Dear sugardrop,
Are you stuck in a rut? Have a lot of ideas, many goals, but lack follow through? Troubles with confidence, self esteem? We’ve all been there, and lately I’ve answered yes to at least one of these. You too? Let’s do something about it! These 40 steps will be a guide to transform bad habits and gain good ones; it will be like working from a clean slate, a fresh start in a tired and worn out routine! Here’s how it works:
Every Saturday for 16 weeks (that’s 4 months!) I will post a new resolution/challenge, which will be merged into daily life that week and added onto the next resolution. Everything will be filed under 4 main categories: Body, Self, Life & Living Space. I will post how I’m doing, what worked for me and what didn’t. It’ll be fun — the comments section will be like our own backyard where we discuss and share ideas & inspiration over Margaritas. Who’s in?
Here’s to a new us! Love,
Luana.
Not everything that counts can be counted, and not everything that can be counted counts — Sign hanging in Albert Einstein’s office at Princeton.
Up until now, Doritos and Crunchie Bars have been my best friends in-between hours. I can’t resist the crispy cheesiness of those little orange triangles, and I don’t think I need to get into details about Crunchie Bars! But I am leaving that in the past; junk food is now officially removed from my friends list.
Whenever I eat these, I feel bloated afterwards and lose any apetite for dinner. In Spanish we have a saying that goes: not eating due to having eaten…should be ok! But not when what you have eaten has zero nutrition value and 100% more junk than what you should be eating. I always have a hard time with junk food because I am a ‘bored eater’: I get the munchies whenever I’m bored. Which is a lot of the time during class, especially in the summer as the beautiful sunshine out the window keeps rubbing in my face the fact that I have to stay indoors working on statistics.
I don’t believe in eating 3 huge meals a day only; I think small portions throughout the day are best. So in-between what would be the three meals, I might eat once or twice. I have devised the following rules to stop binge eating:
- Avoid all vending machines.
- Have a nice protein filled breakfast (hello eggs and bacon!) so that I don’t get hungry so soon.
- For in-between snacks, go for plums, dried peach, almonds, baby carrots & dip, and cherry tomatoes (yum!)
- Do not speak to any friends while they snack on the enemy.
- Refrain from checking ~bakebakebake on Livejournal all the time…
- Keep busy! Allow myself ONE enemy item once a week for a month; then do without them completely.
Some links to check out:
This is not an incentive to diet, but more a healthier way to keep hungry times in control. And this does not mean that I will be giving up cake, tarts, pizza or candy any time soon, they just won’t be around as often!
How do you guys keep from binge eating? Share your tips!
Lyrics from Lady Gaga’s Papparazi that ring true, sometimes to extremes. Where to draw the line? I do not know of anyone who is completely uninterested in material posessions. We cling to these, are always on the lookout for new things we “need”, and losing them could mean a small depression for some.
Is it really possible to become completely unattached? Sometimes I count the number of times in a day that I’ve said “I want that!” or even “I need that dress in my life!” Of course I don’t actually, so when I do buy things I could do without, after giggling and jumping around to celebrate my new acquisition, I end up feeling guilty and shallow. But of course having some extra money, especially if it is money you have produced yourself, should be spent on anything your heart desires, non? So why the guilt?
I have learnt to accept the materialistic and consumerist part of my self because:
- Things are not my entire life. Yes I would have a problem with my computer dying (!!!), or losing my phone. But at the end of the day ‘the best things in life are not things’. If there was a fire, you bet the first ‘thing’ I would grab would be my puppy! Things can be replaced, but people and the moments lived with them cannot. I feel that knowing this helps me get a grip on things, so I know the difference between “I want and I AM gonna get that!” and “I want that but I probably shouldn’t get it.”
- Things can help bring you out of a rut and motivate you. For instance, if your gym subscription is just gathering dust, getting new sportswear could motivate you to start going. Getting new stationery is a great motivation for a starting school/work year (or perhaps this is just my inner nerd talking…). When you have a blah, bread face, nothing-looks-good-on-me day, getting some new accessories or makeup could lift up your spirits! Something you really want could be set as a reward for finishing an obligation or a big project. I love doing this because it makes me feel like I actually deserve it!
- Things serve purposes! I buy a camera because I want to capture memories and because I love photography. I buy new clothes because they make me feel good and confident when I go out. I use what I buy, and all these things impact my life in a positive way.
- Buying or wanting things does not automatically cancel out a functioning brain. I love makeup and am addicted to Youtube makeup tutorials (what? try it!), but I can still talk to you about politics and history and psychology. Don’t ask me about physics or math, though that has nothing to do with the level of my ‘shallowness’ but more the fact that numbers and I just have never really gotten along.
Wanting things does not equal being shallow — being shallow means knowing no other form of happiness than things.
How do you feel about the materialistic part of your self? When does one cross the line over to shallowness?
