I never make New Year's resolutions because I figure I'll break them anyway. This year I made some goals (do those count as resolutions?).
1. Read through the Bible in a year
2. Drink 1.5 L (eventually 3 L) of water a day and not to drink pop
3. To do a 1 weak cleansing diet and then...
4. To eat more healthily
I think there are a couple of others rattling around in my head but they haven't formulated yet.
So how am I doing?
1. Messed up on day 1 but got back on track. This needs to be the first part of my day - not my computer. I am using a program that takes a passage from the Old Testament and a passage from the New Testament every day. I am in Genesis (just read about Abraham and Lot this morning) and Matthew (in the middle of the Sermon on the mount).
2. Successful - I bought bottle water at .20 for a 1.5 L bottle and drink one bottle a day. That gives me a measuring stick to go by. When school starts I will, drink 1 bottle during school since I get very thirsty while I teach, and one bottle at home in the evening. My old option for school thirst was a Coke out of the machine. I have not had pop since before New Year's and have been able to resist the pull the Pepsi is having on me in the store. Soon I hope the desire for the sugar and caffeine will abate. I am not totally off caffeine since tea is actually said to be good for us in small doses so I can have caffeine - just not the super sugared, fizzy kind.
3. Made it one day and failed. To make this work, I need to cut out sugar and I can't make myself drink my tea without an overabundance of sugar. I am also supposed to cut out salt which is easy for me since I have never had a craving for salt. This cleansing diet isn't anything radical - just staying away from starch and additives. I am having a LARGE salad every lunch and healthy options for supper. My problem is the Christmas candy and cookies sitting around. Maybe I'll take them to school and feed them to the kids - when they are leaving my class of course!
4. Okay so far - I am looking for salmon and fish recipes. I found a good one last night that uses Dijon mustard, onions, tarragon, salt, garlic and pepper. The directions called for a light coating of mustard on the salmon - I missed that part and slathered it on. I will have to retry it with a thinner layer. I need to get into healthier snacks - fresh fruits, veggies, nuts, etc. Not always going for the chocolate and cookies. I need to stay away from the whites: white flour, sugar, rice, and potatoes. I knew this already because of my problems with cholesterol. I plan to eat a salad for lunch at school - I will need to find some salad options because the same salad every day will get old very quickly. I don't plan to be radical and cut out everything that isn't "healthy" but I do need to consider my eating habits a bit more. Why the concern? A friend joked that I don't need to lose weight and that I shouldn't be concerned about this. Why is it that folks don't realize that a healthy diet isn't just for weight loss? A healthy diet is for a better quality of life - to lower cholesterol, to decrease the possibility of diabetes and heart issues, to be proactive in a cheap way rather than reactive with treatment and medicine later in life? Good habits are hard to build.
1. Read through the Bible in a year
2. Drink 1.5 L (eventually 3 L) of water a day and not to drink pop
3. To do a 1 weak cleansing diet and then...
4. To eat more healthily
I think there are a couple of others rattling around in my head but they haven't formulated yet.
So how am I doing?
1. Messed up on day 1 but got back on track. This needs to be the first part of my day - not my computer. I am using a program that takes a passage from the Old Testament and a passage from the New Testament every day. I am in Genesis (just read about Abraham and Lot this morning) and Matthew (in the middle of the Sermon on the mount).
2. Successful - I bought bottle water at .20 for a 1.5 L bottle and drink one bottle a day. That gives me a measuring stick to go by. When school starts I will, drink 1 bottle during school since I get very thirsty while I teach, and one bottle at home in the evening. My old option for school thirst was a Coke out of the machine. I have not had pop since before New Year's and have been able to resist the pull the Pepsi is having on me in the store. Soon I hope the desire for the sugar and caffeine will abate. I am not totally off caffeine since tea is actually said to be good for us in small doses so I can have caffeine - just not the super sugared, fizzy kind.
3. Made it one day and failed. To make this work, I need to cut out sugar and I can't make myself drink my tea without an overabundance of sugar. I am also supposed to cut out salt which is easy for me since I have never had a craving for salt. This cleansing diet isn't anything radical - just staying away from starch and additives. I am having a LARGE salad every lunch and healthy options for supper. My problem is the Christmas candy and cookies sitting around. Maybe I'll take them to school and feed them to the kids - when they are leaving my class of course!
4. Okay so far - I am looking for salmon and fish recipes. I found a good one last night that uses Dijon mustard, onions, tarragon, salt, garlic and pepper. The directions called for a light coating of mustard on the salmon - I missed that part and slathered it on. I will have to retry it with a thinner layer. I need to get into healthier snacks - fresh fruits, veggies, nuts, etc. Not always going for the chocolate and cookies. I need to stay away from the whites: white flour, sugar, rice, and potatoes. I knew this already because of my problems with cholesterol. I plan to eat a salad for lunch at school - I will need to find some salad options because the same salad every day will get old very quickly. I don't plan to be radical and cut out everything that isn't "healthy" but I do need to consider my eating habits a bit more. Why the concern? A friend joked that I don't need to lose weight and that I shouldn't be concerned about this. Why is it that folks don't realize that a healthy diet isn't just for weight loss? A healthy diet is for a better quality of life - to lower cholesterol, to decrease the possibility of diabetes and heart issues, to be proactive in a cheap way rather than reactive with treatment and medicine later in life? Good habits are hard to build.
I have never taken the time to look at lettuce in America - I guess I figured we all eat iceberg. So maybe the lettuce section of the US stores looks just like this but I am always overwhelmed by the lettuce choices here. I didn't even get them all because some of them are packaged differently. I had to snap quick so folks didn't give me funny looks in the store! Variety in salads shouldn't be a problem!I'll keep slugging away at my goals. My main goal is not to give up when I fail. I think when we make "resolutions" we are tempted to go until we fail and then say "what do you expect? Resolutions are meant to be broken." But if I fall off the wagon, I need to get back on and keep going. So if I miss a day of devotions, I will make it up in the next day. If I don't drink enough water, I will just be more aware the next day to do what I am supposed to do.
