Resolutions and Baby Steps

Happy New Year! Here's to a fresh year, a fresh start, and making healthier decisions. Are you one of the many people who has resolved to eat better, work out more, lose weight, etc in 2017? While I don't make resolutions like that anymore, I do try to kickstart a healthier lifestyle especially after the gluttony that is December. 

The key is baby steps, and small goals. Don't set a goal of hardcore exercising every single day. Overdoing it leads to burnout, which leads to quitting, which leads to frustration, and it can be a vicious cycle! Start small - knock out some killer workouts a few times a week or work in 10-20 minutes of activity per day. It can be anything - walking, stairs at your building at work, weight training, yoga...

We enjoyed some outdoor activities last week, especially since my oldest got a new bike and my youngest started riding a bike. But this week, with the dreary weather, I am being called by youtube exercise videos! Maybe once my kids are back in school and the weather is nicer, the pavement will be calling me to run again. 

A constant struggle for me is increasing my water intake. I was so much better about drinking water when I had a desk job. It was just there all the time. Now, I will fill up a water bottle and take it to run an errand, then forget it in the car and the next thing I know, it's almost evening and I haven't even gotten halfway through it. As I type this, I have a glass of water on the kitchen counter, you know, on the other side of my house, because that's how it will be consumed. ;)

The achilles heel for many is food consumption. The type, the amount, and the timing. Again, don't set a ridiculously hard goal with this. While there are plenty of programs (like Whole30) that cut out major food groups and are designed to kick your body back into good health, you can take smaller steps and still see major improvements. (Sidenote: obviously, if you have medical issues that need to be addressed, or intolerances, cutting out food groups is a different story.) I toyed with doing another Whole30 to get me back on track, but I've decided to make smaller changes instead of major ones. Oh, and I was too lazy to plan for starting it January 1st. 

You've heard me say it before. Planning is KEY. Prepwork is KEY. It is HARD to throw together healthy meals and snacks at the last minute. And keep the junk out of the house. It is so much easier to reach for something healthy when the unhealthy stuff isn't there to taunt you! 

Having said all of that, give yourself a break. Take it step by step, and acknowledge that if you fall off the wagon, or off routine, it's ok, just pick yourself back up and start where you left off. It is your body, your health. Take care of it.