New Year's Resolve

I've long quit expecting an almost magical transformation of my habits and behaviours via the traditional New Year Resolution so the fact that this year's focus began in sequence with the annual season of good intentions was purely coincidental to me. I honestly didn't see it coming. Here is how I was innocently lured into my new lifestyle choices:

In the midst of our Ciaramitaro celebration my sisters and I had gathered around a table chatting happily about all the topics women revel in. I mentioned some of this briefly in "The Big C-Part II".

"Hey, does anyone want to do a cleanse in the New Year?"

We were all surprised to hear Jaime, my youngest sister, initate this statement. This is not a typical interest of hers and she usually declines our soliciations to join us in our various diet or exercise attempts.

"Sure," we all say cautiously, "What would that involve?"

Jaime indicated that it would probably be a fruit/veggie cleanse but would let us know closer to the end of the holidays. We resumed our snacking and other festivities but the seed of change had been sown.
As the New Year approached, I conciously decreased my intake of sugar and other junk foods. If I entered such a pure diet after this indulgent phase of feasting, there would be undue suffering. Mentally, I prepared myself and began going through the cupboards to take stock of what we had and what would be needed.
Jaime contacted us by Facebook to let us know that we were challenged to eat fruit/veggies/nuts only for 3 days (although some aimed for a full week). We used Facebook to chat back and forth about our efforts, challenges and success/failure. I found this group participation to be very motivating and helpful.

I started my adventure at Silverstein's and have been visiting there consistantly since. My favorite time to go is 3pm-3:30pm on Saturdays because one of the elderly, Italian employees goes around offering excess produce for very discounted prices. I am able to get more than enough produce to feed me and my family for $10-15/wk. Lettuce, mushrooms, peppers, cucumbers, sweet potatoes, onions, carrots, apples, bananas, brussel sprouts, broccoli, green beans, pineapple, squash, zucchini...the list goes on.

I found it helpful to make a huge pot of vegetable soup which I portioned into individual and family portions for freezing. This soup is great as it is for such diet or cleansing events but also makes a great base to which leftover meat, assorted grains and vegetables at any time.
 
I expected to be uncomfortable as the excess sugars/carbohydrates were drained from my system but I was rather shocked when the symptoms were even worse than when I had quit coffee. I mean, the coffee quitting a couple months earlier should have made this transition easier but it didn't. I had a headache for days! It was during this time that I decided that I didn't want to go back. Caffeine and sugar were horrible, nasty, addictive substances that promise pleasure but their true nature is revealed when you don't have them. Pain, nausia, fatigue, cravings, irritation. Agh. No more!
 
I also had my eye on a kit that our church bookstore was selling. I had wanted to purchase it for months but had deliberately refrained from doing so because of my "quit quitting" initiative. I have bought many diet related books & kits over the years and didn't need another one to add to my collection. However, I noticed that it was being cleared out at a more than reasonable price so I thought this material might be just what I need to guide me on the new road I was taking towards health-motivated change.
 
After three days of only fruits/veggies and nuts I decided to reintroduce the other food groups day by day starting with protein. I was amazed during this period at how many things you could eat from each food group without having sugar. My favorites were baked sweet potatoes and pears. Who needs processed sugars?
 
I was a little gun-shy about proclaiming my new lifestyle to my family and friends because, well, I didn't want to fall on my face later. I wanted to make a timed committment to not having processed sugar--long enough to be a fair trial in order to see some results in my health but short enough that my mind & body wouldn't collapse in self-pity and deprivation. If I had a craving for cheesecake or donuts, it felt more reasonable to say, "Not this year" rather than "Never again in my life". Does that make sense to anyone other than me? I tried it a few times when I was tempted and it worked. After a week or two I felt comfortable with a year-long committment.
 
So, my dear friends, that is how "Healthy Choices in 2010" began and it has been quite a learning experience over the past 6 weeks. I'm almost finished studying my health materials and look forward to sharing some of the things I've learned with you. Not all needed changes have been made yet but then, I've got all year!