One way I’m trying to improve is by learning to eat healthy. It was not very emphasized growing up, in fact the opposite was true. Changing my habit of poor food choices has been a struggle for a few years now, but today I made a little progress.
I pulled out my college Nutrition text book and did some reading. (Part of my plan to get healthier is to read about it daily.) I was reading in the section about nutrition before, during, and after pregnancy. Frankly, I got a little scared. I read about all the complications that can come up because of a mother being overweight or underweight (of course I’m the former, not the latter). Ack! Don’t want those complications! It gave me even more motivation to make changes to my daily eating and exercise habits.
My goal for February will be to follow the Food Guide Pyramid.
I think what has been keeping me from doing this in the past (besides laziness or stress) is that I didn’t have a plan for what to eat. Nor did I really know what constituted a “serving” in each category. Today I laid out a plan of 3 breakfasts and 3 lunches that I can mix and match. I wrote down how many servings of Grain, Fruit/Veg, Dairy, and Protein each would give me. I even wrote down snack ideas and the number of servings they would give me. Now I just need to figure out the amounts my various dinners will give me. 
That will take quite a bit longer.
Now I have a plan! I really needed to do the work myself I suppose. There are plenty of websites out there that will help you with nutrition and give you menus, but I needed to make the foods I like to eat fit. I really think everyone has their own taste and a meal plan just won’t stick unless it fits in their taste.
What were my January goals and how did I do?
- Drink plenty of water — did great!
- Exercise daily — getting a cold slowed me down, but I exercised more than last month for sure!
- Read about nutrition daily — did pretty well, read almost everyday.
- Stay away from chocolate and cookies — mostly did well. Had about five days in there where I ate them anyway, not bad for a start!
I’m trying to make goals that will help me change my habits and get me healthier, but I also want to make sure they are sustainable for a lifetime. Becoming healthy involves all of a person.
