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January is resolution time. Every year I am reminded of that phenomenon by the plethora of ads for exercise related everything and clean eating/dieting adverts galore. Organizing gear and literature goes on sale and Pinterest feeds are alight with goal setting printables and get you stuff together quotes and courses. It's quite a crush.
Now, I love goals, and periodically I evaluate where I am at regarding what I am doing or how I am behaving. My ultimate goal is to make sure that my behavior is reflective of my ultimate aim to live each day like the gift it is. Am I becoming a better person? Am I wasting my time? Is this behavior destructive to myself or others? Etc...So I definitely get all this self-improvement sentiment floating around at the beginning of the calendar year.
But oof, all the noise is something!
In the spirit of self-betterment season, however, there are a couple of goals I threw out there and started the work on before the end of December.
#1: Goodbye refined sugar.
A few years ago I crushed my very horrid refined sugar addiction by going off the stuff cold turkey. I didn't have any refined sugar for 6 months and very little for the last 5 years. The cool thing about this very drastic and awesome change is that aside from having much happier skin and insides, no horrendous sugar cravings, and a much more nuanced sense of taste, I just don't really like a ton of sugar in anything at all anymore, period.
That said, over the past couple of years I have gotten lazy on my eating and during the pandemic and holidays I ate WAY more sugar that I should have. The result has been a ten pound weight gain over the last two years.
Now, I am sorta old and really don't care if people find me attractive or not, I mean I have been happily married for twenty-two years. But I am a big believer in taking care of the meat husk you are blessed with and after spending a lifetime of not feeling good, I love to feel good.
So, goodbye sugar.
My initial goal was not to have any refined sugar for the next 30 days and stick to eating the way I did when I lost all seventy pounds of excess fat that plagued me and made my life an auto-immune disorder nightmare for so long. The way I eat is a combination of Trim Healthy Mama, Keto, and Intermittent Fasting days. The combination of the way of noshing works for me because I have a metabolism that is weirder than a module from Dune.
Which brings me to goal two, goodbye twenty pounds.
Now, I work out every week, in fact, all through the holidays I consistently went to the gym on top of all my very physical farm labor. The thing is though, to get in the kind of shape I wish to be in I am going to have to go a lot harder. Like training at least five days a week harder. Yee Haw.
The cool thing is, I am much older and far more patient now, so I have given myself and entire quarter (twelve weeks) to attain that goal. Being gracious to one's self is essential to accomplishment. I'm already down four pounds over the past couple of weeks and that's because I am not trying to do a get it done quick sort of scenario. Those attempts sometimes work but the results rarely endure. I like the enduring stuff.
And that brings me to my third goal, which is a collaborative goal. For the last 18 months I have been cohosting a podcast. It's an existential philosophical BS session of gloriousness, I The Show. My cohosts and I spent this afternoon after recording our latest episode discussing where we want to go as whole.
Well, we want to go to Hive.
So here's goal number three: This week I will be starting I The Show's Hive page and get us all signed up on 3Speak. From there we will be posting a short intro video and then weekly topical episodes where we have an all out topical gnashing fest of the kind that we tend to excel at.
I'm so excited to share this other part of what I do with you all. A little scared too, for as a bit of a private person, the idea of putting myself out there is a bit terrifying.
But as I have learned from doing the work, as uncomfortable as it sometimes can be, the end result of accomplishment makes the endeavor always worth the journey!
Sweet! My friend is starting a small farm and we'll be using @soli.deo.gloria at some point for written content. He mentioned a podcast, so it's cool to know there's an audio hosting platform on Hive.
Twenty pounds in twelve weeks? That's a heck of a goal, but the sugar is a good place to start. Check out the prometabolic diet, my wife is about it after an autoimmune diagnosis. It might be useful to you, but it's not a weight-based restrictive diet, so it might not be exactly what you're wanting. Just another tool in the toolbox.
Ahh, I love to hear of people starting small farms, gave that page a follow, and I am so looking forward to future posts!
And thanks for the prometabolic tip, I am all about learning about new ways of doing things, especially eating. I've already crushed a quarter of my goal, it's not even a number thing for me, mainly just tidying up lazy habitual behavior and wanting to feel better stuff. Plus, I like to keep myself on my toes. Last time I had a goal such as that it was because I had to fit into a corseted ball gown, this time my aim's a bit less, well, restrictive haha ha!
As a fellow autoimmune disease person, I feel for your wife, it's truly no fun, and I am glad she has found something that helps:)
Hope all is well down south!
I was off sugar from 2001 until about 3 years ago. All sugar, all sweeteners, white flour, etc. I am trying, (harder after the ER visit) to get back there.
I'd also gotten my treadmill fixed the day before I landed in the ER and need to start using it.
I don't make resolutions but have intentions. Sometimes they come to fruition and sometimes not...
Your eating way sounds about as restrictive as mine, I eat no starch for the most part, that means no white flour, potatoes, and the such. The thing is, it doesn't feel restrictive if you feel good, and when I am eating the way I am supposed to I feel great!
ER landings don't sound fun, I need to go catch up on your blog I think. Hope it's not too serious and you are feeling better?
And I love treadmills! So much easier on the joints lol! I run on one weekly, so lovely:)
And do I ever hear ya on the intentions thing, I have lots and lots of those too. When I take the time to plot down intentional goals I tend to do a bit better on the accomplishment front. For years I have been joking to everyone that I need at least two clones, then I would really get things done!
" I need at least two clones, then I would really get things done!" Me too!
Well, as we don't have any of those, I am going to give you some !PIZZA instead lol!
Thanks!
Looking forward to your Hive videos.
Glad to hear about the sugar. I'm not a health food fanatic or anything, but really not eating sugar has made a difference. All my sugar now comes from vanilla ice cream (only Häagen-Dazs--too lazy to do what you do, make my own), fruit juice and complex carbohydrates. As you say, I don't miss sugar anymore.
Here is to a healthier New Year!
Ooh, we are a bunch of heathens, I hope the videos don't disappoint, but at the very least I am sure you will be entertained lol!
Vanilla Hogs and Dogs, as a young family friend calls it, is totally an awesome sugar splurge, I love plain vanilla ice cream, yum. And your are right, I am lazy and make my own because I hate running to the store, see what I did there?😁
Honestly, I very much doubt there is a lazy bone in your carcass, hope all is well back yonder!
😆
Looking forward to the show on here! Will you also use @dsound for audio files?
Ooh! We are trying to figure out just what we are going to do. I hope you are coming to game night Wednesday, we need to pick your brain lol
Onwards and upwards! Yeah, I don't really gain weight like I used to after I cut the sugar to a minimum. I keep it under 6 teaspoons a day because I still like it in my tea and coffee but nothing else and that works well
Dang! You are super disciplined for real! You are so right about how not eating an excess of sugar keeps one from blimping out too much, I've really noticed that effect as well.
It was a blistering 12 F when I went out to do chores this morning, bet it's a touch warmer at your place lol! Hope you are enjoying that lovely weather!
PIZZA Holders sent $PIZZA tips in this post's comments:
(2/5) @generikat tipped @goldenoakfarm (x1)
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