Since living healthy is a hot topic at the beginning of the year, I thought we’d talk about it on Fridays this month.
I don’t do New Year’s Resolutions. Though they’re appealing in that they bring a fresh start to the year, I failed at following through so many years in a row that I gave up.
I made resolutions like:
- I resolve go to the gym 4 times a week and be there as soon as it opens. I’ll take insanely hard cardio classes and my body will look like the models on the cover of Shape Magazine.
- I resolve to run a marathon this year.
- I resolve to give up dessert once and for all.
- I resolve to follow a strict diet (whatever the diet happened to be at the time) and will not eat one thing off the plan.
Of course, I was doomed. If I would have been honest with myself at the time, my resolutions would have looked more like this:
- I resolve go to the gym which I can’t afford 4 times a week and be there as soon as it opens even though this requires me to get up at 4 a.m., drive 30 minutes there, 30 minutes back, and adds 2 1/2 hours to my day which, quite frankly, I don’t have to begin with. I’ll take insanely hard cardio classes so that everyone will be wowed by my determination and skill (though my coordination stinks) and my body will look like the models on the cover of Shape Magazine once I grow another 5 inches and somehow find a away to elongate my naturally short waist and flatten my stomach which has never been flat.
- I resolve to run a marathon this year though I don’t have time to devote to such an endeavor, and even if I did every time I try to run my knees ache so bad it hurts to walk. Still, I will do it because that’s what people who are in shape do. And, once again, I’ll impress everyone.
- I resolve to give up dessert once and for all though a dessert is not the problem, it’s that I eat huge portions, and lots of them too. Of course, I’ll never admit this, not even to myself.
- I resolve to follow a strict diet (whatever the diet happened to be at the time) and will not eat one thing off the plan even if it means I’m only eating two food groups a day and I feel like crap. I won’t be able to share a meal with my friends or family, which will keep me isolated. But maybe, finally, I’ll be thin.
Instead of making resolutions, I’ve decided that living well all year long is more important. Notice I didn’t say ‘living perfectly.’
What does that mean to me?
First, it means eating healthy every day. That means regular balanced meals with lots of fresh fruits and veggies. My body is happiest with three meals and two snacks.
I try my best not to get too hungry, which is why the snacks are so important. If I’m going to be out and about I bring along a piece of fruit and some nuts or even a small cottage cheese and fruit salad so my appetite isn’t ravenous when I get home.
When I eat well every day, it’s not a problem when my diet isn’t perfect. A few extra Christmas cookies and a handful of extravagant meals don’t throw me into a tailspin. I don’t have to do any insane starvation plan or weird two-food-groups-only diet to try and repair the damage I’ve done.
I know, it’s nothing to write home about. I can’t tweet about my New Year’s Two Week Get-In-Shape Plan and I can’t wow you with some wild new diet that’s going to eliminate obesity forever.
It’s just good, simple living that brings balance and harmony to my life. And it works for me, one day at a time.
What are you doing that works for you?
Next week, I’ll share my thoughts on exercise (though I don’t love it) and what’s worked for me over the years. Before the month is up, I’ll share some of my ‘secrets’ on staying thin and we’ll chat about doing this thing one day at a time.
