Making a brand new ending

Traditionally at the start of a New Year, resolutions are made by millions of us around the world. And as I’ve always been a sucker for making lists and plans, you won’t be surprised to hear that I have made and broken a bucket load of resolutions over the years. I’m going to keep them this year. Honestly.

Speaking of keeping resolutions, did you know that approximately 88% of us break our resolutions every year. That’s a shockingly high percentage isn’t it? I don’t feel so bad now I know that little nugget of information.

So have any of you ever wondered who we should blame for starting this tradition? Well don’t lose another second pondering this because I’ve researched that particular question for you, and the blame lies squarely with religion!

It all started with the the ancient Babylonians who made promises to their gods at the start of each year that they would return borrowed objects and pay their debts.

So for all of you out there who have ever borrowed something and to your shame its still lurking at the back of your utility or broom cupboard for years, well nows the time to cleanse your babylonian soul and return it! Mum your silver platter will be returned at the weekend, I promise!

The Romans have a lot to answer to as well, as it was them who began each year by making promises to the god Janus, for whom the month of January is named. So it appears that it doesn’t matter which God you worship, they are all happy to accept your good intentions and vows.

And for all you menfolk reading this, (1000’s of you I’m positive!) take heed of this little fact.
In the Medieval era, the knights took the “peacock vow” at the end of the Christmas season each year to re-affirm their commitment to chivalry. So come on lads, think of the brownie points you will get from your wife, girlfriend, mother, sister if you start opening doors, standing up when they walk into the room and throwing the odd jacket or two onto a muddy puddle before dainty little feet get destroyed. Of course, Mr H has already gone to Blackwater Farm, found the resident peacock and made his vow of chivalry. Oh my!

It appears that the concept of New Year Resolutions, regardless of creed, is to reflect upon self-improvement annually.

And it’s very hard not to get sucked into making a few of them, for no sooner have we all salivated at the sight of the M&S Christmas food adverts, we are faced with advertisements, billboards, magazines, the Internet all telling us how their product or service can help us be one of the 12% who actually lose weight, give up smoking, get fit etc.

They say confession is good for the soul, well here we go, it’s time for me to confess that for the past ten years I’ve made pretty much the same resolutions. And each year, I’ve not managed to fulfil all of them. But I’m determined 2013 will be different, so here I go, I’ve decided to put mine in writing here and it might be fun (or not) to come back next January and review them.

1.
Loose weight.
I would hazard a guess, that nearly everyone who makes resolutions includes this one.
The past few years have been pretty amazing for me on a personal level. Met Mr H, became Mrs H & had two little H’s. But the downside of that, is that my poor body took a bit of a battering. Now don’t get me wrong. Every stretch mark and wobbly bit is such a small price to pay for our two beauties and while I’m happy to live with those, I’m not happy to live with this extra weight I’m lugging about.
With each pregnancy I gained 2 stone and unlike the celebrities we read about and see on E News, my body didn’t bounce back to it’s former glory before my even finished their first box of pampers. I started 2012 a whopping four stone overweight and I was miserable. I was just so ashamed of how I looked. I avoided mirrors and when Mr H gave me a compliment I didn’t believe him. Sometimes when I was out despite myself I would catch sight of myself in a mirror or a shop window and I wouldn’t recognise the reflection. Surely that wasn’t me? Drastic action was needed so Mr H and I decided last January to do something about our lifestyles.

A year later, I’m really proud to say that between us both we managed to loose five stone. Even though I lost two and a half stone, I still have another two stone to go. Mr H, my husband is a legend and is now at goal weight. I couldn’t be more proud of him. He looks fantastic. But I’m back in the zone now and I really think you need to be in the right place when you decide to lose weight.

I’ve tried so many diets over the years, including a lot of fad diets and never kept the weight off. Atkins, cabbage soup, south beach you name it. But at the end of the day no matter the diet of choice, syn free foods, pro points or simply calorie counting, there are really only a few rules in order for your weight loss journey to succeed.

Eat less
Move more
Drink more water

Simple eh? Then why is it so unbelievably hard? I actually had two and a half stone gone by the 20th December, but I decided to take a few weeks off for Christmas and put on 7 pounds. Isn’t it incredible how quickly those same few pounds that took so much sweat and will power to lose come bounding back home to roost at the very first sniff of a mince pie? In fairness I ate and drank what I wanted for over a fortnight so its no real surprise.

But this week is shaping up as a good one. I hope to have those Christmas pounds gone by end of January and then it’s down to the task of finishing the job I started in 2012 once and for all and reaching my goal weight.

For what it’s worth, I have found the following three things have helped me so much over the past year.

First, Track everything you eat. And I mean every bite. There are lots of apps and online tools available free or go the old fashioned route and get your pen and paper out. I was really surprised how much wasted calories I had every day. When I realised now many calories were in the butter I put on my sandwich, butter just didn’t seem important anymore!
The APP I use is myfitnesspal :-

https://itunes.apple.com/ie/app/calorie-counter-diet-tracker/id341232718?mt=8

My next top tip is to drink lots of soup! I make my own and I find it the best way to keep my calories down as it really fills me up. Invest in a hand held blender if you don’t have one as it makes the process so easy. Here is a link for some lovely low calorie soups :-

http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/content/recipes/healthy/low-calorie-soup/

And lastly, I know this to be true…if I go to bed with a rumbly tummy, the world will not come to an end. I will go to sleep and I will wake up the following morning and not be ravenous. The less I eat, the less I need. I remind myself this regularly in the evenings, as that’s my danger time when I feel like hitting the snack jar!

2. Get fit.

You would think that with two smallies under the age of 3 I would be super fit with all the running around I do after them. Unfortunately that’s a no! I have been talking about and messing around with the goal of taking up jogging. I have a pretty decent treadmill but its sadly neglected! I also have several well lit running tracks within a few minutes drive if I fancied an outside jog.

My excuse up to now has been that I don’t have any spare time. Between being a stay at home mother, wife and author, I don’t seem to have a second to myself. However I saw something recently that made me stop and think.

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And I know that is true because I have several friends who have just as busy lives as me. And they run. They all tell me that they love running. And scientists have proven that running regularly releases endorphins that can cause euphoria which is often referred to as the runners high.

And I really want to get that high. The few times I tried it, I just gave up too quickly I think, because the only thing I got was sweaty and out of breath! But I’m going to persevere. This time.

3. Find more time to Write!

The second half of 2012 was so exciting, getting Beyond Graces’s Rainbow published as an eBook and its subsequent success was beyond my wildest dreams when it reached No 1 in the ITunes fiction book charts.
For 2013 I plan on finding a great agent to help me get a book deal. I’m working on that right now and hope to have some news to share soon.
I love writing and it’s been such a joy getting all of the ideas I have buzzing around my head written down. So I’ll continue this journey I started and hopefully have many more exciting moments ahead. I’m extremely lucky that I have such a supportive husband. Mr H is happy for me to make some changes at home in order for me to have more time to write. This is a work in progress but we will get there!

So these are my 3 resolutions. Lose weight, get fit and write more!

I saw this cartoon recently and it made me smile.

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But I also saw this quote and I really like it. I’m gonna remind myself of this every week……

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This struck a chord with me. Until Dr Who appears at my front door and takes me back in time I can’t change my beginning. But one thing I can do is make sure my ending is a good one. So here’s to all of our new endings in 2013!

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