When you’re depressed, your focus becomes very, very narrow.  My own focus became so narrow that anything beyond making it through the day was too much to think about.  Exercise, eating healthy, getting enough sleep… all of those were things that I knew would help me feel better, but I had neither the energy nor the inclination to keep them up.

It’s time to change that.  I’ve been feeling better, my emotions are no longer down in the dumps, and I’ve started a regular work-out class.  I’m once more able to think about having a fit lifestyle and I’m excited to get back into the routine of making wise choices about my diet and my fitness.

Before I list my goals, I want to share a bit of my motivation.  My family is a huge reason for me to get back into a healthy lifestyle.  I want to set a great example for my little boys as well as be an encouragement to my husband as they make healthy choices.  As the mom, I have a lot of influence in terms of what we eat, how food is prepared, the amount of exercise we get, and our sleep patterns.  It’s very important to me that I promote good choices in all of those areas, and the best way to do that, for me, is to do it myself and lead by example.

Goals for May

1. Cut out all processed/refined sugar.  I’ve done this once before, about 4 months after Joe was born.  I won’t lie, it was tough.  I felt so much better afterward, though, and learned a lot about healthy alternatives.  Lately, I’ve felt as though I can’t stop craving sugar – it’s crazy.  The plan is to follow the same changes as last time – allow myself small amounts of raw honey or maple syrup when I want to sweeten something, but no foods with any sugar or other added sweetener of any sort.
2. Continue exercising.  I’ve been going to “Body and Soul” class here in Williamsburg for the last 3 weeks.  It’s 3 mornings/week, 75 minutes/class, and has childcare.  It’s a great class and pushes me.  It’s made me aware of how much I’ve slacked off.  Doing planks – something that used to be easy-peasy for me – are now hard.  I can feel the extra weight on my body and it frustrates me, but I’m glad that I’m doing something about it instead of continuing down an unhealthy path.  What’s more, even though class is hard, I enjoy it.  I usually end up laughing (briefly!) a couple of times during the workout because of the antics of other attendees or the leader.  Endorphins = natural antidepressants!
3. Cut down on caffeine.  When we moved to Williamsburg and I was struggling emotionally, I found that I either couldn’t fall asleep because of anxiety, or I couldn’t face getting out of bed in the morning because of stress.  One of the ways that I coped was to up my caffeine intake.  I went from drinking 1 cup of black tea to 3 or sometimes 4 cups of black tea.  I even started drinking caffeinated soda again, something that I hadn’t done in years.  I’m now back to zero soda and 2 cups of tea in the morning, but I want to get it down to only 1 cup of tea.  So as of May, only 1 cup of black tea per day.  I have green tea here at home, so if I’m really craving a warm cuppa, I can make some of that instead.

Whew – big changes!  I’m looking forward to them, though, and I’m looking forward to revisiting old “no refined sugar” recipes, trying out some new ones, and sharing them with you, my lovely readers.  I’ve also got some fun financial goals (yes, fun financial goals) for May, too, that I plan to share in my next post.  Stay tuned!

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Do you have any goals that you’d like to work on?  What are your motivations for making healthy choices?