New Year Resolutions - A New Spin on 2011

This is the first post of the new year, I believe! It's funny, the very second each new year hits, I automatically feel more motivated to work on things. Not that that is all bad, but what is it that makes people want to start off with a clean slate for a new year? Why can't we feel like this at the beginning of every month, or every week, or day? Thank goodness it at least happens to me at least once a year instead of once every ten years. 2011 is not an even number.

I am definitely one of those people who makes New Year Resolutions. And I do a fair job at endeavoring to keep them, but the effort in essence hasn't become a habit, so therefore, I falter right along with the February crowd. Every year.

Supposedly, it only takes twenty-one days to form a habit. Well... habits aren't necessarily lifestyles, are they? I think it takes a bit more than just twenty-one days to form a lifestyle.

And, in a nutshell, that is what I'm about this year in particular - I'm out to create a better lifestyle, made up of better habits. But I'm pretty sure it all starts with your attitude. If your attitude is in the right place, so will your motivation and determination, and consequently, you'll accomplish what you want.

For me, the biggest thing I want to start doing (for life) is living what I believe. I'm such a good talker... I'm so good in fact, that I'm hypocritical. I know exactly what I need to do, but while I'm preaching it, I'll be doing the opposite! So, starting now, I'm trying to do what I believe. It really does take courage.

I am including the classic lose weight/exercise more combo also. I still have baby weight to lose, and it's not going anywhere unless I make it! This stuff takes honesty too - brutal, unforgiving honesty. Still working on the exercise end, but the eating better is going alright so far. I bought a jump rope after I learned that you can burn up to about 500 calories if you jump rope for a straight hour. It was only $3, so I haven't really wasted any money by neglecting to use it yet. But I should start soon. I watched some YouTube videos of some crazy jump roping to psych me up.

In general, what I want is to learn how to be balanced and consistent and hard-working. Those three things will help me in my struggles right now; I'll become a much better woman as a result of diligently working on them. Along with pursuing a better spiritual life (I'll get into that next.) I think I tend to gravitate toward extremes, and when that happens, I'll go go go for one big burst and then crash like it never happened. So I want to be more consistent in how I'm doing things. I think the key with me is to make goals that are easily achievable and work from there.

On the spiritual end, I'm trying to keep my prayer rule. I want to be reading more Scripture, lives of the saints, and teachings of the Church Fathers, and I'm going to start meeting regularly with my priest to talk. I definitely need accountability and some direction from a priest.

So, I think I'm on the right track!

Some things I've realized make me feel best are:

* Doing something for Caleb every day
* Doing something for me every day: something I love or want to do
* Working around the house somehow every day
* Doing a good job taking care of Cillian every day
* Play piano a little every day
* Pray every day
* Eat right and do something active every day

There are many others, but those are the main ones that make me feel like I'm being a worthy wife and mother, and just a good human being.

So, all of that said - I hope you make it a point to start better lifestyles and not be so wrapped up in starting new habits! I think new and improved habits are good, but they only get you so far. If your attitude is willing, you can create any lifestyle you can dream of.

Happy New Year, folks! May it be a wonderful 2011 for all of you!

Here's the first Quote of the Day for the new year, from the 2011 Orthodox Daily Calendar:

"He who is not submissive in his talk will certainly not be so in what he does. To be unfaithful in the small things is to be unfaithful in the great, and this is very hard to bring under control."

~ St. John Climacus

Progress and Plans

As a new mom, I think I've been craving routine of some sort - for me. Cillian is finally in a good routine now (which is bound to change at any time, I'm sure, now that I have gotten the pattern down,) but I still haven't had much of one. Something Caleb and I have decided to do, which I think will really help my need for consistency, is having breakfast together in the mornings before he goes to work. The routine is that we get up at 7 and he takes a shower and gets ready for work while I go downstairs and make eggs and toast and sausage for us.

And my, it's a wonderful thing...

So this week, we have succeeded in having this routine start out our days twice out of the four days so far. Monday, Caleb took the day off and took me out to Cracker Barrel, and yesterday morning both of us decided sleep was much more important than eating. So this morning we struggled a bit to get out of bed, but I really wanted to fight this and get into a good habit of it. I know how much better my mood and general attitude towards the day is when I start off the mornings right, and especially with Caleb.

