New Year New Me

So what prompted this sudden interest in sustainable living?  Well, first off, the New Year.  I know what you're thinking, 'New Year's resolutions don't stick, why can't you better yourself at any time, not just at the New Year, etc. etc. etc.'  Well, I'm here to tell you, there is a benefit to being inherently stubborn and a perfectionist to boot.  New Year's  resolutions DO stick if you're too prideful to let them not. ;)

Take the year (2007?) I decided to give up all soda/pop/coke/whateverintheworldyoucallitinyourneckofthewoods.  Not only did I not drink pop for that year, I have continued to not drink it since.  Following that year I have not been so strict on myself, of course, the occasional (i.e. once a year) icee Coke or Sprite will not kill me and at times I will indulge.  Those times are few and far between, though, and I largely view myself as being 'soda free.'

So this New Year (2014) came around and I found myself in quite the predicament.  There were absolutely too many things I wanted to change about myself.  And now before you go saying, "Allah created you, be happy as you are."  No, no, no...you misunderstood.  I am happy being me! I am happy with the hair, skin, body, brain, family, LIFE Allah gave me! Alhumdullilah for it all! The problem, then, lies in how I am taking care of the hair, skin, body, brain, family, and even Earth Allah gave me.  I want to be healthier, not for appearance reasons, though that may be a perk that comes, but as an act of worship to Allah.  I want to better take care of my body, home, and family.

With this realization came the reality that one cannot change so many things as I wanted to change at one time.  I read that making new habits takes 21 days.  I also read that the magic '21 days' was a load of crap.  Regardless, I decided to focus on doing just one thing to better myself for 21 days and go from there.  What was this life changing one thing?  Flossing.  I decided I would floss after brushing in the morning every day for 21 days.  And what do you know, I did it! I'm now at 28 days, and in the blink of an eye I'll be at 365. If I can give up soda, I can take on flossing.  I truly believe that I can stick with it and make it a lifelong habit.

Hooray for small victories! Unfortunately (or fortunately?) I could not contain my excitement to better other aspects of my life so I've made some other changes within the 21 days although I wouldn't yet call them habits. One thing that we are working on as a family is better eating habits.  I am not giving up all sweets or going on a crazy diet.  What I am doing, is attempting to feed everyone in the family breakfast, lunch, and supper every day.  Say what? Isn't that what normal people do?  Perhaps.  We got into the routine, however, of having breakfast, snacks, and a giant supper.  Not good for the metabolism.  Also, if my husband got too hungry at work, he'd go for fast food which is not only unhealthy, but also a bad choice financially.  I have been packing my husband's lunch daily in this baby:

Imported from Japan, it even came with chopsticks! (that we don't use). It is small but perfect for a light lunch.  I also love that the reusable containers fit perfectly inside and mean I don't have to use wasteful plastic bags.  I've acquired a number of other containers for my son's lunchbox as he will be bringing his lunch everyday when he starts school in the fall.  Allergy and religious dietary restrictions mean that boy is never walking through the lunch line.  Also, to be more sustainable, I pack real silverware and (for my son) a reusable water bottle to again cut down on plastic waste.

The third item I've begun, and the one I'm struggling most with, is weekdaily (yes I made that word up...it is intended to mean M-F) ab exercises.  I gave up the gym before the move (over a year ago) and boy does it show on my stomach and on the scale.  I've had this nifty DVD for years:

In past attempts to exercise at home I always committed the fatal flaw of creating unrealistic goals for myself.  I'd tell myself I'd do 30 minutes of exercise a day, or 50 minutes 3-4 days a week, or some other combination that I just could not realistically jump into without building up to it.  For that reason, my goal was to do 10 minutes weekdaily (the DVD has five 10 minute routines).  Even that has been hit or miss, three days one week, two the next, four the next, etc.  Actually hitting all 5 days of the week hasn't happened but it's something I've only started this month so I'll get there!  I am already at the point where I don't get sore afterwards so I'm progressing whether I've totally hit my stride or not.  Once I've got this down, I obviously want to eventually add more as a) you need to work out your whole body, not just your core, and b) 10 minutes of physical activity a day does not equal a healthy lifestyle!

So that's that.  Those are the first steps taken to make myself a more healthy, productive human being in the new year.  As I mentioned in my prior post, I am also focusing on replacing items around my house with more natural/chemical free/reusable alternatives so I'll be getting more into that soon.  Wishing you all a healthy, happy (belated) New Year!