Healthy habits progress report…

Back in September, I wrote a post about all the new healthy habits I was going to adopt. (You can read about it here.) Since it is now January—a time for looking inward and taking stock—I thought it would be a good idea to revisit that list to see how I’m doing.

So here goes… the moment of truth:

Go to at least one yoga class a week

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Not only have I been consistently going to Yoga, I’m taking classes that push me to the limit—classes that make me sweat and give me sore muscles the next day.  More than the total body workout I feel like I’m getting (some of those poses are a bitch to hold!), I am finding that it calms my anxious mind. This is one habit I intend to keep.

My new goal: take two yoga classes a week. There are two at my gym that fit perfectly into my schedule, so no excuses.

Drink at least one cup of green tea per day

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I am officially obsessed with green tea. This makes me sound like the lamest person on the planet — I mean, who’s obsessed with green tea? Could I not find a more fun obsession, like wine or chocolate? Apparently not. Anyhoo, here’s the deal: Research shows that drinking up to 32 to 40 oz of green tea per day can scavenge free radicals (those thingies that do all sorts of bad stuff to your body). With that in mind, I started drinking it like a fiend. On average, I consume about 35 – 40 oz of green tea per day.

I attribute my modest green tea consumption to two things:

First, my super cool 20-oz Monster’s Inc. mug. Two of these mugfuls per day and I’m golden.

Second, the awesome variety of green teas on the market. I have about 6 different kids—from mint to jasmine, to candy cane to blueberry to Constant Comment and more. My green tea doesn’t taste like green tea; it tastes like whatever yummy flavor it comes in, and I love it!

 

Continue drinking lots of water

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At one point, I was drinking water like it was going out of style. But since I’ve upped my daily intake of tea, my water intake has dropped. But that’s okay. Drinking tea (which I do without sugar) gives me the same benefits as water, like keeping me hydrated and flushing my system of toxins. So, I’m giving myself a √- because while I’m not drinking lots of plain water, I am hydrating like crazy.

Take more cooking classes

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I haven’t taken a single cooking class since I wrote the original post. BUT, it’s for good reason. My consulting work has picked up and I’ve been busy making money. That said, I do intend to try to squeeze in one or two over the next few months. In fact, I just got my dad for his birthday a cooking class for the two of us. He wants to learn how to cook and I could always use a refresher. So in April, we will learn about seven different ways to cook with eggs (creme brûlée is involved).

Eat more fruit and veggies

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Yup, I’ve done well here. A few months ago, at the urging of a friend of mine, I bought a super green powder called Greens First. It’s basically a whole bunch of healthy stuff (much of which nobody’s ever heard of, like spirala and chlorella) that’s been juiced and dried at a low temperature to maintain its nutritional properties. One scoop provides the antioxidants of nine fruits and veggies. I usually mix it into a tasty smoothie that usually includes some variation of strawberries, blueberries, bananas, pineapple, raspberries and grapefruit or orange juice. (And of course, a few teaspoons of elderberry syrup for an extra immune boost during flu season.)

 

Hit the gym at least 3 days per week

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So here’st he deal with the gym: I definitely haven’t been doing three days a week. At one point, I was doing two, one of which was yoga. So, I guess I haven’t achieved this goal.  That said, my new strategy, as mentioned above, is to take two challenging yoga classes a week. I have decided to only focus on this and skip the treadmill for a bit. I’d like to see how I fare going the yoga route. I hope I see measurable results because I really hate working out. I’d much rather take a few yoga classes.

Deep breathing

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I practice my deep breathing when I think of it, but not as often as I need to. When I’m feeling anxious it’s my first course of action, so at least there’s that. But I really need to just spend a few minutes a day doing deep breathing, not including when I’m doing it in yoga. Even as I sit here now and type, my breathing is shallow. I just had to stop myself and take ten deep breaths. That’s what I need to do more of.

Stretching

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I stretch here and there, but not every day. That said, yoga does an excellent job at forcing me into all sorts of crazy stretches—ones that supposedly “squeeze the toxins out of my kidneys” and “stimulate my immune system,” and so on.  So, I’m not stretching every day, but when I do in yoga, I’m doing a pretty thorough job of it.

So there it is. I am relatively proud of my progress. Sure, if I did all of the above items consistently, I’d be better off. But compared to where I was a year ago, I’m way ahead of the game.

If you’d like to try any of the stuff I mentioned above, I’ve got links to it in my sidebar. I would be lost without Amazon!

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