January... it's a month of sustenance and health focused rituals. After the excess of the festive period I tend to be fatter and suffering from not a small amount of guilt. Then I buy a diet book or three (already half way through a tome about Sirtfoods), perhaps a new kitchen contraption (in 2016 the Nutibullet seems to be dominating my morning routine) and make all sorts of resolutions about wholesale changes I am going to make.
I could say that I put weight on just by looking at food (it certainly feels that way considering how easily I can pile on the pounds), but that would be a lie because the bloat is really from eating all the food, including all the pies.
Most of what I cook is pretty good for me... loads of veg, a fair amount of fruit and I tend to prioritise whole-grains over their white counterparts. I am however also partial to an entire sharing bag of crisps on occasion and can easily polish off the best part of a bottle of wine on a Friday night.
I have realised that I have been a yo-yo dieter since I was about fifteen and I reckon that enough is enough. I am essentially going from a state of deprivation, to that of a guilt ridden glutton and then right back to deprivation. And the result? I don't look much different, I tend to feel physically rubbish and I have the tendency to get grumpy with my long suffering husband when what I am really feeling is deep seated frustration.
So what am I going to do about it? Another diet? Another way of life? No, NO MORE!!
2016 will be a year like any other, it will be a year of choices and I am going to try and make good ones. And if perhaps I fall off the wagon and scoff a packet of Quavers between court hearings or have a glass of wine after a long day, well I am not going to beat myself up over it. I will just move onto the next moment and with it the next choice (perhaps not to finish the bag of Quavers and to stop at one glass). And if I have gotten to the end of the day without working out (and let's be honest, that is most days), I will wake up the next morning and maybe then I'll choose to get out the weights.
Because that's life, it is a series of choices. So rather than going on a diet, rather than signing up to some regime that is actually removing choice, limiting autonomy and to be honest telling me to eat more fruit and veg and less junk food (common sense really) I am going to give choice a try. Each time I am faced with a healthy option or an unhealthy one (whether it's to do with food, exercise or perhaps my mental well being), I will try and make the one that's good for me. Except for when the choice is a sticky toffee pudding or a an apple... well I'm only human after all!
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| Healthy choices don't even need to be the least exciting option |
I could say that I put weight on just by looking at food (it certainly feels that way considering how easily I can pile on the pounds), but that would be a lie because the bloat is really from eating all the food, including all the pies.
Most of what I cook is pretty good for me... loads of veg, a fair amount of fruit and I tend to prioritise whole-grains over their white counterparts. I am however also partial to an entire sharing bag of crisps on occasion and can easily polish off the best part of a bottle of wine on a Friday night.
I have realised that I have been a yo-yo dieter since I was about fifteen and I reckon that enough is enough. I am essentially going from a state of deprivation, to that of a guilt ridden glutton and then right back to deprivation. And the result? I don't look much different, I tend to feel physically rubbish and I have the tendency to get grumpy with my long suffering husband when what I am really feeling is deep seated frustration.
So what am I going to do about it? Another diet? Another way of life? No, NO MORE!!
2016 will be a year like any other, it will be a year of choices and I am going to try and make good ones. And if perhaps I fall off the wagon and scoff a packet of Quavers between court hearings or have a glass of wine after a long day, well I am not going to beat myself up over it. I will just move onto the next moment and with it the next choice (perhaps not to finish the bag of Quavers and to stop at one glass). And if I have gotten to the end of the day without working out (and let's be honest, that is most days), I will wake up the next morning and maybe then I'll choose to get out the weights.
Because that's life, it is a series of choices. So rather than going on a diet, rather than signing up to some regime that is actually removing choice, limiting autonomy and to be honest telling me to eat more fruit and veg and less junk food (common sense really) I am going to give choice a try. Each time I am faced with a healthy option or an unhealthy one (whether it's to do with food, exercise or perhaps my mental well being), I will try and make the one that's good for me. Except for when the choice is a sticky toffee pudding or a an apple... well I'm only human after all!
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