Happy New Year!!

I can’t quite explain it – even though January 1 marks the start of a new year, I always feel like September is the real start of a new 12-month cycle. That may be because I spent 12.5 years going to school (well, 15.5 if you count preschool to SK, and 17.5 if you count college as well), so September was a time of a new classroom, new books, new teachers, new classmates (sometimes), new binders, new pencil crayons (Laurentien for the win!!)… Granted, there are a lot of other people that went to school for at least 12 years (that half-year was me doing OAC), but they may feel their “New Year” starts on January 1 or some other date. Maybe those people didn’t enjoy school like I did, maybe I’m crazy.

It could also be because I love love LOVE Autumn. Like, I made sure the apartment was ready with Autumn-y decorations for September 1 this year. Who DOESN’T want the year to start with their fave season?!?! (Man, if there is a land where Autumn is year-round, I AM THERE.)

Moving on – why am I going on about New Years in September? Well, about a week or so ago, Jim won this ab-electronic-pulse-y thing for ordering something online. He and I have been saying for months now, “Ok, THIS week we start eating healthy!” and then come Friday we’re eating WAAAY too much pizza/wings/Chinese and hating ourselves. Well, maybe not THAT extreme, but you know, that feeling when you were starving like 45 minutes ago and now you cannot WAIT for your food baby to get out of you.

So, he wins this thing, and inside the box is this Diet Plan. Now, I am NOT some expert about healthy eating, but I have done Weight Watchers twice (it’s a good plan, I just cannot commit or afford it), worked at Herbal Magic, and I read articles about diet, food, healthy stuff, etc. At the least, I have a basic knowledge of being healthy. I honestly believe that you should NEVER be on a diet – as in, an eating plan that restricts what you eat, doesn’t allow certain foods, etc. Sure, yeah, they work, but what happens when you have to go to a function, or you just couldn’t make your lunch the night before, or you go away on a vacation for any length of time? You either feel miserable as you say “No, thank you” to your fave foods, you sneak a few things but totally feel guilty, or you straight up overindulge and feel even worse.

I read through the plan, and it’s not BAD, per se – just kinda repetitive and well, not a WHOLE lot of variety. HOWEVER – since I’ve sadly reached a point where I can TRY to eat healthy but I get distracted because I don’t have a plan set out, this is actually my best bet for now. Am I going to follow it to a T? Uhhhh…no. For example, lunch today was 1 cup cooked high-fibre pasta, 1 cup cooked spinach, and 2 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese. You have snacks through the day, and are encouraged to drink your water, but that is lunch.

Now, I like all of those ingredients, and I was excited to have it. I made it last night, had it all ready to go today…and eating it was not great. Blech. If I’m gonna stick with this, I am gonna have to make some changes to these dishes!!

So, I jumped online, and did a quick search for healthy and tasty ways to cook spinach. So far, the most promising option would be to sautee it with a little olive oil and minced garlic (or, failing that, a pinch of garlic salt or powder). I can handle a pasta dish without tomato sauce that also doesn’t have, like, margarine melted into it (because that’s how I would have made that meal myself). Or copious amounts of cheese. But a dish without flavor is something I know is a one-way ticket to “Screw This Diet-sville.”

Yes, there is also the whole discussion around the word “diet.” While I don’t exactly have a bustling social life, I do still have a life. I’m 30 – I want to spend some Saturday nights going to a bar, I want to go to the movies, I want to indulge in the delicious foods that basically are reserved for the last 4 months of the year (Thanksgiving, Hallowe’en, Christmas, hello!?). The idea that “Cheat Days” are becoming more…accepted (?) is a step forward, I think. So, maybe I’ll use the Weight Watchers term in place of “diet” – “Lifestyle Change.” Or something similar.

Either way, this looks like this is really it. I’m finally taking the first steps to becoming healthy again…to becoming ME again. I’ve spent the last year or so completely ashamed of what I allowed myself to become. I got married at a higher weight than what I wanted, but I figured, “No big deal, once the Newlywed dust settles, I’ll get back in shape!” That never happened, and I ballooned to an extra 30 or 40 pounds. I’m entirely self-conscious, and I actually find myself not taking part in activities I used to love, simply because I am so unhappy about what I think I look like to others. Jim has been nothing but supportive and tells me I’m so beautiful to him, but it’s hard to believe that when you look in the mirror/look at pictures on Facebook and hate what you see, and you don’t even recognize yourself.

Age 24-ish to Age 30

So, no more excuses, it’s time to do this for yourself first and foremost, and hopefully do this for your future family. Become your own hero. Do it because you miss dancing. Do it because you miss shopping without always needing to try on the clothes. Do it because your husband deserves to have a smokin’ hottie on his arm. Do it because – let’s be honest – you have a ton of costume ideas, Hallowe’en or Fan Expo, that you wanna rock at some point. Or, at least wear a clever shirt about it.

Wish me luck!!!