It's not because of my age, or because I have a kid, or because of breastfeeding or because my husband doesn't eat as well as I think he should, or because he should be exercising more or because nobody ever calls me to motivate me to go out and exercise, or "at least I think I do more than so-and-so friend, or because my work-out clothes are ugly, it's not because it's too dark, or too cold, or too rainy or too late, or too early, or because "The Good Wife" is on. It's BECAUSE of ME. I have adopted habits and beliefs, seemingly some without my own knowing, that are not working for me.
1. Spending too much time in coffee shops with or without my friends and their kids drinking coffees and eating muffins, cookies or biscuits.
2. Telling myself that I need something sweet to feel like my meal is over? (wtf? this one is weird.)
3. Baking is better than store-bought, which might be true, but not if I end up eating 10 of the 12 muffins I baked.
4. I don't like most veggies.
5. I'm not overweight.
So for the last two weeks or so I've been implementing some new or forgotten habits to my routine...
1. Daily green drink. One first thing in the morning and one at 3pm.
2. Five minute meditation just before my husband leaves for work while he plays with the kid.
3. No sugar, honey, jam, yogurt, milk, cheese, white rice, wheat toast and pasta, pancakes, muffins, maple syrup, butter, and eggs. Hardly any meat and if so only the size of my palm.
4. If I can skip coffee I do, if not, I put a tiny bit of milk in my coffee.
5. More greens; broccoli, kale, collards, lettuce, green beans, cucumbers, and fresh herbs.
6. My snacks are less coffee, muffins, raisins, toast with jam, dried fruit, cookies, and waffles and more apples, almonds, ginger tea, blueberries, and green drinks.
7. I go for the 60-40 rule; 60% of my plate consists of veggies or fruit.
8. Daily activity: I've found a variety of neat yoga, strength training and cardio workouts on youtube, and I make a point of doing at least 30 minutes every day especially if I can't make it outside to exercise. Cafemom Studios and Ekhart Yoga are great!
and I've noticed some significant changes:
1. No more bloating, gas, stomach aches, and heavy lethargic feelings after meals.
2. Fruits that didn't used to taste that sweet like apples and berries are super sweet to me now.
3. I crave sweets much less and I've been more or less able to curb these cravings with distractions or ginger tea. This is the biggest daily challenge. It's funny, I found myself online one afternoon searching for "healthier" desserts for almost 3 hours!!! Crazy.
5. I don't feel deprived when I see others eating a bacon and egg breakfast of champions, a mountain of nachos, or slices of chocolate pecan pie. It's funny, I thought I would, but it seems my body has taken over my mind and happily steers me towards the fruits and veggies.
I had one relapse. There was this bag of chips, not a bag of pretend healthy, organic pita chips, real O'lays salty, crispy chips leftover from a party we had. It was Friday, 5pm, time for wine and chips? Right? OMG. Pain, cramps and dizziness. Wine and chips? What was I thinking?
How long do they say it takes for habits to form? 21 days? Well, I'm game for 21 days and maybe even for more! What habits would you like to put in gear? Check out what Leo has to say about sticking to a habit on his blog and let me know how you're coming along!
