Happy New Years to all of you: friends and family! And what would the New Year be without...resolutions. So I'm going to get straight to the point with the number one New Year's resolution of all time...
1. Lose weight. And I know many of you are putting that way high up there on your list. It's a perenial favorite of mine. And if you're not, you probably should. I'm sure we could all stand to lose 5 or 10 pounds and thanks to my last year's resolutions, I can now say that is the case for me. I can now stand to lose 5 or 10 pounds.
For those of you out there who are still struggling with weight loss and even struggling with how to drum up some enthusiasm for losing weight...something different than last year since that didn't work too well, I can only tell you what I did. I read "Never Be Fat Again," by Raymond Francis. The title sounds gimicky but I can assure you this book is serious. We've all heard the nutritional reasons for losing weight ad nauseum. There's nothing new in that department. Stop eating sugar, processed flour, and bad fats. Eat more fruits and veggies. But this book also delves into the physiological, the environmental and political reasons for losing weight. It makes you want to learn more and from there I went to "The China Study" and "The Omnivore's Dilemma," among others. But "Never Be Fat Again" is the place to start. So get started.
2. Clean out closets (drawers, attic, cabinets too). I really went at it this year and got rid of a whole lot of things. When I lost weight I thought I would wear all those old clothes I had hung on to but found most were out of style. I should have given those away a long time ago. Let someone else enjoy them. Same goes for old books, dishes, toys, furniture. Don't worry, your kids aren't going to want that old stuff you've been saving. I even took all my old vinyl albums (yes, even the Beatles and Led Zeppelin) to Waterloo records and sold them for $239.00! And I felt great afterwards. It's a wonderful feeling to have empty drawers and closets. Now for another round of filling them up!
3. Learn a new language or brush up on one I already know. I learned Italian from the "Pimsleur" CDs and they're excellent. Brush up on that Spanish. You learned it in school. If you put these CDs in your car stereo every day and listen during the commute to work, by this time next year you'll be speaking it again.
4. Stretch more.
5. Try to integrate more low impact exercise into my program.
6. Avoid squats (Have you heard this from me before?)
7. Listen better.
8. Change out at least one toilet to a "comfort height" model. You'll thank me for this resolution.
9. Learn or do something new. Pick out a period in time to study. Start with an interesting video or historical fiction and let it guide you into new learning. Teach yourself a card game. Learn to cook a vegan dish...every day for a week. Become an expert in something...anything.
10. Write more. Get your name in the Library of Congress.
Have a wonderful 2008.
