Resolutions?? Goals?? Who knows??

     Ahh, the beginning of a new year. Time to make those resolutions, right? Every year I say I am going to try and get healthier. Every year I fail, usually by Jan 5th too! But this past year, I was able to make some healthy changes that I have mostly stuck too. I was 16 lbs lighter than I was at the beginning of last year, and that was even after gaining about 10 lbs between Thanksgiving and New Years. 

     I became much more aware of what I put into my body. I didn't always make the wisest decisions, but I was more aware of what I put in my mouth. I started really paying attention to how many calories in the food I was eating, especially when we eat out. Who knew that the "healthy" chicken salad I was eating at a casual sit down restaurant could contain slightly more than 1, 300 calories? Really? I could have had the Bacon Cheddar Cheeseburger that I wanted and still have 370 to eat. Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought that the salad would have more calories than a bacon cheeseburger.

     I started moving a little more. Last year I had a pedometer and would try to get in a certain number of steps  a day. I need to get a new one, I lost that one. But I got into several habits that I still do. One is parking a little further away instead of taking the closest parking spot. All bets are off if it's cold or raining! ANother thing I still do, especially is I am shopping at Wal-Mart is as soon as I get in the store, I will take a brisk walk around the entire perimeter of the store before I start my shopping. Nothing major, but it does get me moving a little more. 

     I have learned it is okay to splurge at times and if I am going to splurge, I might as well enjoy the real thing. Fat free sugar free cookies do not satisfy a sweet tooth, one or two real ones will.  

     I quit drinking soda for a while. I do still drink it on occasion, but it is rarely my first choice and I almost never buy it and keep it in the house. 

     One thing that has helped me more than anything is using the Lose It! app on my phone. I can log in my foods as I go through out the day which keeps me very aware of my calorie count for the day. They also have a website that you can register at and it is free. I love the way it is set up and have found it incredibly simple to use. For me, the more simply it is, the more likely it is that I will actually use it. I cannot recommend this enough, it is pretty wonderful.

     

So what are my main resolutions this year? 

***I am going to continue the changes that I have made. I also want to implement these changes throughout the rest of the year too. 

***I want to continue my quest to be at a healthier weight. 

***I would like to lose enough weight that my doctor will take me off my blood pressure medication.

***I would like to become more aware of where my food comes from and try to incorporate as much local food into my diet as possible.

***I want to cook from scratch as much as possible so that I know exactly what is going into my food. I am pretty good with this one, but I know I could do better.

So what about you? Any goals you want to share?