Day 1: A journey starts with one step

Hi all!

Thanks for reading my blog. This is my first post in what I hope becomes a remarkable journey of change.

Here's my "mug shot"...As you can see I have plenty of room for improvement with the acne on my face and dark circles under and on my eyelids. Clearly I'm not doing this for vanity purposes, well at least not for today. ;)

What I've realized...

I cannot tell you the countless hours I have spent reading self-improvement books and articles on virtually every area of life. I have spent so much time reading and having procrastinated for so long on starting something, I decided that I had to get all of the thoughts out of my over crowded mind and onto paper...or a computer screen. Granted there are many self-help journals that advocate journaling as a means of witnessing your own progress and allow for thorough self-examination, I do not yet know of any that suggest taking this approach to a public level. Perhaps life coaches would be recommended as an alternative to blogging about sensitive topics, but given my lack of interest in using someone else to help me change, I have decided to create my own life coach of sorts that costs virtually nothing except my time and ability to commit to a project.

What I want to be different...

Now that you know the impetus for my approach, let me explain what I'd like to see change. There are several areas for improvement needed in my life. Personally, professionally, financially, and those areas related to my health. For the purposes of this blog, I will be focusing on my health but from time to time I will discuss other areas of my life because I believe that they're all interconnected and not one is compartmentalized by itself. A belief I have recently come to hold is that it all starts with health. A lot of reading and and videos I have watched support this. In later posts, I will go into more detail about those very articles, blogs, and videos that I found to be most beneficial and accurate. And give a major thanks to the authors and speakers who shared their valuable knowledge free of charge.

What I'm going to do...

I felt inspired to change my diet and lifestyle. Here are the rules or guidelines that I am going to try to live by:

Minimal to no coffee. There are actually health benefits to coffee, but considering in my case how adversely my skin and energy levels have been affected by my over consumption, I am starting to eliminate coffee and caffeine entirely from my diet save the occasional small cup that I will drink to ward of withdrawal headaches. If you've never experienced one, they really suck and last for several hours. Ugh. Luckily I have been blessed with not having any right off the bat because I drink plenty of water.

Drinking more water, specifically, 1 glass with every meal, one in the morning before breakfast, one before bed, and 1-2 glasses while running errands and driving, and one while walking the dogs. That leaves a total for potentially 7 glasses or bottles of water. I'm 130 lbs, is that enough? Also, I live in a dry climate.

Sleeping before 10:00 pm. I was considering taking a waitress job as a second job, and although I could desperately use the money, I have made the decision to put my health first. I spent years (almost 6) abusing my body but working multiple jobs as a student, getting irregular and inadequate sleep (too much, too little) not enough exercise or ways to release my tension in what was a very stressful life. I went without meals as I was constantly broke and it damaged my spirit as a result. Now, I want to take the steps to create a healthy body that I can benefit in years to come, especially during my menopausal days. I hope my 40 something or 50 something year-old-self looks back and thanks me for this very moment. I also want to do things to restore my spirit which you'll find below.

Walking regularly for 30 minutes to 1 hour daily. I have two dogs and they could totally use it. I have started to do this, and we go on 1-2 moderate to long walks a day. They feel great and I feel revitalized but not over stressed.

Practicing yoga or meditating. I have a tendency to read a lot and I love it. But my mind is constantly on overdrive and I need to quiet it for at least 10 minutes a day. I tried yoga and being the sensitive gal I am, I didn't appreciate instructors pointing out what I was doing wrong to the class. I realize that without that feedback I would not get the full benefits of doing it "right" but apparently there were stretches that my body was not ready to handle and I should like any yoga instructor know when NOT to push. Fortunately, I have had some phenomenal yoga instructors and they truly respected the limits of the class. Especially those of my tight-muscled ass, or more specifically, those of my hamstrings and thigh muscles. I meditate best outdoors by myself. If I'm in nature I can loose myself for a while and just focus on the beauty around me. That's why I chose the green and blue template for this blog as it says to me: "healthy and natural". Aaaaahhhh....Feeling more subdued already. Cheers.

Eating only healthy foods: lots of greens and fresh foods whenever possible. Today I spent $30 on green produce and got some killer deals. My crisper is overflowing. Better eat it all before it goes bad.

Allowing the following indulgences no more than twice per month:

Dark chocolate

Wine (mostly red, especially Pinot Noir and some whites)

Ice cream

A lot of the studies I read discussed eliminating all to most dairy and sugar, as well as alcohol, but I am being realistic. I believe that I can restore my health by practicing good diet overall and rewards now and then. I am no health nut. I'm not overzealous. If I make a mistake, I'll forgive myself and move forward. I want to keep this a positive source not a live or die scenario.

So without further ado, I am going to list my diet and exercise as of today. You may or may not find this interesting. And that's actually ok with me because I'm well aware that the benefit comes from my own personal review. I've already broken some of my rules and I'm going to forgive myself because I've just started. At the end of every blog I will post a picture to show the progress in my skin. Maybe my spirit will radiate, too. If you have not noticed by now, one tool in my arsenal is my positive attitude. I never believed in having a positive attitude until recently, and I hope I prove myself right!

Here's what I've done today...

Diet

Breakfast:

• 1/2 cinnamon raisin bagel with pumpkin spice cream cheese
• 1/2 asiago cheese bagel with egg scrambled, Mexican shredded yellow and white cheese, 1/2 slice of peppered turkey
• 1 cup of 100% apple juice
• 1 glass of water from Sparklets (I have a water cooler in my house and the stuff tastes amazing!)

Lunch:

• Whatever is 3 slices left over from a large pepperoni pizza
• Lady finger soaked in various liquid creams and cider with green apple, pear and cranberries

• 2 bottles of water

Dinner:

Will share on next blog post! I have yet to eat. This one's getting pretty lengthy and I applaud you if you have read all of it until now thanks to today's ever decreasing attention spans.

And if I've inspired you to do something differently in your life, I'd like to know. Thanks.

Oh, as a warning, rude and disrespectful comments, anything vulgar or obscene or blatantly cruel said to me or someone who leaves a comment will be reported and blocked. Thank you in advance for being good. Besides, the type of readers I hope to attract with my writing are more than likely sincere, decent, rational, and somewhat mature folks. I hope I'm not wrong. A little immaturity and mischief if OK, but if taken to far, I'll kick you outta here, buddy!

Thanks.

Peace and Love,

Jennifer