Goal #2

Every year I fall into the same trap as most of the rest of the world.  I resolve to lose 300 pounds in the first month of the year and then have to eat a bag of Oreos to make myself feel better when I don't succeed!  I'm not doing that this year.  I'm not putting any numbers in this goal.  Ultimately, would I like to lose weight?  Absolutely!  But that's not the goal, this is:

Goal #2: Become Healthier

1) I am a coke addict.

 Let me rephrase that.  I am a Coca-Cola addict.  MANY times I have attempted to stop drinking Coke completely.  Yeah.  That didn't last long and it gave me a horrible headaches...which is how I know I have an addiction.  Someday, I'd like to not drink Coke at all. But this year, I'd like to drink less Coke.  My best line of defense?  I've told my students that I want to cut back.  Anytime I open a Coke, some random 5th grader will ask me if I've already had one.  (I told them I was trying to drink one or NO Cokes during the school day.)  They will not let me get away with anything, and I'm glad!

2) This could probably go right along with number 1, but I want to drink more water this year.  When I have water available, I drink it.  I like it.  I don't know why I don't drink it all the time.  Oh yeah.  Because I love Coke.  Ok, well, hand in hand with drinking less Coke, I will also be trying to drink more water.

3) I want to eat less empty calories.  Working late hours at school, I often eat from the Four Vending Machine Food Groups: Sugar, Salt, Caffeine, and Preservatives.  None of these things are good for me.  But if I'm meeting Goal #1, this should be less of a problem.  I would never say that I'm giving up all sweets because I know me.  But I want to get rid of thoughtless eating (chips and snacks while watching TV or playing on the computer, etc.) and eat things that are good for me.  I LOVE veggies.  It's time to add MANY more of them to my DAILY diet.  (This is not the best time of year to make this decision, but it's still doable!)

4) I want to eat out LESS.  Much less.  And if I never saw another drive-thru window, that would be ok with me.  I AM THE DRIVE-THRU QUEEN.  Of course, getting to school at 6:00am and leaving later than 8:00pm doesn't lend itself to a great desire to go home and cook!  It was soooo easy to drive through a fast food place, eat quickly and get busy doing things at home.  NO MORE.  I am going to consciously make the effort to eat out LESS than three times a week.  That includes drive-thrus!  I almost always eat Sunday lunch with the parents after church.  That's easy to make a healthy choice - soups and salads are a great Sunday lunch.  That still leaves me one other time during the week to go out with friends.  That should be doable.  And, as I am not writing these goals in cement, I can tweak it if necessary. 

5) I want to move more.  I'm not exactly sure what this looks like.  If you know me, you know I can't even pretend to be athletic OR coordinated so many of those "move more" options are a little out of my realm of possibility.  I can walk - not in a straight line and sometimes not without hurting myself or others, but I can walk.  The single digit temperatures here for the last week don't lend themselves to a vigorous hike.  Ha.  Hike.  Right.  I meant walk.  There is a new gym in Dillsboro I need to check out.  Simply for the treadmill and elliptical machines.  My parents go to the gym in Cherokee.  There's a pool, track, treadmill, and other machines that I might be qualified to use!  There's a great walking trail in Cullowhee.  Actually, I can open my door and there's this great outdoor place that I could probably walk in - when it gets warmer.  I have options.  And now that I'm not spending all my time sitting behind my desk, I should be able to choose one or more of them regularly!

6) I want to sleep more.  I am not a good sleeper.  It takes me FOREVER to fall asleep and I don't stay asleep.  I think because of years of this struggle, I don't really try anymore.  I don't do things that would make it easy to go to sleep.  I drink (gasp) Coke late at night.  I watch TV or work on the computer until I go to bed.  Because I "know" that I'm just gonna lay there anyway, I don't make it a point to go to bed early.  My body has a VERY STRONG internal clock.  Somewhere between 4:45 and 5:00 every morning my eyes spring open.  Weekends, holidays, every day.  Recently I have discovered Melatonin Plus which has actually helped me fall asleep a little faster.  My problem is that I really need to be in bed somewhere between 6 and 8 hours when I take it...and that really hardly ever happens.  But now, maybe it will.  That's the plan anyway!

There.  Not a lot of specifics, but some definite things I can focus that will make positive changes that will make me healthier!