Creative Health: Jan 2

Resolutions? We don’t need no stinking resolutions!

I think New Year’s Resolutions are the worst. Just because it is the start of a new year, that doesn’t mean suddenly you can change your whole life and everything about you.

However.

I do believe in constantly checking out, evaluating, and doing little things to improve your quality of life, health, and happiness as well.

Now believe me – it absolutely KILLS me that the timing of my surgery recovery lined up with the holidays and January, that it looks like I’m doing the resolutions thing. But whatever! I’m letting that timing thing go, and just focusing on getting myself healthier and in better habits now more than ever.

For the last eight years I’ve been working to be a healthier me. I know that I’ve done a lot, and accomplished so very much in that time that has STUCK. Which really, is the important thing. I can tell you that I weigh fifty pounds less today than I did on January 2, 2006. There have been a lot of tiny changes to get me to the place I am today – and they’ll all help me take my health to the next level as well.

What I’m doing right now:

1. Daily exercise, as hard as I can. If you actually want to get in better shape going on long strolls or putting in minimum effort for an hour isn’t going to cut it. You’re MUCH better off running up and down stairs for 10 minutes, or doing some kind of exercise as HARD as you can, until you get tired. Now right now I get to the point of feeling weak and wearing out after about a mile of fast walking, or about 15 minutes of jumping jacks, squats, and other exercises done in a circuit (with NO rest). That is ok, I will get stronger. Because I will do this EVERY day.

What is AMAZING here is that exercise has me feeling better mentally, sleeping better at night, and my energy levels for the day have jumped way up since I started exercising again!!

2. “Studio time” is on the schedule. Maybe it’s just thirty minutes, perhaps I just sit here and stare, but I’m in here ready to create and thinking about things to make.

3. Continuing to eat right, and tracking my food on LoseIt! (an app on my phone) in order to stay honest. This also helps me see where problem areas lay, and is helping me to develop better habits overall.

Hard Truths:

• You can’t outrun your fork. When people say they’ll exercise extra then eat badly guess what? You can’t lose weight this way. Perhaps someone who is extremely active and in peak physical shape can get away with this – but not most people.
• To add a bit of fat/round up your horse, cow, or other animal guess what? You feed it grains. I wrote myself this reminder so when I think I need more bread I will pause. While I’m not a believer that 100% of grains should be banned from my diet, I do know that I burn fat more easily, am less hungry, and overall feel better when I’m not eating a ton of grains.
• There are no excuses for bad food choices. Ever. Know that making a bad choice is your right, but don’t pretend it is out of your control.
• Water, lots of water, and proper sleep are non-negotiable. Get these two down, and everything else is much more attainable.
• Time has to be scheduled for creativity. No excuses, no justification. If you want your creative muscles to grow, if you want to be productive, you’ve got to make it a priority.
• It is all so simple, but not easy.

And so, here I am. Sitting in a fairly clean studio with a huge load of things to do/catch up on and needing to get my morning exercise on. Creating with Fresh Cut from Basic Grey and making myself some notes on what projects I want to do (and what needs to be done) immediately.

I have had some people ask me when I can “get back to normal eating” and the truth is – I can eat anything I want now. I *am* eating what is the new normal for me. Making unhealthy choices is not something I’ll be doing much of. Period. I am taking my recent health issues and calling them a call to action. A chance to REALLY make things stronger, as good as I can, to get myself into a health position that will lead to many decades of active life ahead of me.

I have too many ideas, too many things I want to see and do to let myself decide I’d rather eat badly than have more adventures in life. Forget that!

So I continue on my journey to a healthier me, and I also re-boot my creativity and this blog with fresh ideas, projects, and posts as well. A new year is like the ultimate Monday – a fresh start and full of possibility.

I’m jumping in with a smile.