I want to make this a good habit. After all, we go to bed together and have a good evening routine - why shouldn't we have a good morning one together as well? It makes me so happy to do things with Caleb. I think it's really important for a marriage to be a wife first and a mother second. They go hand in hand, don't get me wrong, but Caleb is my baby too and he came first.

Along with breakfasts, we have started eating healthier, which is something that has needed to happen since we got married. We haven't been eating entirely unhealthy things, but we as not as healthy of eaters as we could be. For me, eating healthy means starting the day early enough to have breakfast, lunch and dinner, and not just breakfast and dinner as a result of starting my day at 1 PM. So, the getting up with Caleb change works beautifully. I'm still a bit tired, but as we gradually get to bed earlier, that will change and get better too.

So, on the menu this week starting Tuesday, (Monday doesn't count because we a) had Taco Bell, which is not healthy and b) grocery shopped that day) we have had Chicken Caesar salads as a dinner, Wednesday we had Penne pasta and alfredo with green beans, tonight we're having stuffed chicken and corn or green beans (I haven't decided yet), and tomorrow we're having tilapia with a vegetable. We are also trying to stick to serving portions given on whatever food we eat. And it's all going pretty well so far.

Another change along with beginning to eat right is that we're going to start a normal exercise routine. We decided to start this coming Monday rather than in the middle of the week so that it begins right. We're starting a running program that my sisters-in-law have done, one of whom ran her first half-marathon an impressive 8 months later. The program is designed in such a way that you will be able to run 2 miles straight after completing the 8-week training. You do something every day, six days out of the week (hence why we want to begin on a Monday). The first day is ten repetitions of a walk 2 minutes/run 1 minute pattern for a half hour, the next day is just walking 30 minutes, and it alternates for the first four days, then the fifth and sixth days are running/walking days and Sunday, you rest. Then the next week, the pattern is slightly different, and it gradually gets more challenging week by week. I'm very excited about it. I really, really want to stick with it. It says the first two miles you run are the most difficult you'll ever run, and after that, it's pretty easy to work up to however many miles you want to run. I think 3-4 sounds good.

So, with eating more healthily and exercising, I'm hoping to a) lose my baby weight, b) tone up (especially my core), feel stronger and have more energy and c) look better in my clothes and go down a few sizes.

I'm going to be vulnerably frank here - I gained nearly sixty pounds from pregnancy. My wedding weight was somewhere around 125-130, and my weight up to delivering Cillian was about 190-something. I would love love love to get back down to my wedding weight, but my realistic goal for now is 140. I think I would be very healthy to be down at that weight, especially if I'm noticeably more toned. My numbers currently dance around 168-170. So I'm going to keep updates on the blog as to how everything is going - how the running and exercising is and how the eating, meal planning and cooking goes. I'll also post a weekly weigh in. (That'll help me!)

I'm very happy about all of this. Finally changing my attitude (though it be gradual) about food is very refreshing. It's amazing how appealing a salad every day sounds. My new diet consists of breakfast with Caleb, which is two eggs overeasy with one piece of toast (buttered), and two sausage links; between breakfast and lunch, I'll have some fruit (an apple or banana) and maybe some peanuts or cheese; then lunch is a big spinach salad with a little bit of chopped nuts, a sprinkle of parmesan, and the correct serving size of raspberry vinaigrette with some soup. It's very yummy. Just having more salad and drinking plenty of water makes me feel better. I like it when I'm in control of my stomach. It feels right, and it feels so good. No wonder fasting is spiritual! It is certainly one of the passions I have the most trouble controlling, but now I think I'm off to a good start.

Also, we're trying not to eat after 8 PM, which is a great habit to introduce for anyone. And I'm going to try and start drinking more water too. I was so good at this when I was pregnant, but I've kind of lost my urgency for it, which shouldn't make any sense as I should be drinking more water than ever now that I'm breastfeeding. Ideally, you should be drinking half your weight in ounces, but I need to be drinking more. So, I'm going to try filling my 32-oz. water bottle up three times a day, trying to have a full bottle between breakfast and lunch, lunch and dinner, and then in the evening and throughout the night when I'm up breastfeeding.

So now, I'm drinking my morning tea and enjoying this gorgeous morning. I'm so happy it's fall.

Cheers.



Here's the Quote of the Day:

"Think nothing and do nothing without a purpose directed to God. For to journey without direction is wasted effort."

~ St. Mark the Ascetic