What's the World Wide Web saying this week?

Here's some more mainstream advice that saturated fat may not be as bad as we think... Well, duh!

We've all most likely made and already broken new years resolutions and this article explains how our bad habits become ingrained in our brains. Don't give up though, you can get through it!

Among other things, this Birth Psychology newsletter reports on the impact of a mother's diet during pregnancy... It is interesting to consider that we can shape our child's eating habits based on what we do or don't eat during pregnancy. I can certainly vouch for my mum - she ate everything and has produced four children with amazing appetites!

As we warm up to summer, the 'sun smart' campaign would have us slip, slop, slapping all day long. John Herring argues this as another load of conventional wisdom gone mad in his article "The Skin Cancer Myth". I don't know about you, but I'm looking forward to getting some real vitamin D!

The fact that this woman's stories continue to get air time is quite disgusting!

Finally some doctors and nutritionists are waking up to the idea that carbs are what's making us fat! Imagine if everyone caught on to this - it would be revolutionary!

A 2011 Bucket List?!?

Can you have a bucket list for just a year? I’m not sure, but hey, why not?! I am hopefully not anywhere near dying, so a ‘kick-the-bucket’ list is a long way off. Still, I was thinking last night about things I would like to achieve this year, so why not make a list?

I have the advice of many wise people floating around in my head too – set realistic and achievable goals. It’s no good saying “I will lose 20 kilograms this year” because, while that might happen, it doesn’t actually verbalise how you will actually do that! It’s much better off to say “I will eat no grains or sugar” or “I will do 30 minutes of exercise every day” which is measurable, achievable and should, if done right, lead to that 20 kilo weight loss!

My 2011 bucket list will not just be weight/health related, though I’m hoping that some aspect of my life will be improved by achieving them (duh, otherwise what is the point!). So, here is my list for 20-11…

• Eat no grains (this one starts on 3 Jan, as my previous post explained my unpleasant start to the year!)
• Learn a musical instrument (at this stage, I think it will be guitar, though I could do always do something really unusual – bagpipes perhaps?!?)
• Take a course in how to use my digital SLR camera (no point having it if I don’t get the most out of it!)
• Grow and maintain a herb and veggie garden (this one can start when we move into our house on 15 Jan)
• Learn pole dancing (I already have a friend on board to do this with me!)
• Get a membership at our local pool and swim at least 3 times a week (our pool at home is not quite big enough to do laps!)
• Start studying for my masters (the jury is still out about what my specialisation will be!)
• Eat seasonally (no more ‘fresh’ strawberries in winter!)
• Take a photo a day with my husband (an idea I read in some relationship magazine – this will have to start when I’ve discussed it with him!)
• Learn basic sewing (this might have to wait until I have a sewing machine!)
• Maintain this blog with at least one post per week!

Notice I haven’t numbered them. I don’t want this to become a tick and flick type list, and create that mental barrier that I have to complete number 1 before I do number 2 (especially since the eat no grains thing is a year-long attempt!).

I’m sure I will add to and/or change this list as the year wears on. I’d like to be able to look back at it regularly to remind myself of what I’m aiming for this year…. It will also be good to reflect on it at the end of the year and identify if any of these goals have led to other positive changes in my life. For example, I’m hoping the eating no grains and swimming will lead to some weight loss.  Possibly eating seasonally with a herb and veggie garden, and learning to sew will save us money! Who knows what else this could bring…

Now it’s your turn!

Happy New Year!

Yeah, I know I’m a few days late! Better late than never but… I actually started off the year feeling terrible, but not from what you might think. I had a couple of drinks on NYE but certainly not enough to make me drunk, or sick… I was horrified to wake up at 5am on New Years Day as sick as a dog then! Hubby joked that I’d had too much vodka, but I knew the culprit – NYE dinner and the chicken kebabs that obviously hadn’t been quite cooked…

While it was horrible at the time and not exactly pleasant looking back on it, there was one good thing about it. It cleaned me out! Seriously, I was an empty vessel on January 2, ready to start the new year afresh. I couldn’t stomach anything serious however and unfortunately settled for a small cup of oats with banana and milk. I know, appalling! But honestly, it seemed to balance out my stomach, so at the time I was quite thankful.

Hubby & I had planned to really kick into the 30 day challenge on Sunday, but my physical state didn’t quite allow it. I was left feeling very sore and sorry for myself, and I guess you could call it a fasting day (which is not a bad thing when you think about it!)

By Monday I had perked up enough to stomach a small serving of bacon and eggs for breakfast. Lunch consisted of meatballs and strawberries (served separately!), with chicken and salad for dinner. I knew that my stomach was considerably smaller than it had been at the end of last year, so I took it really easy to make sure I didn’t overdo it.

This led me to thinking that I should really make a conscious effort not to overeat. I should explain, I come from a family of overeaters. It was almost a competition, especially with 2 younger BIG brothers! I know that over the years, I have definitely maintained generous portion sizes with my meals. Why not use this as an opportunity to curb my ways? Combined with primal eating, this must be a good pathway to a healthier weight!

So combined with my New Years Resolution to eat no grains and minimal sugar, I’m adding watching my portion sizes and eating slowly. Defined goals that are achievable. I can’t guarantee that I’ll lose 15 kilos, but I can stick to my ‘no grains and sugar’ mantra!