New Year's Resolutions

I can't stand cycles: you're up one day and down the next. You can never stay at the top. This more or less describes my relationship with exercising and clean eating. For example, over the summer I was quite strict with myself. I was averaging 15 miles a week of running and eating only the best types of foods. Now, I stay up late snacking on whatever treat is sitting on the counter and I can hardly muster the energy or morale to visit the gym. I feel so lame.

So,

my first New Year's resolution of the year is:

Regain self-control

No more feeling like this guy:



or eating like this gal:



or living like these couch potatoes:


rather, I'd like to stimulate a more healthy, normal relationship with food. You know, one of those lifestyle changes that you can live by for more than just a few months. Like drinking only water as a beverage at a restaurant; skipping out on the soda; and taking the stairs instead of the elevator.

But from all that I've researched, it seems that restrictions just get you into trouble. Eventually, your cravings become so massive that when you cave in, you cave all the way. So then how does one learn to eat healthy while also enjoying some of the fundamental wonderfulness of flavor and texture when it comes to food? Well, incorporating exercise into the diet probably helps. And making sure each meal is paired with a vegetable or fruit will probably go a long way, too.

With that said, this year (like I mentioned above) I hope to regain self-control in areas of health and wellness by first living a more consistent, healthy lifestyle. One that isn't compulsive and doesn't revolve around numbers (aka calorie count, mileage, weight, saturated fat percentage, etc).

So, this year

more feeling like this gal:



and eating more like this guy:


and working out more like these people:


The concept of self-control covers a lot of ground, but this is where I want to start. I don't want to be the girl who feels too insecure to uncross her arms in public settings; or the girl who feels obligated to order tofu on a date; or the girl who envies the tiny athletic figures of other people; or the girl who has done all the research about healthy living, but lacks the courage to fully do so. I just want to be content with who I am, the body I've been blessed with and the power I have to make things better.

Change starts Jan. 1st. Yay for New Year's Resolutions!