December
My name is Amy, and I have a pizza problem. Oh, and a chocolate problem, a coffee problem, and an ice cream problem.
The problem is all of these foods are delicious (I am particularly indiscriminate about pizza), and more of them find their way into my body than is healthy and appropriate. This became clear over the holidays this past year.
In December, if I only had myself to think about, I would much prefer to curl up and hibernate a bit. I'd probably spend a fair amount of time reading, writing, painting, and doing other soothing activities. Instead, everything gets busy. There are relatives that I want to visit, celebrations I want to attend, and gifts. At work, there are projects to wrap up, paperwork to finalize, deadlines to meet, and projects to support students in wrapping up. There are regular schedule disruptions at both home and work.
Chocolate and coffee were both available in abundance and, as I am fond of saying to my assistant at work, "Amy runs on Dunkin'." She would respond by bringing out a bag of mini Snickers. We would laugh, and then I would eat three of them in a row while staring despondently at the stack of science classwork that I'd just received and had no chance of being rendered accessible by third period. It would then occur to me that it was only 9:10 in the morning.
With this kind of habit, you can imagine how much it might have been affecting my body. I realized that, after the holidays, I would need a reset. My old friend, the green smoothie, wandered back into my thoughts.
Contemplative Impulsivity
"Are you going to do the smoothie thing?" The spouse asked me on January 3, steam rising from the dishes he was rinsing.
I shrugged as I opened the freezer, reached for one of the 15 chocolate products I had received for the holidays, then stopped. I hadn't been fully aware that I had just grabbed a chocolate bar, but then I suddenly was. I shoved the chocolate bar back in the freezer and heaved a sigh of martyr-like proportions.
"Yeah," I said. "I have to do something. I've felt like crap for over a month."
On January 5, I was on to the smoothies. Twice a day, I had a smoothie and followed it up with protein. I had forgotten how good they could be. Spinach and mango and pineapple and coconut. Kale and blueberry and banana. There have been pomegranates. There have been kiwi (and I don't like kiwi). Oranges and grapefruit, apples and grapes, all a welcome respite from the onslaught of holiday stress.
Every night, I had whatever I wanted for dinner. Snacks were herbal tea, water, water with lemon and ginger, fruit and veggies if I really needed them. The chocolate bar in my desk at work taunted me. The snickers bars...well, they snickered at me. I ignored them. I tried to blot out the smell of coffee while I was in the teacher's room. By day 3, I noticed the hunger pangs between meals had stopped. I had been fighting off some kind of illness that cleared itself up. My energy began to return. I discovered fried brussels sprouts and fell back in love with raw ice cream. Even my dinners became healthier, as I started to focus more on vegetables and fruit, making sure to include some at dinner.
Diet and Habits
I'm on day 19, and I definitely feel better. I plan to keep it going until February 5, at which point I will, with any luck, remember to keep on blending. I don't know if other people are affected this strongly by changes to their diet, but I never fail to be stunned when I realize I've fallen into a pattern of eating unhealthy food, then change back to healthier eating.
The older I become, the more important it is to me to keep track of my energy and my health as best as I can. This is not always easy, between working full time, caring for my family, and finding time to rest or socialize. These days, I do not get as much exercise as I would like. Yet I find that changes to the way I eat impact me quite profoundly.
I think it's important for people to find a way of eating that works well for them, doesn't feel overly restrictive, and helps them feel nourished and energized. I may fall back into a pattern of eating unhealthy food, but fortunately, I know what to do to get myself back out of that place.
