A year of living well

I saw this on our cafeteria’s intranet site this morning and thought it laid out some good guidelines to follow during the year. Sometimes breaking these healthy habits down into "chunks" makes it easier to adopt and incorporate into daily life. At least it does for me!

JANUARY - Resolve to Reach a Healthier Weight in the New Year

FEBRUARY - Discover Heart Healthy Fats during American Heart Month

MARCH - Snack Smart during National Nutrition Month

APRIL - Seek the Benefits of Whole Grains

MAY - Be good to your bones in honor of Osteoporosis Education Month

JUNE - Be Wise, Exercise

JULY - Healthy hydration for hot steamy days of summer

AUGUST - Healthy eating on the run

SEPTEMBER - Enjoy More Fruits & Veggies every day

OCTOBER- Make the Most of Super Foods

NOVEMBER- Rise and Revive with Breakfast

DECEMBER- Aim to Maintain Throughout the Holidays

January is a gimme - "Resolve to reach a healthy weight in the New Year." Duh. Who doesn't have that on their list of New Year's resolutions? This was also my resolution last year, when I was still trying to lose the last of my baby weight (albeit three years after baby, so not sure if it still qualifies as baby weight!).

Anyway, last January I joined Weight Watchers and within three months, I was back down to my pre-pregnancy weight. Which was great, but even before I had my daughter, I felt I needed to lose about 10 pounds. Add to this the recent holidays, where three pounds crept back on, and I'm starting out 2010 with the goal of losing 13 pounds. Doing so will put me well within the weight range for my age and height, not to mention make me feel that much better about putting on a swimsuit during our trip to Mexico this coming June!

Swimsuit or not, I established my 2010 New Year's resolutions with the intent of living a healthier lifestyle and by doing so, I expect the weight will take care of itself. My goal for the year is not to stress about the scale, but to instead focus my energy on positive changes I can make that will keep me healthier and happier in the long run.

As for the list above, I’ll plan to post something the first of every month pertaining to the theme – whether it is information I’ve read in a book, found online, seen on Oprah, or heard around the water cooler, I figure it is all food for thought, right?