The 8%

         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