Sometime this past summer, mid-pandemic, I was at the grocery store, and did a double take when I glanced in my cart. It was more full than not of brightly colored, plastic packages of processed food! Wheat Thins, Sun Chips, Kelloggs’s cereals, Kraft Mac n’Cheese boxes, bars, bagels, juice boxes and Oscar Meyer weeners. Who’s cart is this? I think of myself as healthy and I feed my family healthy food but this shopping cart did not reflect that. And this wasn’t an isolated incident.
I had so many excuses. We’re in a global pandemic! The kids need some reward for all this Zoom school and isolation! That may fly for a couple weeks or maybe even months but it’s been over ten months. Now I’m actually doing harm.
We came down to Mexico in November and got lulled into the vacation eating. You know, big brunches in the morning of eggs, bacon and pancakes. Mounds of guac with salty tortilla chips, margaritas on the rocks with lime and Pacificos by the pool. And so many tamales and fish tacos! So fun. Again, that’s fine for a week or so. Not three months on top of the seven months before!
If you know me at all, you’ll know I’m sternly, staunchly ANTI-DIET. I cringe at the word. Tell me I can’t have a brownie and I’ll eat five. You can read more about how I feel about the subject here.
There won’t be any dieting going on but I do need a bit of a reset, shall we say. When I say ‘I don’t diet’, I don’t mean I sit around eating junk all day. I love whole foods, water and exercise. It’s just a matter of getting the pendulum to swing back in the direction of vitality and cleaner eating.
So, here’s what I’m doing:
1) Shopping mostly at the weekly Farmers Market and getting rid of processed food. This way you’re supporting your local farmers and eating in season. Win win.
2) Cutting down significantly on sugar. I do put sugar in my coffee. Just try’n stop me. I’m talking dessert. I’m trying to not have cookies after dinner.
3) Giving those delicious Margaritas with the sugary sour mix the boot for a while. I’m not doing a whole dry January but it’s been about 10 days booze-free and I feel pretty energetic and clear headed so I’ll see. Similar to my no dieting stance, if I declare a dry January, I’ll start obsessing about not drinking and we don’t want that.
4) My exercise with Pilates has stayed consistent but I’m making more of an effort with my cardio with daily beach walks and jungle hikes. I’m feeling my glutes!
And that’s it! Nothing ground breaking. I’ll check in to tell you how it’s going and if I’m staying on this positive, healthy cycle. I already feel better. As my Pilates mentor, Romana used to say, “Energy begets energy.” And the healthier I feel, the healthier I want to feel.
Let me know what you’re doing to reset in 2021. I’d love to hear!