Yes, this year I’m jumping on the New Years Resolution bandwagon. I’m a little embarrassed to admit that. But, heck, why not give it a shot.
I have a few smaller resolutions that I’ve been working on over the last few weeks. Being less judgey and more accepting. How do I do it? Whenever I feel the snarkie, judge-monster coming, I just calmly remind her that I don’t know this person’s full story, and I shouldn’t judge them based on the few seconds, minutes or even hours that I spend with them. I wouldn’t want to be judged like that. So far, it’s working pretty well. Bonus, I feel a little better about myself too.
My major resolution, which begins with my next 30 Day Challenge, is to reduce the amount of sugar I eat and to increase the amount of protein, whole grains, fruits and veggies that I eat. Now before you brush this off as another New Years Resolution to lose weight, hear me out. I’m not trying to lose weight. At all. I just want to be a healthier person. When I’m healthier, I’m happier. When I’m happier, my family is happier. So really, I’m doing this for my family, not myself. Do you like the way I spun that?
So what are my motivating reasons for this change? Well, first off I need to detox. After weeks of indulging in cookies, chocolates, drinks, huge meals, so on and so forth, I need to do something drastic, something to let my body know that I’m serious. Something to let everyone else know that I’m just a little bit crazy. In case there were any doubts to begin with.
I’m also tired of feeling tired. Tired of not having energy, or feeling my energy drain away quickly because I’m not eating as well as I should be. Tired of not being able to concentrate, remember or think clearly (although I like to blame this on lingering pregnancy brain). Tired of feeling like I’m a pretty healthy person, I exercise after all, except that I don’t eat like I should. Sure I eat, but I don’t eat to fuel my body. I eat because I’m exhausted and realized that I haven’t had a real meal and it’s 2 in the afternoon. I eat because I have a craving. I eat because someone (ok, it was me) made brownies and if I don’t eat them, who will?
I want to set a good example for the kiddo. We don’t let him have desert each night, yet Dad-oo and I take from our secret stash after he goes to bed. I provide him mostly healthy meals and make sure that he eats 3 meals plus snacks, so we don’t have too many appearances of “sassy-pants”. Although he does still pop up now and then, usually in the form of throwing food on the floor. Or refusing to eat just because Momma asked him to, only to eat a few seconds later. But that’s for another blog.
Also, I need a new challenge. Something to push myself towards. Something to get my mind off of the constantly decreasing temperatures and increasing amounts of snow. I need to give my mind a new challenge, coming up with healthy recipes full of ingredients that my families bodies need. And of course making sure that everything still tastes good.
So, to kick off my resolution, I’m starting a 30 Day No-Sweets Challenge. That means no cookies. No chocolate. No brownies. No ice cream. No desserts of any kind. No sugary snacks (good-bye fruit snacks). No sugary granola bars disguised as health food. No, no, no. There’s a good chance that I will be go insane before the end of this. But I want to do it, and I know that I can. Plus Dad-oo has agreed to go through this with me, so we can be crabby together and at each other, until the initial detox period is over.
What happens after the 30 No-Sweets Day Challenge? Well, I’m not going to deprive myself for the rest of my life. It’s just too long for that. And I like chocolate too much. Plus I dream of making cookies with the kiddo on cold or rainy days. And rice crispy bars. Or brownies. Mmmmm, brownies. So my goal, after the 30 days are up, is to introduce sweets back in, but sparingly. A dessert once a week, whether it’s a cookie (or two), a really good chocolate bar, or a piece of cheesecake. I can live with that. Plus, it will be good for me to find ways to deal with stress and frustration other than stuffing myself full of chocolate.
And while I’m experimenting with new and healthy recipes, I will of course share them. But only the good ones. I’m hiding the horrible ones from prying eyes. Oh…FYI…Dad-oo also wants to limit our intake of cheese. Tough to do, considering that we live in Wisconsin. And that we love cheese. With a passion. So I’ll only be using cheese in two or three recipes a week, which compared to almost every day is pretty impressive. Now, I’m off to find healthy recipes without sugar or cheese. Sounds yummy huh?
So, who’s with me? Who wants to take on the 30 Day No-Sweets Challenge with me? Anyone brave enough to try?
