Getting Healthy: Not Just a New Year's Resolution

I have never been one to make or keep New Year's Resolutions. So, I'm not going to start. But Kari and I are starting a new commitment or re-commitment to getting healthy. We've been talking about it for months, years maybe. We were pretty healthy when we ran the marathon in February 2010, although our eating was out of control. When I ran that many miles, I could get away with stuffing my face with Little Debbie's and anything I wanted.

But the marathon ended. My running ended. But the eating didn't. I gained almost 20 pounds in the months after the marathon. For the most part of 2011, we tried to get back into running. In September, we even got up to 5 miles. But the process has been painful, discouraging, and choppy. I did not exercise with consistency and let stress dictate my eating choices.

We lost some weight in 2011, but have a ways to go to be truly healthy. And happy. I need to lose weight for so many reasons. I tend to carry my weight around my belly: aka, heart attack fat. Those awful words should be motivation enough.

I also need to get healthy because the things in life that I enjoy the most involve activity. When Kari and I vacationed in Vermont in 2007, we explored Montpelier by running (literally) for over 8 miles. I like to hike, bike, and climb. One of our dream vacations is to go to the Grand Canyon and hike to the bottom of it. I don't want to miss out on life because I am not strong enough or conditioned enough to do something. I don't even want to physically struggle with the "chores" in life, like mowing the lawn, cleaning the tub, or fixing up the house.

I also want to live long with a high-quality of life. I don't want to be chained to medication or sidelined with knee pain. I don't want Lupus to get control of me. I don't want to develop diabetes. I love food so much (part of the problem) that I don't want out-of-control eating now to force me to eliminate entire foods later. If I cut back on the cake now, will it allow me to have a small piece every now and then the rest of my life?

I want to have children. I want to be healthy enough to conceive and grow a healthy baby without complications. I want to be able to take care of and play with all of our kids. And I don't want to pass my issues with food onto our children.

So, here are some changes that I am committing to. They are kind of listed in order of importance to me, but can occur concurrently. I am not waiting to master Step 1 before I move onto Step 2. But I also know that I probably can't get a grip on Step 7 before being comfortable with Step 1. Through all the steps, I know the main work that I need to do is to understand why I struggle with food. I don't want to use food for comfort anymore. When I feel stressed, I want to break the link that makes me automatically want chocolate. I still want to enjoy food and cooking, but I don't want to abuse it and be addicted to it. I need to pray and receive help from God, because I know I can't do it alone. I'm glad Kari is here to help, too - although she can be a little dose of Jillian sometimes. As she said to me the other day, "You can whine about it when I'm kicking your butt in circuits today."

Step 1: Increase exercise to 4-5 days per week. Vary routine to include weights, circuits, boxing, biking, and running.

Step 2: Decrease dessert to 1-2 times per week.

Step 3. Increase vegetable intake. I already eat 2-3 fruits per day. Most days I get between 1-3 vegetables, but I know I can do better. I want to use my Vitamix more to get more green leafy vegetables into my diet.

Step 4: Eat out less. We probably go to a sit-down restaurant once a month, but we tend to get fast food once a week (pizza, Chipotle, Chick-fil-A, Chinese take-out, Five Guys, etc.). I think something is out of whack in my life and priorities if I need this much convenience food.

Step 5: Control my portion size.

Step 6: Decrease processed foods. The main problem here is snack bars, like Luna bars or granola bars. I eat one a day. They are just so easy. And I also like crackers and pretzels. I've also been giving in to my love of chips lately, too. I don't eat them every day, but I think we've had at least one bag of chips in our pantry for 8 months. Chips used to be a rare occasion.

Step 7. Add vegetarian options for dinner that are bean-based, not cheese-based. It's easy to go vegetarian when I'm eating a pizza or grilled cheese, but those foods aren't any better than eating meat. I don't know how this step will work. We eat vegetable soup for lunch most days, but if I don't have some kind of meat at dinner, I feel like I haven't eaten. I get angry. I know it has to be mental, so my mind needs to start telling my body that beans are not the enemy.

I am blogging this to help me with my commitment. It's easy for me to sabotage my goals if no one knows about them. So, now they are published. You can ask me about it. Encourage me. But please, I already have Jillian, so try to be more Bob.