21 stands for the days it takes to form a habit. 7 stands for the seven habits I want to form in my life. I have been struggling with my weight for the past 12 years. Frustrated with the diet roller coaster. Irritated with myself that I haven’t developed self control in this area. So I had this bright idea! Since experts say it takes 21 days to create a habit in your life, why don’t I stick to the healthy eating habits that I want in my life for 21 days straight without fail. Then I had another bright idea! Why not do a blog about it. Since I’ve failed time after time after time after time with dieting, I thought if I do this (potentially) in front of the whole world maybe I’m more likely to stick to it. I definitely don’t want to publicly fail. Although for the past few days I have been debating whether or not to actually do the blog. Trying to talk myself out of it, and trying to talk myself into it. Almost deciding it was a ridiculous idea, until this morning. I went to put on a pair of my jeans and couldn’t even zip them up. Enough is enough I thought. I need to make a change.
What are the seven habits?
1. Eat only when I’m hungry/stop when I’m full
2. Drink 8 – 8oz of water everyday
3. Eat five servings of fruits and vegetables everyday
4. Eat 25 grams of fiber everyday
5. Eat only whole grains, no simple carbs
6. Stop eating 2 hours before bed
7. Walk for 1 hour, 3 times per week
So I start tomorrow – March 9, 2011.
Nat, Peace! Congrats on the blog. I commend you on your effort to change your personal habits and lifestyle. If you can get your family eating the same diet, it will help you and them by avoiding the need to buy twice as much food because of separate diets and by getting the kids to eat healthier, too. Walk together as much as you can, but be sure to get the amount of exercise that is right for each of you individually.
ReplyDeleteI've been having my own weight and health problems, so I'm a little bit ahead of you on the reform path. For exercise, I've been doing, whenever I can make time, pilates, yoga (without the meditation), walking, and riding my bike.
From what I've seen among my friends and acquaintances, vegetarians and Asians (particularly, South Asians and Koreans) are the leanest and healthiest. So, I think, follow an Asian or Mediterannean diet as closely as you can. The simple truth is that the American post-Industrial Age diet, which is based on convenience and all things artificial, is lethal.
About the water intake--include soups, fruits, vegetables, and beverages as sources of water. And, from what I've heard, we can all ignore the eating before bedtime rule; instead do what your metabolism can handle and be sure to brush and floss your teeth before bedtime, which is critically important to longterm health. And,to get the right amount of rest and sleep, avoid late night TV and computer use
Blessings.
Thanks Daniel for the advice and encouragement. I have also heard that we can ignore the eating before bedtime rule. But I decided to not eat late at night because usually when I do it's junk. Hopefully, I will get to the point where I can trust myself to reach for healthy snacks after dinner.
ReplyDelete