Day 65: 5 Changes

Last week I wrote a post encouraging everyone to come up with 5 changes they could make in their lives to impact their health.

It's important to look at your life and reflect on what you're doing in contrast with what your goals are.

You can't keep doing the same old things and expect to make changes in your life.

A lot of us get caught up in these habits or addictions that we think we need. But when we challenge ourselves we realize that they really aren't as much of a crutch for us as we thought.

Here are my 5 changes:

1. Water - I am really focusing on making this change in my life this month. Before I would rarely drink anything throughout the day, and have maybe a glass of water in the evening along with a glass of sweet tea or diet soda. I've never been a person who really drinks a lot of water. I just don't think about it, and I don't feel thirsty. My eyes were opened to the hazards of my lifestyle a couple years ago when I developed an excruciating kidney stone. Dehydration is one of the causes of kidney stones, and I'm fairly certain that not getting enough fluids was definitely a contributing factor in mine. Now I want to drink water, not only to prevent kidney stones, but for my overall health. For this change, I am going to make it a daily goal to drink 64 ounces of water. I bought some 64oz. reusable water bottles to help me achieve this goal. It's been a little difficult at first with my body getting adjusted to taking in so much liquid. The first couple of days of drinking 64 ounces I found myself making ridiculously frequent bathroom trips. But things have calmed down since then, and I can say that I really feel better with this change. I've found that I don't get hungry as quickly when I have a belly full of water.
2. Fast Food - Before I started this weight loss journey I was eating fast food every single day. It was convenient, cheap and it tasted good. But it was also making me groggy and sluggish and moody. I would find myself grumpy in the middle of the afternoon, and there were many days I would come home from work and require a nap. Obviously, kicking my fast food habit has helped me trememdously. I've lost weight, I'm eating more nutritious foods and I have more energy. I know it's not realistic to expect myself to give up fast food completely. But I am going to make sure that fast food is an occasional thing. Sometimes it's a necessity to run through a drive-thru when you're in a hurry or traveling somewhere. But I'm going to make sure that fast food doesn't become a crutch for me. Fast food will be a rarity in my life instead of the norm.
3. Sweet Tea - I have a thing for sweet tea. My grandmothers and my mom make the best sweet tea I've ever had. A close runner-up, though is McDonald's. Did you know a large sweet tea from McDonald's has a whopping 5 points? I figure it's time I cut some of the sugar out of my life and focus on getting more nutrition. For this change I will only allow myself sweet tea a couple times a week, and only after I've finished my 64 ounces of water for the day. There's no reason I should require a huge glass of sweet tea every day. And it's a silent calorie bomb because you don't think about the calories and sugar since you're not eating it.
4. Parking Far Away - This was a challenge I did in April. I parked in the back of the parking lot wherever I went to try to get a little more exercise. I found that parking so far away really didn't inconvenience me too much, and I felt great about the extra steps I was getting in. I want to make this a permanent change in my life. Since April has been over I've actually been slacking a little bit on this one, but it's time to get back into action. I'm going to park at the back of the lot now as a general rule.
5. Do It Now - I can be a procrastinator at times. It's easier to be lazy and stay where I am than it is to get up and take care of whatever it is that needs attention. I want to make the word "Later" a curse word in my life. I am going to start noticing the areas in which I procrastinate and adopting the attitude of taking care of it now. This will probably be the toughest change for me to to make, but I know it will help me in achieving my health goals.

So what do you think of those changes? What changes are you going to make in your life?