I'm not a big resolutions girl.

In 2006, my mom said "Instead of trying to work out or eat healthier this year, let's get our passports. That will be our goal for the year." Two months later, I found tickets to London & a hotel near Hyde Park for 10 days for $800/pp. My mom thought we were just getting our passports that year but I thought bigger. We booked it and got our passports. That September, we had an incredible vacation together.

Being a new year, it's always a time for people to say "I'm going to be a better person by_____." It's a nice thought but most people end up forgetting their resolutions after a few weeks (or days). Many have no idea why they decided to do it in the first place. Most of these resolutions are about eating healthier, taking care of our bodies, exercising more, doing things on a daily basis... but those should be things we make habits, not resolutions.

With 2011 being my year of intentionality (at Sisarina AND in my personal life), I've made 2012 a year of leadership for Sisarina and a year of habit-forming for my personal life. Throughout December, I started making new habits of exercising at least 30-minutes a day, spending more time praying and giving myself some quiet time. This showed me that determination will get me everywhere and what I succeeded most at was the exercising (I know, shocker). So, it's time for me to create more new habits and to pound in the ones I've recently created.

GOALS FOR 2012:
BODY:
    - Run 1200 miles
    - Run 150 of those miles completely barefoot
    - Bike 300 miles outdoors
NUTRITION:
    - detox Jan 1-28 (no sugar, dairy, alcohol, coffee)
    - give self one cheat day a week Feb 1-Dec 31
    - eat only whole foods (nothing processed)
VACATION:
    - take two out-of-town vacations
    - no computer, no phone, no TV
OFFLINE:
     - spend 24 straight hours per week offline
     - no computer, no phone, no TV

This seems feasible and attainable albeit a little hardcore. If it wasn't, I wouldn't be Melanie. I'm ready to take 2012 one step at a time.

Instead of resolutions, what have you decided to make your new habits?
 

by David, @dsklarin

There is a stigma regarding men talking about struggles with weight and healthy eating. I was hesitant to even write this post when Melanie requested that I guest-blog about the last few weeks. I believe that in life I can either save my ass or my face, usually not at the same time. So I choose to save my ass and to talk about it. I had let some friends know where I was at and that I could use some help. Asking for help also does not come easy for me. Here is my experience so far:

A funny thing happened a couple months ago...I found myself staring at myself in the mirror in the bathroom wondering what had happened. I now knew how my beloved Yankees must have felt after dropping 4 straight games to the evil Red Sox after being up 3-0 in the 2004 ALCS. I woke up and was genuinely horrified at what I saw. I was a fat guy again. How did this happen? Was this some nightmare that I couldn't wake up from?

See, a few years ago I was a REALLY big guy. Here is a picture of me with Aaron Boone (who hit the home run for my Yankees that knocked the aforementioned evil Red Sox out of the ALCS the year prior to the collapse of 2004). It wasn't so much that I was larger than life, I was UNHEALTHY. I grew up playing baseball and hockey and hiking. I was now sedentary...at a desk job, in a bad relationship and just unhappy in general. I hadn't even picked up my guitar or sang in over a year (if you know me at all you find this hard to believe right now).

On the way home from losing my job I received a call that my aunt had died. As I pulled up to my house there was a moving truck. My girlfriend was moving out and I was home early, having been laid off and all. BEST DAY EVER. That's not sarcasm, it's the truth. The job stunk, the relationship was not so great and my aunt was in a lot of pain. Jimmy Needham sings a song called "Hurricane" where he asks that all of the unnecessary things in his life get swept away like in a hurricane so he can focus on what is really important. That is what that day was for me.

I started on the breakup diet, aka not feeling like eating. A funny thing happened though - I started eating right - cooking all of my meals, not eating processed flour or any sugar that didn't occur naturally. I started running. I was at the gym almost daily. I prayed before meals giving thanks for the continued motivation and ability to be a good steward of the body that I had been given.

A year later I was running 5 miles a couple times a week. Want a real fistpump at the Jersey Shore??? Run 5 miles on the sand as the sun is coming up. If you don't feel like pumping your fists at that kind of overwhelming beauty then I think you're crazier than...well, a Red Sox fan or something. I was lifting at 5am 5 times a week. Here's a pic from about that time with a friend and a horse that my family owns: I was healthy and loving life.

And then last September I switched companies and was behind a desk again. I started to skip a day here and there at the gym. Then two days once in awhile. I didn't eat as well on those days, as my body didn't crave the same types of nourishment. It was too cold to run was what I allowed myself to believe. Then before I knew it I hadn't been to the gym in months. By mid-May of this year I was up 40 lbs. HOW did this happen? HOW could I have let this happen.

Two choices at this point - give up, believing the lie that I would always fail at this and hence why even try...OR, get back on the horse, listening to the truth that a temporary setback was all this was, if I wanted it to be.

Melanie asked me to write how I feel after a few weeks of not eating crap (have you ever heard her say the word "crap" with that Western NY accent? it's cutely funny). There's not much to tell - I feel like I am not craving things that are killing me anymore. I have not dropped much weight...yet, however 4 weeks is just the beginning of a restart of what I began in May of 2009.

