As I say goodbye to 2016, I say goodbye to a lot of things….Goodbye carbonated drinks!  Goodbye processed foods!  Goodbye 50 lbs!  Goodbye old me!   In saying goodbye to those processed, fried foods and “junk” I also said goodbye to high blood pressure, heartburn and acid re-flux.  I made some pretty big lifestyle changes in 2016 and I plan to make some bigger changes in 2017! Let’s keep this ball rolling…..

In January of 2016 my dietary goals were:

• Eliminate processed foods
• Eliminate carbonated drinks
• Use more real ingredients and preserve more homegrown foods
• Throw away those blood pressure pills!
• Lose 60 lbs

I achieved a lot of those goals….

• Processed foods are no longer a staple in my pantry. Instead of opening a box of macaroni and cheese, or a tin can of peas, potatoes or corn, I go to the basement and bring up a glass jar of home grown peas, potatoes or corn. Macaroni and cheese was once a weekly side dish and I’m proud to say that my boys haven’t had it but twice in 2016 (that I know about).
• I can count the number of carbonated drinks I’ve consumed this year and still have fingers left over!  I once was a 2 or 3 a day Coke Zero offender, but now my taste buds have changed so much I can hardly stand the taste of one….
• We canned over 800 jars of food this year, that in itself speaks volumes.  My boys put 5 deer in our freezer between Thanksgiving and Christmas so there will be lots of venison on our 2017 menu!
• My blood pressure pill(s) have been long gone thanks to the 50 lbs that I lost and my dietary changes.
• I didn’t quite reach my 60 lb goal and I have bounced a little through the holidays but that’s okay; I’m human and I know how to fix it!  Life happened, I got busy on the Labor of Love project and my Sunday Funday Prepday became a day that I spent doing other things rather than planning.  When I went shopping for jeans this past Black Friday, I was shocked when I tried on jeans.  I walked into the dressing room with 3 pairs and I walked out with the smallest pair – a pair of jeans literally 1/2 of the size of what I wore last year!

2017 Health GOALS, not Resolutions (who keeps resolutions?!).  Set a GOAL and strive to achieve it!

• Drink more water
• Pack our lunches 5 out of 6 days
• Eat supper at home 5 out of 6 days
• Throw away less food!
• Reduce caffeine intake, I LOVE COFFEE!  (Doesn’t mean I have to love the caffeine.)
• Take more walks
• Lose those last 10-15 lbs!

Drink more water, it’s not like I’m drinking anything else (except coffee), I just dont drink enough.  I say pack “our” lunches and 5 out of 6 days because I am a Homeschool Mom that works with my husband 6 days a week and we homeschool our boys at our business.  So the 4 of us are together 6 days a week, 9 straight hours!  Our goal is to reduce our eating out to one lunch and one dinner out each week. This is somewhat a multipurpose goal, eat better and save money at the same time. Maybe this will help with our “throwing away food”!  With all good intentions, I like to shop fresh; the problem is, the fresher, organic foods have to be eaten faster than the preserved foods.  I have got to find that happy medium, I hate throwing away any food.  If you know me, you know I LOVE COFFEE as in morning, noon and night.  Those pots after 12pm need to become Half caf, then Decaf.  I’m killing my adrenaline gland!  More walks ~ I need to learn to walk away and walk down the street at least once a day.  With a business right on Main Street – I have no excuse!  If I focus on these goals, the weight will take care of itself.  I strive to keep the 2016 goals rolling, they were truly lifestyle changes that were life changing!  I plan to add the 2017 to the list and keep on kicking.

Watch out 2017 – here I come!