new years resolutions

if your holiday season went anything like mine, you ate like a crazy person for the last 8 weeks and feel like eating nothing but veggie soup for the next 8. don't get me wrong - the food was wonderful and it was more than worth it, but i'm not particularly fond of waking up with a stomach ache or not being hungry for 1 meal a day (or any snacks in between) because i've gorged myself on the other 2. yikes.

so here we find ourselves in a new year once again, making resolutions for healthier eating and even for weight loss. we can definitely go overboard in these goals, leaving us stymied to accomplish them at all. when making your resolutions for healthier eating or losing weight, here are some principles to go by:

• be realistic. if you eat dessert every night, it may be hard for you to eliminate all sugar from your 2009 diet. instead, give yourself 2 nights a week you can eat dessert and try to make healthier desserts so you don't feel so bad about it.
• make small changes that matter. for example - make a goal that you will no longer buy white bread, only wheat. if you don't have white bread around you certainly can't eat it and your waistline will thank you. other good ideas here - no more fried foods, eat better snacks, use egg whites instead of whole eggs whenever possible, etc.
• be accountable. have a buddy (a friend, spouse, etc.) to report back to or to report progress to - or even to vent to when you'd really rather eat fried chicken than a salad.
• don't eliminate anything you love. this is a good way to stop your goal before it starts. if you love it, you're going to splurge and eat it at some point. i, for example, could never go on a no-carb diet. i love anything with carbs - bread, pasta, rice, cake.... mmm. no atkins for me.
• exercise. this is the most important change you can make in 2009. your overall quality of life will improve if you do. you will feel better, have more energy, stave off depression and burn calories all at the same time. it feels good to exercise because you know you're keeping your body healthy and you won't be decrepit by the time you're 50, but you also have more eating flexibility if you do. my dad, who loves to cook bacon fried rice, eat ice cream and cookies but is also an avid biker, has a simple equation he uses: calories eaten - calories burned = fat on body.
• reward yourself. if you've been doing great and you're really craving those fried, rolled tacos at the greasy mexican food joint around the corner - reward yourself!! just don't do it too often and don't let it send your eating into a downward spiral. you may even want to set a limit for how often you reward yourself as part of your goal. and have 3 rolled tacos instead of 5. :)

and this should make you feel better. i made 4 of the 6 pies for Christmas eve dinner. yes - even the skinny bovine loses control during the holidays.