I didn't agree to be a part of this food detox for vanity - I love how healthy FEELS. I crave that again. I want to have a family - to grow old with someone I love, to see kids graduate, get married and have kids of their own. An unhealthy lifestyle is more than inconvenient, it is the surest way to miss out on these things. I actually love eating healthy, I love exercising and I love being a good steward of the resources that I have been given. I view the detox as a "reset" button... like those old Nintendo 8-bit systems had... when the game was crap, you could hit that button and start over... So thank you, Melanie, for helping me restart something that I love.

Keep up on the progress at: 4 Week Detox

It's been a week & I'm still alive.

I've written before about my body image. I've told you all how much I hate my body… I still do and not because I'm trying to get any of you to say otherwise. It's my issue, not yours. I know I'm thin, I just hate my curves and bumps and love handles. My middle has been a source of disdain for the last 7 years and I've done everything in my power to make it go away… or so I thought.

A week ago I realized that two things were happening. 1. My middle area was not getting smaller no matter how much I worked out. 2. My intestines hated me almost every day. 

Why did I pick these?

I'd talked about doing a detox but couldn't figure out how to do it so I just kept putting it off. Knowing that I'm probably allergic to some of the foods I'm eating I decided to give up the 2 things most people have problems with: wheat & dairy. I also noticed that my sleeping patterns were all messed up and it was a crazy cycle of drinking caffeine every day then not sleeping because I'm naturally caffeinated as it is. Then because I didn't sleep, I'd need caffeine. Processed sugar & fried foods are just bad. End of that story. Alcohol became an issue when I realized that I was working way too much & felt the need to drink on my couch at home while I was working to make it not feel so stressful. I was drinking 4+ days a week and that also didn't help with my sleep habits and caused me not to want to go running. Now do you see?

First Week Report:

Aside from accidentally ordering ginger ale last night out of habit while out for a friend's birthday instead of my usual rum & ginger ale, I've stuck to the plan since last Sunday morning. 7 straight days.

• Wheat: easy-peasy. I don't eat a lot of wheat as it is. I don't plan on adding much back into my diet after this is over.
• Dairy:  isn't too bad since I'm not eating cereal or drinking coffee. I believe I'll be eating the giant container of Greek yogurt in my fridge this week though since it's too expensive to waste. 
• Sugar: The hardest of all of the list. I want a cookie or something sweet after lunch/dinner and have SUCH a hard time breaking this habit. I didn't realize how bad it was until I gave it up and didn't give in. I'm a sugar-lush! Fruits have helped replace this but nothing is as delicious as a fresh baked chocolate chip cookie… !! 
• Fried food: I do crave a big bowl of french fries but I have sweet potatoes that I may bake instead. I'm removing this from my diet wholly. No more fried foods ever.
• Caffeine: The first few days were really tough. I went to work exhausted. Later in the week I realized I was sleeping better, feeling more alert longer and ended the week wide awake. This is something I'll be giving up for good.
• Alcohol: This has been tough. I spent the entire first 6 days with just water. Nothing else. Yesterday I made a mocktail of 100% blueberry & pomegranate juice with seltzer water to help me through the craving.

Having friends support me and go through this with has been an amazing experience. It's been really rough but my whole being feels better and it's prompted me to hit my workout regimen much harder than normal. I'm heading into my 30's (31 shortly!) and want to make sure I hit them with a rock solid, hardcore body. Inside AND out.

Keep track of all of us & what we're eating at melaniespring.com/4-week-detox or #4weekdetox

Happy & healthy eating! 
Melanie

I've never been the type of person to really listen to her body. Teresa, my friend & co-worker, is someone who knows every allergy, every gurgle and every problem that her body has before she even has it. About a year ago I finally started listening to it and seeing the differences in it due to hormones, food, water, and more - it's amazing what my body has been going through without me even realizing it.

With huge cravings for sugar, a very recent caffeine requirement and lots of pain in my guts, I've decided to hit a 4-week detox to find out what's wrong with me. Along with that, I'd like to cut my cravings for things that aren't good for me. Removing my ability to snack on sweets, have a drink while I'm working in the evenings and allow myself to sleep without needing caffeine to keep me going, I feel that four weeks will get me on track. The goal: healthy eating, healthy lifestyle and a go-get-em attitude without the need for coping mechanisms.

June 5, 2011 starts a four week adventure. My friends, David, Mia & Lauree, are making this happen with me. It's hard to do anything alone and having others to keep me up on it is going to be a HUGE help.

RULES:
Remove all of the following from diet:
Fried food
Wheat
Refined Sugar
Dairy
Alcohol
Caffeine

TIMING:
June 5 - July 2, 2011

KEEPING TRACK:
Follow our eating/drinking habits on our handy-dandy spreadsheet at: melaniespring.com/4-week-detox

On Twitter, you can see what we're up to with:
Twitter handles: @MelanieSpring, @DSklarin, @MRommel & @LaureeeO
Hashtag: #4weekdetox

Wish us luck!