Treat my body like a temple

I’m going to work on cutting out all drinks except water for one week and build from there. Of course every part of me is impatient and wants to try to change everything at once but that has never worked for me – so I’m going to try the slow and sensible route.

I’ve marked my stop eating meat, stop drinking coffee, and abstain from alcohol goals as done because they all fall under this goal anyway. I might make updates on those individual goals, particularly the alcohol one, but for now it makes more sense to report on them in this goal. Just trying to consolidate and not have a redundant list.

Here’s how things are going:

1) I haven’t been eating properly at all. Some days the only thing I had was junk – like jalapeno bites and a couple Arnold Palmers. I haven’t had a bit of meat, or even a craving for it, but I’ve been carbo loading like nobodies business. My new focus for food is limiting fast food to once a week at most and including more plant proteins, fruits, and veggies in my diet.

2) I haven’t been hydrating properly, either. I’ve been drinking way too much Arizona iced tea. My new focus for hydrating is drinking only water, at least 64 oz, for at least one week. Then going from there.

3) Exercise has been in little bursts, but it’s definitely something I’m picking back up. Today I had a great walk, even though it was chilly and windy (and my ears ached from the wind), and then I did some leg lifts and arm circles. I tried sit ups but my tail bone was grinding into the floor – I really need to do them on a mat. I’d like to make it a habit of walking every day and then doing weight-training/toning exercises every other day.

4) I’ve lost my sleep schedule, but I’ve been getting adequate sleep. To be honest I’m not that interested in getting into a schedule at the moment.

5) No coffee or alcohol intake here! I’m doing great in this area.

6) Hygiene and beauty routines aren’t a huge deal for me right now. I pretty much do what I feel like in these areas… but I’d like to be more polished in my appearance, and my dental health is important to my overall health, too. I’ll make a list of things I want/need to do.

7) Adequate sunlight has been hard for me, what with the weather being rainy and cloudy more often than not. Not much I can do here but make sure I get outside on nice days.

8) Stress relief practice has been pretty non-existant for me. The easiest thing for me to take up would be progressive muscle relaxation and guided meditation, most if not all days of the week.

Good:

1) It’s been 1 month since I’ve eaten meat.
2) It’s been 1 month since I’ve drank any alcohol.
3) It’s been over 1 month since I’ve drank any coffee.
4) I’m still soda free and going on 6 months.

Bad:
1) I’ve been eating junk :-(
2) I’ve been drinking a lot of Arnold Palmers
3) I haven’t been exercising nearly enough
4) Stress relief? What’s stress relief? :-(

I’ve plenty of work to do…

Some of the changes/actions I see necessary in completing this goal:

1) Eating properly – which means 5 to 6 times a day, with a focus on fresh, minimally processed foods. Avoiding fried, overly sweetened, overly salted junk food and empty calories.

2) Hydrating properly – increasing water intake

3) Exercising regularly – a combination of aerobic and weight training exercise, most days of the week (4 to 5 seems good)

4) Getting adequate sleep – keeping a schedule, sleeping at least 8 hours a night

5) Reducing coffee and alcohol intake

6) Keeping up with hygiene and beauty routines – brushing/flossing daily, keeping my face clean and moisturized, keeping my body moisturized, taking better care of my hair, making an effort to look my best every day

7) Getting adequate sunlight – at least 30 minutes a day

8) Incorporating stress relief practices – meditation, guided imagery, progressive muscle relaxation, etc. Something that will promote relaxation and calm instead of stress and tension.