This post was originally titled something about New Year's Resolutions and how to keep them, but since it's January 3rd and my brother's birthday (Happy Birthday Meady Boy!) I have officially decided to just start writing and see what happens. Here we go!
Confession #1 For the past three years I have resolved to brush my teeth before bed and yet I still struggle to get the toothbrush in my mouth. Gross, I know! But this is me being vulnerable with you. I hate brushing my teeth, especially at night. Fortunately Scott usually reminds me, but if left to my own devices the teeth can wait until morning. I always brush in the morning, I promise.
I have been hesitating writing this post. So much so even my brother called me out on it. "You haven't posted anything since Dec 22." Everyone else has already written about their holiday feasting and New Years Resolutions. I am behind the curve. So where was I? Well... since we are being honest, Confession #2 I probably had my hand in the enormous bag of El Rey Gran Saman Chocolate I keep only for gluten free baking, of course. (Insert sarcasm here.)
Our cleanse ended December 21st. I know I bragged that we were going to go strong all the way to New Years, but that just didn't happen. We did the prescribed 3 weeks and it was amazing. We felt and looked pretty great too. I was proud of us. Confession #3 Midnight on the 21st came and I suddenly remembered where I had hidden the chocolate from myself for the past three weeks. And Scott, whose vice is gummy candy, somehow unearthed a bag of jelly beans... which he had stollen from our roommate. And thus the flood gates opened and the feasting began for the next 4 days, literally.
You might be wondering why am I confessing all this on my nutrition, health and wellness blog?
Shouldn't I tell you how I made it through the holidays without a single sugar sweet baked morsel touching my lips, and that I am resolving to quit sugar for the rest of the year and start fasting intermittently? Why yes, I probably should. But the reason I have been hesitating writing is because I didn't want to write about what I SHOULD write about. I want to write about real life about the amazing highs AND the difficult lows, the victories AND the losses, the what I did rights AND the what I did wrongs, the stuff that makes you and me human for better or worse. We see and hear a lot of the things we are proud to tell the world about, but we don't get a lot of what people's real struggles are. So here it goes. I'm turning a new leaf for Wild Acorn.
No, I am not going to turn this into a downer fest, because that 's not my style either. But I do want to be a little more real here, to profess to the world that Confession #4 I love sweets and I had pizza and pancakes on Christmas! I AM a health freak, who is studying to be a nutritionist, writes about how to be healthy and yet man-oh-man I gotta get me some of that chocolate cake.
All of this to say I am not sorry for those four days of gluttony. Oh, and did I mention we did it again for New Years? Maybe I did go a bit overboard, but I enjoyed every bite, especially the portobello ravioli and coconut ice cream. If you're gonna go BIG you better enjoy it and not regret a single calorie. Seriously! Do the healthy thing, make food your medicine, eat clean 95% of the time, but every once in a while you gotta let lose and not feel bad about it. I'm not saying make this an every-other-day kind of thing, but every once in a while you deserve to celebrate. And for me that means with food. Confession #5 This should be an obvious one, but I LOVE FOOD. Let it be whole and real and nourishing to give you the health and energy to enjoy this amazing life we have been given to live fully. And so sometimes that means a decadent cheese platter and a nice glass of wine for dinner.
Last but not least, even though I said I wasn't going to do this, and I am way late per industry standards to be posting a New Years Resolutions list, here it is. Confession #6 I love resolutions. I love setting goals and having something to learn, do and look forward to. I keep a list of my resolutions and goals in my phone so that I can check in on them and see how I am doing and what I can work on. I ALWAYS make too many resolutions and I ALWAYS leave a few left undone. Let's see, last year I DID NOT learn how to play chess and nor did I learn to sew. Oh well, maybe I'll do it this year! I DID however invest more time connecting with family which I think is far more important. One point for me! I also got better at brushing my teeth before bed, but you know I always like to leave a little room for improvement :)
I know these are pretty basic resolutions, nothing you've never read before. But they are good. They will make you healthier, happier, a better citizen of the world and a better whatever you want to be. So I stopped trying to think of fancy new fandangled resolutions and just stuck to the basics, many of which have been on my list for years. But hey, at least I'm still going for it.
If you made it this far into reading you get my final Confession #7 I am totally addicted to watching Scandal, and Kerry Washington takes my breath away. A little behind the curve on this television hit, yet again, but I have watched 7 episodes in the past 48 hours. Too much? Yeah I know. The real confession is I've started looking for a job back in the states. But I have to save that story for another post. Scandal is just me procrastinating. Happy New Year!!!
Confession #1 For the past three years I have resolved to brush my teeth before bed and yet I still struggle to get the toothbrush in my mouth. Gross, I know! But this is me being vulnerable with you. I hate brushing my teeth, especially at night. Fortunately Scott usually reminds me, but if left to my own devices the teeth can wait until morning. I always brush in the morning, I promise.
I have been hesitating writing this post. So much so even my brother called me out on it. "You haven't posted anything since Dec 22." Everyone else has already written about their holiday feasting and New Years Resolutions. I am behind the curve. So where was I? Well... since we are being honest, Confession #2 I probably had my hand in the enormous bag of El Rey Gran Saman Chocolate I keep only for gluten free baking, of course. (Insert sarcasm here.)
