The New Year...

Each year at this time I sit down and come up with a long list of new year's resolutions, most of them revolving around my health and relationships. I usually make a pretty scrapbook page and hang it on my bathroom mirror so I can look at them every morning.  Problem is, with a long list it's hard to actually make a lasting change. This year, I'm going to switch it up a bit and pick ***gasp*** just two things. I will focus on these two things for all of January and when the month is over I can choose to carry a few over or pick two new things for February. Having smaller, more attainable goals is less overwhelming and I will get more out of them this way.

For January I want to focus on detoxifying my body after a long holiday season of sweet treats, overindulging, and not enough exercise. For the next three weeks, I am going to pay attention to:

1) My diet:

For awhile now, I've been feeling foggy, slightly nauseous, and getting headaches. I started keeping track of when this was happening and it seemed to be after over indulging on sweets or gluten-containing foods. So, I am going to join the movement and try to incorporate green smoothies and juices into my morning routine most days of the week. In addition, limit my sugar and gluten consumption. I purchased Kris Carr's 'Crazy Sexy Diet' that includes a 21-day "adventure" cleanse. 

She suggests:

•  Eliminating animal products or at the very least reducing to no more than twice per week
• Saying sayonara to acidic drinks such as coffee, soda, energy drinks, and the booze
• Leaving those refined sugars and artificial sweeteners behind
• Banning 'The Whites,' white table salt, rice, bread and potatoes
• Cutting out gluten and dairy

Hmm, this is sure to be an adventure! Ha! I'm not going to stress about following this exactly, but I am going to use it as a guideline for my meal choices for the remainder of the month.

2) Yoga Practice

 One semester in college, I had signed up for a yoga class. We had to meet twice a week and I always left feeling more centered and relaxed (being able to touch my toes was just a bonus). Yoga for me, is more about my spiritual well being then it is about getting a good workout in. It's nice to have time set aside to slow down and be in the moment. Yoga does this for me. Why it's always on the back burner?? I have no answer for this. I have one slower yoga DVD at home and just ordered a Vinyasa Flow DVD and Jillian's Yoga Meltdown for the days I need to combine a workout with my yoga practice.  

*----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------*

There, I did it. I successfully only picked two things to focus on the first month of the new year. I'm excited about them both. In fact, I started my morning off with a beginner's green smoothie (I used only 1 cup of spinach instead of the suggested 2 cups) and a cup of green tea in place of my usual coffee latte.

Dani's Green Goodness Smoothie:

• 1 c fresh, organic spinach
• 1 c unsweetened vanilla almond milk
• 1 scoop of Spirutein chocolate protein powder
• 1 banana
• Handful of ice cubes

This was actually really good! Surprisingly I couldn't even taste the spinach!

Now I can start my day right and not feel overwhelmed about all the new things I have to work on. What are you going to focus on in the new year? There's no better day than today to go after your dreams!

Peace & positive vibes....