Tuesday, January 02, 2007

Bring It On!

Every year people make a list, either verbally or mentally, about the resolutions they want to keep in the upcoming New Year. I'm one of them. Sometimes my resolutions fizzle out after three months, some limp along all year and then others never even get out of the starting gate. One of my resolutions this year is to get back into my "lifestyle change" that I started approximately six months ago. No, this is not a "diet". Dr. Oz states that diets are a no-no. In reality, the word "diet" puts too much pressure on the individual to meet certain goals in an unrealistic amount of time. Not good. Who needs more pressure?

Dr. Oz is my new best friend :o) I first saw him last year on Oprah and I took to him immediately. He "dumbed down" the medical terms and explanations so that the audience could understand but he didn't do it in such a way that it was condescending or ignorant. I now consider him my Overall Health For Dummies teacher :o) It was shortly after my Dad had two more stints put in that Dr. Oz did a show called Appearances Are Deceiving. He showed the difference between a healthy and unhealthy heart. He explained how and why plaque builds up in the arteries and where the worst place to carry fat was. It pretty much scared me senseless! Just learning and seeing what a few harmful ingredients could do was enough to make me sit up straight and take note.

So what is my "lifestyle change"? Well for starters, it's eliminating harmful and/or unhealthy ingredients from the foods that I eat on a daily basis. Have you ever read the ingredients section on some of the foods that you eat? I do now. I consider it almost like a job interview. If the item has an ingredient that I don't like, it basically does not get the job of being my next meal :o) Hydrogenated oils, sugars, high fructose corn syrup and enriched flour are the four items that I plan to cut out of my diet (food) this year. Up until Christmas, I was very successful in eliminating the hydrogenated oils and enriched flour. I even lost some of the fat that I had accumulated but the holiday season pretty much squashed any progress I made :o(

Last night I watched the movie Super Size Me for the first time. If that won't turn you around, then nothing will! DH and I haven't been big fast food eaters this past year and it's hard to even remember the last time we went to one. I now have that movie taped and I will use it to squash any future fatty cravings that I might have. The more turn offs the better! Now don't get me wrong, this will not be an easy road. I found eliminating hydrogenated oils a bit hard but it's going to be the sugars that will do me in. I have a sweet tooth. A VERY sweet tooth. So far I have been able to wean myself off of Coke but now it's the Country Time Lemonade that needs to be conquered. That and chocolate :o(

I have come to listen to Dr. Oz and I would really love to get his book You, On A Diet. I know there is a lot more to this "change" than what I just listed. The second stage of this plan is to get out and walk more. Will all my wonderful ailments; this has proven to be just as difficult as eliminating unhealthy foods. My idea is to get my hands on a step counter and make walking into a game :o) Oh, I walked 1500 steps today, well let's see if I can increase that to 2000 tomorrow. You get the idea.

What's on your resolution list for 2007?

1 comment:

Faith Ann said...

I think you are right, if you label it as a "diet" it seems like there is an end. It really needs to be a change to healthier lifestyle that you can stick with.

Good luck with all the changes... I know how hard the chocolate one will be.

Hope you're feeling better soon!