*Warning: This is that one post a year where I go off the rails (no recipes) and just talk!
A New Year! I LOVE New “Years”! Fresh starts, clean slates, new goals, new ideas, lots of energy! I apologize for letting the blog slide a bit in 2012, but I am going to give myself props for not letting “ME” slide! I continue to make great strides in who I am, head full steam ahead towards the person I want to be, and continue to take the steps needed to accomplish all that I want to accomplish! One journey, one chance, one life -and I am trying to make the most of each day! I gotta tell any of you reading…if you find yourself back each January with the same goals, stop talking about change, and just DO IT! I have one major regret right now and that is that I spent so many years feeling sorry for myself (Mom Drank, Dad died…my weight) instead of just fixing it! Face your fears, and if you keep failing going it alone….get HELP! You all know by now how I feel about therapy, best money I ever spent! So whether it is weight, career, relationship…no self-pitty just get going on the new you, TODAY!
I just can not describe how amazing it feels to start a new year off better than the year before. For so many years I felt like it was Groundhogs Day…here we go again! I was actually sad to see 2012 go because I had an absolutely fantastic year!!! But there is no reason that 2013 can’t, and won’t, be even better!!! I turn 40 this year and plan on SHOUTING it from the rooftops! I have never felt so great both inside and out all at the same time!
(If you are short on time stop here! Summary: stay off the soda, keep moving, don’t be scared of good carbs, and make sure you surround yourself with a healthy support system)
What’s new?
Still no soda! December marked 4 years ****FOUR YEARS**** since I have had a diet soda (or any soda) and that continues to be a HUGE anniversary for me each year. This year I am going to try to go no Splenda either, which really would not be that challenging if I didn’t love it in my coffee so much.
Steps!
My weight last year really held strong….great news because I didn’t gain weight, but it has been a mental block/hurdle to feel so great, eat so healthy…and see the scale stand firm. I have known for a long time, and have even mentioned it here, that there is no way to get to the END GAME without moving. Physically moving, that is;-) I tend to a be a GO BIG kind of person so I think in my mind if I wasn’t taking a class (or ummm Teaching the class) ;-), training for a 5k, or becoming a yoga guru I wasn’t “exercising”. The last few months the universe has been sending me all kinds of messages about just moving…just simply walking, which I did so much of back about 20 lbs ago. Funny how we let things slide. All of the sudden I was eyeing the parking spots up front again, feeling like I had won some type of lottery because I got the third spot in. Really, I was only cheating myself out of steps I desperately need.
So this is my new best friend! The FitBit. I wear it with hopes that having hard evidence at the end of each day that actually tells me how many steps I took will keep me honest. A fellow Parent at my school, Holly, really gets the credit on this one! She put it on, started walking and LOOKS great! Amazing how doing what we were designed to do…walk, take steps, is all it can take to turn it all around. Go figure!
Carb-Cycling:
I have to say I think it is working! For example when I was on vacation I had a Mai Thai Day every other day, and on the non-carb days I had Vodka Soda! Seriously though, adding back in some of the foods I had banned from my diet has been good, and I think has actually revved up my metabolism a bit! It also showed me that I have come far enough, and learned enough that I don’t have to be scared of ever going back to where I once was! Let me be clear, I am not talking about french fries and cheeseburgers, that would take me right back there, this much I know!
Support & Friendships:
Dead weight. Getting rid of it is VERY hard, I think probably for all of us…but when you cut the strings, stop hoping people will be who you want them to be and start seeing them for who they really are it is freeing! We are conditioned to think and feel like we all have to be friends, we all have to get along, we all have to fit. But we don’t all fit, and this year I realized that I have had some really negative people around me and though it hasn’t been easy, I have had to move away, step-back and admit my best interests were never in their interests at all. It is exhausting, and it usurps my energy supply while deflating my otherwise normally secure and positive attitude. I was so worried people would think I was a bitch if I didn’t keep up the false pre-tenses -that I found I wasn’t making good decisions for myself anymore. Letting them, and their opinions of me, go has led to this feeling of empowerment that I can’t really describe. I think it is how we are supposed to feel when we put our own thoughts, beliefs, feelings, emotions…our own needs above everyone elses, which we as women are not taught to do. What happens? I can tell you, the people who care about you and genuinely like you rise to the surface, while the rest fade far, far into the background. Otherwise, life keeps ticking. Just that easy.
The best news is it makes room for friendships you may have missed out on otherwise. I also think it is amazing the people who walk into your life when you need them to! I have met some amazing women this past year and I have also strengthened relationships which were not nurtured, nor tended too, while I was using so much energy trying to placate the energy-suckers in my life! I think, yes I am pretty sure I read somewhere, it is called being a grown-up! If this is what 40 is supposed to feel like I LOVE it! To have women who support you, laugh with you, encourage you and simply “like” one another for who and what we are is so refreshing and so enjoyable.
The most important part is to be sure you are surrounded by women who want to see you succeed. You know in your gut when someone wants you to fail and instead of being resentful towards them…try asking yourself why you surround yourself by people who would want anything but the best for you? Sometimes the places we feel the safest, and the most comfortable, are not always the BEST places for us.
So now that I have sorted all of that out let’s get back to the journey, the food journey!
I have a lot of Good Stuff coming your way!
Happy New Year
