New year resolutions? I don’t do them. Look, this new year thing is just an arbitrary date. We should try and meet our goals every day of every year anyway.
Still I do try to take stock and make a few self improvements. This year I want to ( in no particular order) do a number of things to promote cleaner living.
Keep fasting, eat more healthily, cut right back on alcohol, move more, read more, journal more, spend less.
Let’s see how we do!
I really need to get off the couch. I need to lose weight, get more active and tone up a little, drink less alcohol.
I really need to lose about eighty pounds, to get down to a healthy, slim BMI. I’m not really worried about how I look but more about the health aspects and also that it will make me feel more energetic.
I read quite a lot about how alcohol is bad for you, and also people’s stories about giving it up and going sober. I’m not planning to become teetotal, although I will be the first to admit that I can’t tolerate it a swell as I once could.
Back in the day, though, I would go out and drink entirely too much, only stopping when I ran out of time, money or I exhausted the bartender’s patience in some way. Now, I can have just a few beers and still feel decidedly sluggish in the morning.
I actively make myself alcohol free days now. I don’t drop into the pub every day on the way home, and I don’t usually drink very much indoors
Kathy and I have started a fasting regime. It’s working, albeit slowly. It’s not a quick-fix diet, but more of a lifestyle change. We don’t eat after dinner in the evening. Also, we can only drink water, black coffee or green tea. It does save eating crisps, nuts, cookies and the once-upon-a-time ten o’clock sandwich(es).I know I’m eating less calories. Also not having any alcohol in the evenings must be beneficial and again, it saves a bucketload of calories.
Can we keep it up? I’m sure there will be little slip-ups along the way. We can be flexible, so if we do go out and eat in the even ing, it means we can’t eat until the following afternoon, to get the hours of fasting in.
The one big change we need to make now, and which will the most difficult to keep up is the exercise. Being a couch potato is so easy, and it’s also relaxing for both of us when we’ve had an early morning start and/or been on our feet all day. 10,000 steps, here we come.
I’ve actually not missed the booze that much. As I have mentioned before, it’s been mostly on social occasions and not actually missing the booze itself. My coffee consumption has hit the roof though – upwards of six mugs a day!
I came home from an early shift this afternoon around three p.m. and I’m working my way through another pot, whereas I might well have had a glass of beer or wine.
It has been suggested to me that as I’ve quit for a month, I could quit forever. I guess I could, but I do enjoy good beer and wine, and I’d still enjoy it even if it was alcohol free – like with my food, I’m all about the taste.
Checking my calendar, and I’ve a day off on November 1, and I’m working late shift on the second, so I think I might indulge a little. Not going to go crazy though; for one thing I need to work the next day and for another I’m not wanting a hangover in any case.
I’ve got plenty of beer and wine in the house, and there’s always the option of the pub of course.