The Time has Come

I'm back!  Not just to blog, but to really commit to healthy eating.  I've been eating healthier than many or most, I would imagine for the past few years, but I've also been waffling here and there and it hasn't been serving me well.  My eczema has come back this summer (oh dear!) and my weight keeps going up and down (more up than down).  I need consistency and I need commitment if I want the health benefits to be lasting.  So today is the BIG day.  It's a Monday, so that's always good (why people tend to do better starting a goal on a Monday, I don't know, but it's psychological to be sure, and I just go with what works.  It's also the first day of a month (September 1st, if you don't want to look at top of this post :) ) and it feels like the beginning of fall, even though it's not really. (Summer just doesn't seem like it's still going on in September, right?)

Thanks for enduring that stream of thought which leads me to what I'm doing.  I'm continuing my workouts each day (mostly Cathe Friedrich and Kelly Coffey-Meyer dvds plus yoga). And I'm eliminating sugar, any kind of flour or processed foods (even the ones from the health food store, which have been a downfall of mine for quite a few years), and dairy.  I know that many people aren't fond of eliminating a food group.  But I have a big sensitivity to dairy and this is what works for me to have ultimate health.  I never need any help eating lots of fruit, but I do need some nudging to eat a bigger variety of vegetables.  I'm going to try out new recipes until I have an arsenal of veggie recipes that I love!

I'm not offering any big tips today except to say that if you really want to achieve a healthy eating goal, you HAVE to (okay, maybe I am offering some big tips):

• Define what you want to do -- tell yourself the parameters in specifics
• Plan out how it will work
• Envision how it will play out 
• Stick with it!  No throwing in the towel by telling yourself that maybe it wasn't the best idea after all. 

 I have had too many times to count lately when I have blown my healthy eating goals out the window at the first temptation. I wasn't prepared.  I wasn't confident in my goals. Not any more.  I plan to share my progress with you at least weekly.  TTFN!

Photo by Oakley Originals Creative Commons