satisfied with my [gulp] diet, I will return my eating habits to their former apathy. Well, okay, I'll TRY to be better, but I'm still going to have toast. And bagels. And muffins. Ohhhhhh, muffins.... AH! Get out, get out, get out!
Today was day 1 of this endeavor. I have a slight headache, which is natural, considering what my body is trying to work with. But I feel good. I don't want to go into the gory details, but let's just say I have been dealing with some...issues of the digestive nature, and I feel really good today in that area. That alone is making this worth it. And that is what it is all about. Feeling good.