Our cleanse ended December 21st. I know I bragged that we were going to go strong all the way to New Years, but that just didn't happen. We did the prescribed 3 weeks and it was amazing. We felt and looked pretty great too. I was proud of us. Confession #3 Midnight on the 21st came and I suddenly remembered where I had hidden the chocolate from myself for the past three weeks. And Scott, whose vice is gummy candy, somehow unearthed a bag of jelly beans... which he had stollen from our roommate. And thus the flood gates opened and the feasting began for the next 4 days, literally.
You might be wondering why am I confessing all this on my nutrition, health and wellness blog?
Shouldn't I tell you how I made it through the holidays without a single sugar sweet baked morsel touching my lips, and that I am resolving to quit sugar for the rest of the year and start fasting intermittently? Why yes, I probably should. But the reason I have been hesitating writing is because I didn't want to write about what I SHOULD write about. I want to write about real life about the amazing highs AND the difficult lows, the victories AND the losses, the what I did rights AND the what I did wrongs, the stuff that makes you and me human for better or worse. We see and hear a lot of the things we are proud to tell the world about, but we don't get a lot of what people's real struggles are. So here it goes. I'm turning a new leaf for Wild Acorn.
No, I am not going to turn this into a downer fest, because that 's not my style either. But I do want to be a little more real here, to profess to the world that Confession #4 I love sweets and I had pizza and pancakes on Christmas! I AM a health freak, who is studying to be a nutritionist, writes about how to be healthy and yet man-oh-man I gotta get me some of that chocolate cake.
All of this to say I am not sorry for those four days of gluttony. Oh, and did I mention we did it again for New Years? Maybe I did go a bit overboard, but I enjoyed every bite, especially the portobello ravioli and coconut ice cream. If you're gonna go BIG you better enjoy it and not regret a single calorie. Seriously! Do the healthy thing, make food your medicine, eat clean 95% of the time, but every once in a while you gotta let lose and not feel bad about it. I'm not saying make this an every-other-day kind of thing, but every once in a while you deserve to celebrate. And for me that means with food. Confession #5 This should be an obvious one, but I LOVE FOOD. Let it be whole and real and nourishing to give you the health and energy to enjoy this amazing life we have been given to live fully. And so sometimes that means a decadent cheese platter and a nice glass of wine for dinner.
Last but not least, even though I said I wasn't going to do this, and I am way late per industry standards to be posting a New Years Resolutions list, here it is. Confession #6 I love resolutions. I love setting goals and having something to learn, do and look forward to. I keep a list of my resolutions and goals in my phone so that I can check in on them and see how I am doing and what I can work on. I ALWAYS make too many resolutions and I ALWAYS leave a few left undone. Let's see, last year I DID NOT learn how to play chess and nor did I learn to sew. Oh well, maybe I'll do it this year! I DID however invest more time connecting with family which I think is far more important. One point for me! I also got better at brushing my teeth before bed, but you know I always like to leave a little room for improvement :)
I know these are pretty basic resolutions, nothing you've never read before. But they are good. They will make you healthier, happier, a better citizen of the world and a better whatever you want to be. So I stopped trying to think of fancy new fandangled resolutions and just stuck to the basics, many of which have been on my list for years. But hey, at least I'm still going for it.
- Eat Healthier Get rid of everything processed in your pantry, fridge and freezer. That includes cereals, crackers, cookies, chips, sodas, frozen meals, dressings, pop tarts, etc. Anything that has ingredients that your grandparents and great grandparents wouldn't recognize is probably no good. Throw it out and don't buy it again for the year, or ever! This super easy step will make a huge difference in how you eat and feel.
- Spend more time with family Start with calling them on a regular basis. I put an alarm on my phone every Sunday to call home.
- Be on Time This was also on my list last year.
- Start practicing Yoga & Meditation
- Do something to Give Back Donate your time or money to a cause you believe in
- Give yourself a little love by honoring the Four Agreements: Be Impeccable With Your Word; Don't Make Assumptions; Don't Take Anything Personally; Always Do Your Best
- Learn to Cook and eat healthy Home Cooked Meals 5 nights a week, preferably shared with friends or family.
- Sweat Once a Day. However and wherever you want to do it. Get your heart a pumpin'. I've taken up swimming recently. I can't feel I'm sweating but my sore legs and arms tell me I'm doing something right.
- Learn Something New salsa dancing; to speak a foreign language; to sew; to play chess; to play an instrument; to use Photoshop; to do a handstand...
- Detox or Do A Cleanse See ours.
If you made it this far into reading you get my final Confession #7 I am totally addicted to watching Scandal, and Kerry Washington takes my breath away. A little behind the curve on this television hit, yet again, but I have watched 7 episodes in the past 48 hours. Too much? Yeah I know. The real confession is I've started looking for a job back in the states. But I have to save that story for another post. Scandal is just me procrastinating. Happy New Year!!!
