What is your word for the year?

This is not a normal blog for me and very personal.  By no means am I saying I am perfect with every decision I make, it’s a journey.

Right before the start of 2013, I began a journey. I am not one for New Year’s resolutions. In late December, I knew something had to change. I signed up for yoga classes at Sun Dog Yoga. The yogi leading class started talking about going into the new year with a word that describes what you want to dedicate 2013 to.   Also, during that time I started reading John Maxwell’s “15 Invaluable Laws of Growth”. Maxwell talked about the same thing and have a word that describes your year. I LOVED the idea!! Words I thought about were: patience, openness, love, hope, and joy. To live your life by any of these words will bring you more in the world.  I have learned that what you appreciates, appreciates.

I decided to dedicate 2013 to HEALTH! I have realized that without health, nothing else matters. As someone who travels a lot, I am making a plan each week regarding my exercise and meals for the week. It becomes difficult, but I make a plan each week. As for exercise:  I am taking pilates at Flip Dog (from an amazing instructor Vicki Cross), yoga at Sun Dog, and working with John Edwin from Strength PT.    There is a group of us working with John, which allows for accountability partners.  Here are some great videos that John has developed. The biggest issue I have is when traveling and finding time to exercise. John has designed videos that are 8 minutes in length and can be done in a hotel room.  Jenna Wolfe from NBC has also developed a hotel workout.  It’s a pretty good workout.  I know I need to work on increasing my cardio and I am making progress.  I am getting stronger and it feels great!

Healthy eating is also part of the plan for me.  I don’t eat fast food and make every effort to eat fresh healthy foods.  One of the things I realized, which was a mistake, was that I thought I was eating healthy- just because I was eating gluten-free.  With the exception of eating organic meat, I have decided to eat a mostly vegetarian diet.  I am looking forward to my CSA beginning again.  I am doing Palovchak’s Produce again.  For those of you not familiar with CSA’s, it stands for Community Supported Agriculture. Once a week from the end of May to the end of October, I will get a bunch of fresh fruits and veggies. I am so excited to do this again this year. I still need to work on portion control.  As I had mentioned, I am feeling stronger, but I the scale isn’t moving as much as I want it to. 🙂

For me, part of this journey for health is learning to do things for me.  As I get older, I have learned to do things that are best for me.  I have learned to set boundaries.  One of the main things I do is protect my weekends, when not traveling.  I only say yes to things that I want to do.  If I say yes to everyone, I am saying no to me.  I need time to re-charge my batteries and I have learned what I need to do.

I am four months into this plan.  How are things going…….pretty good, but it is a journey!  I am looking forward to how things will look in December of 2013.

Related articles

• Do you CSA? Here’s why you should! (healthyheels.wordpress.com)
• On locality, sharing, and whole foods. (diaryofcalories.wordpress.com)