That Old Chestnut: New Year's Resolutions
The Christmas holiday season is officially over. The tree hit the curb shortly after the 1st of the year, the decorations snugly packed for next year, our Thank You notes are in the mail, and visitors and visiting done.
Our holiday expenses hit our budget and our gall bladders, so a few days into 2012 Joel and I made a few healthy resolutions for this year:
1) We made a commitment to imbibing and tippling our favorite cocktails only on Friday and Saturday. We've been doing pretty good on this one, although yesterday we had a day date and each had a pint while meeting for lunch. Not drinking on the weekdays has given us a new, cozy habit - an evening cup of tea with our Downton Abbey - and deeper, more restful sleep. Now if we could only get rid of that midnight boogieman that sometimes startles Adelaide and Henry!
2) I've drastically cut my sugar intake. After the trifles and truffles of the holidays, I was feeling like a big blob of sticky corn syrup, and cutting out the sweets has immediately helped me feel healthier. I did this in the early months of 2010 for six weeks and cutting out the cookies, cakes, and chocolates has been so, so much easier this time. Yogurt and fruit are the only heavy sources of sugar in my diet these days, but I am looking forward to a special delivery for Valentine's Day. If you're going to splurge, why not splurge well?
3) And, once again, I'm counting calories. I've registered for the Live Healthy Iowa program through my work, but I use livestrong.com to calculate my daily calories and track my physical activity. Charting calories appeals to my nurse-brain and makes me accountable for all my daily bites. Other than the sugar, I don't restrict myself; I eat everything, but the cheese, bread and beef quickly add up, so I just eat smaller amounts than I used to eat.
We're feel like we're making good on our commitments, so far. But, more important than upholding the commitment is that we're feeling better, which is the commitment's own reward!
Comments
Nice Aimee! Counting calories was the only way I ever got healthy. Tough work at first, but the results bring momentum that's hard to give up.
Posted by: mac | January 24, 2012 10:00 PM
I had the same alcohol policy when I was a working engineer. Now that I'm old and retired, I try to keep to 3 drinks a night. Also, when seriously cold weather kicks in (lows below 10 deg.F), I quit coffee because it makes my hands cold, it's a vasoconstrictor. Most of my life I was a calorie furnace. Now that my metabolism has sslowed to a crawl, I have to enforce my lifetime dictum, input must equal output. I don't count calories, I just eat less at my four meals, and don't snack. My measure is my belt tension, and occasionally the scale.
Posted by: Doug | January 25, 2012 9:54 AM
Good luck, Aimee!
Posted by: Nate | January 25, 2012 5:41 PM
Good luck! Dave and I have (amazingly) kept our resolutions so far this year as well. Last year I was on a "lighten up wisconsin" team at school and we kept track of minutes of activity. I was pleasantly surprised to see that curling was on the list of activities, even though in WI we drink beer while curling!
Posted by: Phoebe | January 28, 2012 8:51 AM