Healthy Habits & Thrive in Five Day 10

I am feeling pretty good about getting my mile in most mornings - are you doing this healthy habit with me?  Okay - well, have you mapped out a mile route around your home or workplace?  KNOWING WHERE you are going helps with the habit part.....

And then did some 20s while I put the laundry on... 20s are my attempt at exercising.  My attitude has been so difficult that I asked a friend to help challenge me to do 20 - JUST 20 - of some different exercises during the course of any given day.  So - for laundry folding, I did 20 calf raises (you know, rising up on your toes), 20 squats and 20 hamstring curls (b*tt kicks).  Easy... no-brainers.... I will do some push-ups off the kitchen counter.. still have to take it easy on my shoulders but ought to do some range of motion exercises like arm circles and shoulder reaches with NO weights.  Maybe we'll see the 20s show up as a healthy habit :-)

Anyway - HEALTHY Habits.... I decided, as part of my healthy journey this year, that it might be easier (I love EASY, sensible and efficient!) to work on a different habit each week.  I think that lots of little healthy habits make a fantastic healthy life - and, hopefully, some healthy choices will end up being automatic.

THEY (whoever 'they' are) say that you can create a habit in 21 days.... I'm not so sure.  Or maybe I'm just a tough nut to crack.... but 21 days doesn't seem to work quite that well for me.  It's not enough!  So I have to FOCUS.  I will work on ONE easy habit per week and see if I can get it to be part of my life.

PLEASE join me if you are interested - and let me know what you need to work on.  Remember - it HAS to be easily implemented - something we can do right away.  I know I am not going to count all my calories or grams of fiber as part of my daily life...but I am ready for a change!

I understand that ONE mile daily is not be enough movement.... and one salad a day is not enough veggies... but, if you are like me, SOME days you won't get THAT much of either good thing - and making it a habit is a really important building block to getting MORE.

So far this year...
                    Week #1. Walk a mile daily
                    Week #2  Drink green tea daily
                    Week #3  Eat a green salad daily (2+c fresh veggies + 1/2c beans)

I have them listed on one of the pages on my sidebar and will update weekly!

BTW... if you are WITH me.. for February, you will need a a little notebook (one you can carry with you) and a pedometer (find yours or go get one - there are nice inexpensive ones at Walmart for about $5).  It's a really nifty tool and I am going to USE it :-)


******* Thrive in Five Update  Day 10*****

Okay - yesterday's emphasis on sugar didn't worry me too much.  I don't usually eat a lot of desserts or processed food.  Well, I say that.... but we just emerged from the sugar coma we call "the HOLIDAY season".  Even if you don't indulge much on a regular basis, I am sure you found your fair share.  Not to mention that if I don't actually read labels and write it down, I am grossly mistaken about my sugar intake.  Just because I don't eat desserts, doesn't mean that LOTS of sugar isn't finding its way into my bloodstream!

Anyway... today we think about FAT and its storage function.  If your body doesn't need it and can't get rid of it, your body stores it.  Using logic, toxins that have not yet been eliminated have to be stored there.  And, again logically... look at the shelf life of some of the stuff you are eating... do you think it CAN be processed quickly by the body?
 
 A year ago I decided to drop 20 pounds over the summer...  I did it - and then promptly lost all energy and went into a grand funk.  You can read all about my doctor visits (nothing was wrong (!) and forays into better eating in some of my earlier blog entries.  (Resolution Number 1 - weight vs health!   Back Story Part 1) and (Resolution #1 Food as Medicine )  Looking back there were TWO major factors that I believe caused me to TANK.

ONE was cutting way too many nutritive calories.  I know better - but what I did was have a calorie count which allowed me to indulge in chips... so total calories was GREAT.... total nutritional calories was abysmal.

TWO was excessive indulgence in FAT-FREE, SUGAR-FREE items.  As soon as you say 'fat-free, sugar-free', you say chemical-laden, artificial foods.

If toxins are stored in fat... and I cut both my healthy fat intake AND my total nutritive calories dramatically, then I can envision all the poisons flooding my bloodstream.... NO WONDER my poor body was struggling!

Learning to eat better over the past year has been a wonderful journey EXCEPT for the stress and fear of gaining the weight back.  Which is, of course, exactly what happened!  THAT is where I am now.. and I feel confident that in THIS year, I will get a handle on it!  Thank you, Hannah, for your support and coaching!