Well folks, it’s that time of year again: time
for New Year’s resolutions. And course, the most popular resolution is
to lose weight. Not that having a goal to lose weight is a bad thing,
especially if your doctor is encouraging you to do so for health concerns, but
come on, lets be honest: How many of us stick to that resolution past the
homemade chocolate chip cookies (that generally show up about 3 days into your
new “diet”)?? I read a report on New Year’s diet resolutions, and they said
that only about 8% of people who set out to lose weight at the New Year
actually stick with it past two weeks. TWO WEEKS! That’s not even enough time to get a
routine of healthy grocery shopping started, and cooking your own meals!
Now I’m going to extremely honest (not
that I’ve
really ever had a problem with sharing my personal struggles or issues), since
I graduated high school back in 2010, I’ve gained almost 30 pounds. That
is over 10 pounds a year in just 2 ½ years! Granted, when I was in
high school I was doing sports every season, working for the forest service,
and waiting tables (and for those of you who don’t consider waiting tables to be
very much of a challenge, I challenge you to be the only waitress in a packed
out restaurant that seats about 65 on Mother’s Day while being your own
busser, dishwasher, and salad preparer. Then
you can tell me that waitressing isn’t a challenge!) Now, I’ve been working a desk job for
over a year and it’s been who knows how long since I’ve even taken a jog. So it’s really no wonder that I’ve gained so much weight!
But back to this whole New Year’s Resolution thing… Remember how most of us never
make it past the second week? With a statistic like 92% running against us, why
would we even shoot ourselves in the foot and set ourselves up for inevitable
doom? That’s why for my New Year’s resolution, I have decided to actually step up to the
plate, and just take care of myself.
I’m
not looking for any amount of weight to come off, or fit in a certain size of
clothing; I just want to take care of my body, mind, and spirit, and with that,
the unhealthy weight will come off.
So what does taking care of myself actually look like?
Well, for starters it means everything in moderation. Cutting back on Starbucks
to just make it a special treat once or twice a month will save my waistline, and save me money- a big bonus for a girl who’s still paying off 6+ grand in
school loans and credit card debt (but a post on money will come later!). It
means majorly cutting back on buying
fast food lunches at work (sadly, the McDonald’s dollar menu and I have become
quite close lately). It means actually waking up with enough time to make
myself a decent breakfast so that I’m not snacking on fatty crackers
or chips, or whatever else I have in my “snack drawer” at my desk, making me bloated
and not hungry for lunch. Taking care of myself means making dinner at home
instead of skipping it, or going to Taco Bell (another drive-thru that my best friend and I
have become best friends with!).
Taking care of myself means actually getting active
again. It’s
medically proven that physical exercise creates endorphins that make your feel
happier! And of course, who wouldn’t feel happy about doing
something that is good for their health, and
good for their waistline!? There is a great loop that the church sits on
that is about 1.25 miles, that I will be walking everyday on my lunch break! It’s a bit of a bummer that there’s no one to walk with, but it can
fit right my next step for taking care of myself: spending more time with God.
I used to pride myself on how much I depended on God, and how close our
relationship was. But somewhere in the mix of things, that closeness started to
fade. I now find myself longing for that kind of child-like dependence to be in
our relationship again, but it’s been more of a challenge to
bring back than I thought it would be…
Taking care of myself also means no more soda, and waaaay
less caffeine. I would be embarrassed to tell you how fast I go through a liter
or a 12 pack of Dr. Pepper! Considering how little water I drink, I think if I
were to only cut out my Dr. Pepper, and not do anything else, I’d probably lose 3 pounds! But as
I was drinking a can the other day, a realization hit me: it’s not so much the flavor of the
pop that I crave; it’s the carbonation.
I absolutely love that tingling, burning, popping sensation that you get from a
soda. So, I’m going to start experimenting with seltzer waters, and
adding my own fresh lemons to it so I can avoid the artificial additives and
sugars that you get with pre-flavored drinks. In the meantime,
I’ve
been making my water drinking more exciting by adding lemons to just my tap. (But note to self: for one pitcher of water,
ONE lemon is enough! Haha) And I’m pretty proud to say that I
actually drank a whole 16oz of lemon water on my way to work this morning, and
am working on my second! (As I’m typing, that is) I don’t normally get that much water in
a DAY (or maybe even two); much less the 45-minute drive to work!
Going back to what I said earlier about eating a good
breakfast: holy cow! This morning, I woke up with enough time to make myself a
hard cooked egg (because I can’t stand runny yolk!) on top of
toast with a slice of cheese, and made myself a peanut butter and banana
sandwich for a mid-morning snack, but since I only needed half the banana, I
got to eat the other half with my egg and toast! That, paired with my lemon
water, gave me SUCH a great burst of energy to start my day with, and now as I
type I’m
eating my yummy PB&B sandwich! Needless to say, I definitely don’t want to skip breakfast anymore!
And about lunch: this Taco Bell Beefy 5-Layer Burrito,
McChicken & fries loving girl is proud to announce that she packed her own
today! The bestie and I bought a HUGE bag of pre-mixed salad on our grocery
shopping trip, so I packed me a salad with carrot sticks, broccoli, a little
bit of ranch, and fruit salad made from Greek honey yogurt, blueberries,
strawberries, and bananas! I’m pretty excited to have that
meal welcome me from my 1.25-mile walk this afternoon! And
since I know I’m going to get a little snacky later this afternoon, I
even thought to bring some trail mix to munch on. Now all I need is a real
lunchbox instead of a plastic bag! Seriously… I’d love to get a Batman lunchbox!
Nothing says “working professional” like a comic book lunch pail,
right?? J
Another task in taking care of myself includes less
money-induced stress, A.K.A Pay Off Your Debt Lady! There is a post to come
about this, but basically I have a new budget plan that, if stuck to, will get
me debt free in about a year’s time. Now THAT would be amazing
to have happen! It’ll also help to not be buying coffees, lunches, and
dinners that I should be making at home with all the groceries that we buy, and
end up throwing half away because we still eat out! But it’s a huge blessing to know that
Caite is struggling with the exact same thing, because we each know about each
other, and we can keep the other accountable to eating at home and no more
money spending!
So, to end this post, I just want to encourage you all to
take a look at your New Year’s resolutions. Are they ones that
you can actually keep, or are you setting yourself up for failure by reaching
too far? After you do that, make a plan! How are you going to achieve those
goals? How much time will it take? How much do you need to commit to it? Once
you have attainable goals, make a poster! Put it somewhere you see everyday,
and write on it each day so it can remind you of your progress and successes,
and still keep pushing you until you’ve achieved your goal! Next, TELL
SOMEONE ABOUT IT! The more people that know your goals, the more people that
can help keep you accountable so you don’t slip up, and they can keep
encouraging you when you don’t feel like you can go any
further. And lastly, pray. Pray about your goals, how you want to achieve them,
and the results you are looking for. God already knows your hearts desires, but
He also desires to hear YOU tell Him about it, and He can be your greatest
encourager if you let Him!
So with
that, go my friends- Go, achieve your New Year’s resolutions, and be the 8%!
Loving
thoughts,
JJ
