Wednesday, January 5, 2011

The obligatory New Year's post

Well, I can actually say things will be different this year, and truly mean it.  The last week of 2010 was a game-changer for me; I have gotten a not-so-friendly reminder that life is short (don't worry, everyone's ok!), and I don't want to waste another minute feeling less than my best.

Call me selfish, but I've gotten pretty good at putting myself first.  I was brought up to have good boundaries and to not feel like I have to make everyone else happy.  I don't think you can really be a great partner, parent, friend, etc. if you do not meet your own needs.  Always put on your own oxygen mask first, right?  If you're feeling exhausted, it's ok to cancel your plans sometimes.  If you're offered a piece of food that will make you feel like crap, there are many gracious ways to turn it down.  Give people a little credit; most can take this stuff in stride and not think you're a horrible person.  And if they can't, well, are they really worth your concern?  Your life is yours, and we all have to deal with the consequences of our own choices; why make crappy choices just to make others happy, while you take the fallout?  It's old news, I know, but it never hurts to remind myself of these things, and I hate to see others complicate their own lives over co-dependent BS!

How are you going to take great care of yourself this year?  I am doing the Paleo challenge for January; I'm getting extra strict so I can see how much better I can feel.  I've been pretty well with avoiding grains, but I need to get more strict about small amounts of gluten (breaded stuff, soy sauce, etc.), and starting next week, I will be cutting out dairy as well; I don't drink milk but have some cheeses and heavy cream to use up and I just can't afford to waste food in the name of some arbitrary start-over date (oh, and NO ALCOHOL!  I've had enough over the holiday season :/).  So far so good; I made some pulled pork, kale, and roasted sweet potatoes on Sunday, and I've been having leftovers for lunch.  Boyfriend got Chinese food the other night, so I had him get me some shrimp & veggies without sauce or rice; I added a little tamari and ginger at home.  Intermittent fasting is going pretty well; I like having my coffee with cream on the way to work, but I've been bringing green tea, then having my coffee sometime after 8am when the "feeding window" begins.  I'm off to a good start, looking forward to an uber-healthy year! :)

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