New year, new me, new habits

I ordered a new blender this morning. Making my new shakes has already burned out the motor of my old blender. I have started making protein shakes with a product that claims to be "Corn Free, Dairy Free, Egg Free, Fish Free, Gluten Free, Milk Free, Peanut Free, Shellfish Free, Soy Free, Starch Free, Sugar Free, Tree Nut Free, Wheat Free, Yeast Free". What it does have in it is all plant based and natural.

I giggle every time I see the name but it also fits the mission of what I am trying to achieve and how I am trying to approach my health.

When I make up my mind to attack a problem, I jump in with both feet and move forward like a warrior. Unfortunately, I eventually tend to give up when I don't see the results I expect to see as soon as I expect to see them. My plan is to attack this in the same way I advocated for better mental health and special education services.  I was able to successfully influence small changes, one step at a time, and over the course of the several years I worked with schools, state, and federal agencies, do my part to improve both systems. 

My hubby always says it takes 30 days to establish a new habit. I am 9 days in and so far, I have stuck with my new morning routine of making a healthy breakfast. Before, I never ate breakfast during the week and had a fat filled yummy one on the weekends. I am also making the decisions of what snacks to eat that day, and beginning any prep for dinner, since I never used to do that until late afternoon and would end up making something quick and not necessarily healthy. I also make a protein smoothy in the magic bullet at that time so it is ready for mid-morning.

In the evening, when making dinner, I make an anti-inflammatory smoothy in the blender for Dave and I, which Dave finishes in the morning before he goes to work. So far, it has really helped curb my appetite and allow me to remain true to my portion control goals. The protein powder goes in that one too.

Making time for preparation is so important and for me, it is the key to successully stay on track with my health goals. Having the proper tools will help as well so, I need a new blender. Instead of telling myself that "I am not working right now and can't really afford it", I am allowing myself the luxury of buying one with all the rewards points I built up logging my weight, blood pressure, glucose, activities, steps, and purchases at Walgreens.

Using that strategy and resource my blender was free. That is a great result of my new routine.