A Challenge

My wonderful daughter reminded me of a commitment I had made before Christmas, and then abandoned.
My new Level Up Goal is to revitalize that commitment.
Ugh!
I will not eat until my stomach growls.
Grrrr.....

Moderation

Every diet I've ever been on, and there have been lots of them, starts with a list of what to avoid and what to eat.
I can follow a list like that for about 3 days, unless I'm really motivated, then maybe a month or two.
So, what is the root of the problem?
I've seen some dogs eat everything in sight, even swallow socks whole. I've seen other dogs eat just enough food to satisfy their hunger, and then try to cover it when they are finished eating. Iko and Keiko mostly eat to satisfy their hunger, unless we are eating something that Keiko really wants. Then she will go tap her communication button that says "hungry." She wants yummy things! If Iko isn't hungry, she just won't eat. How can I learn to be like Iko?

My goal of the day is to consider the word moderation before I eat.

Proverbs 23:2-4 The Voice (VOICE)

2 If you are the type who eats too much too fast,
    do whatever is necessary to curb your enthusiasm for food.
3 Also, do not eye the ruler’s delicacies,
    for the food may not be what it seems.
4 Do not overwork yourself just to become wealthy;
    have enough sense to know when to quit.

Maybe Keiko and Iko are trying to tell me something!

Water

I read somewhere that when fat it released from the body, it turns into water and carbon dioxide. The premise of the article was that if you want to lose weight, you should drink more water and breathe more.

I don't know if it's true, but pretty much everything I've ever read about weight loss and healthy living says that drinking more water is important.
I   don't   like   water.
There, I admitted it. I like liquids with flavor: coffee, tea, juice, pop, sparkling water....
My dogs drink water. They will even drink mud-puddle flavored water.

Here is my new Level Up My Health goal. 

I will drink one of these per day. With water in it. And ice. Gotta have ice.
My plants remind me that every living thing needs water. They remind me by dying when I forget to water them. That's a morbid thought. I think I will go water myself.

sleep

I should go to sleep earlier.

So, lights out and screens off by 11:00.

developing healthy habits

I'm finding that the easiest way for me to make tiny lifestyle changes is to add habits to the ones I've already established.

I already have the habit of having my morning coffee in my recliner. Keiko added herself to my routine--she knows I need puppy snuggles (and now that she's shedding, Shiba Inu hairs in my coffee).

I added my light box to my routine by setting it up in my spot. It's also where I keep my journal, so that reminds me to write.

Today's healthy lifestyle change is taking vitamin D every day, and I'm going to take it with my coffee so I remember to do it. 

My chair faces my garden, so I can remember all the tulip and daffodil bulbs I planted this fall, and I can look forward to seeing sunshine and flowers in the spring.

And here is a picture of Keiko on my lap, with my new fuzzy blanket from my daughter. Keiko doesn't mind the light box. Do dogs need sunshine too?

Level Up

To have a well-trained dog, I need to break down every learning challenge into it's smallest components, and make changes one tiny step at a time, until the dog can learn the activity. To have a healthier mind, body, and spirit, I also need to make changes one tiny step at a time. I usually try to make huge lifestyle changes, and overwhelm myself, and quit.

So every day, I'm going to add one tiny lifestyle change, that I can actually sustain over time. I started yesterday with journaling. Every day, I will write down at least one sentence about my journey to giving myself the gift of being healthier before next year.

Today, I'm committing to doing a breathing exercise every day. I've done it in the past, and noticed huge changes in my mental health, my ability to handle stress, and my creativity. I also stopped taking antidepressants after doing this exercise faithfully for a month. But then over time, I stopped doing it faithfully. So for the next year, I am going to breathe intentionally every day.

Here is a link to the breathing exercise, if you want to improve your mental health with me.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/thevagusnerve/learning_content/?filter=631935287319434

What tiny change can you commit to today, to Level Up your health?