Oh! the Thinks You Can Think! (This Isn't A Diet But I Sure Hope It Works!)

I have thinked and thinked and thinked like Dr. Seuss and tapped my noggin generously like Winnie the Pooh and here is what I have come up with.

It isn't a diet and I still feel it lacks greatly in the motivation category, but while coming up with it I have actually been drinking plenty of water so maybe there is something to it that just might work.

I started by inventorying everything I could think of about how to eat well and be healthy. It became quite intimidating and even pretty stressful, wondering what it is that I have forgotten. Anyway, I started with the basics. I personally need 2.8 liters of water a day, and I also heard that it is best to spread it out and drink about 200 mL every hour. I did the math and if I drink 200 mL every hour for 14 hours, I get enough water. I am not going to be especially strict with myself, so if I drink a little more or a little less, that's okay. But I AM awake for over 14 hours of the day, so it's doable. And since I am working from home right now, there is no problem with having to go to the bathroom all day long. Which is inevitable. So now that I have figured this out, I figure I can do it because once I develop a habit, it is so frequent that I cannot forget about it. Which reminds me... I need to drink again. :p

Water isn't my only concern but it is the easiest thing to take care of. Other things are more complicated. There is so much to remember and I am quite the scatterbrain. So what I have come up with is this: a memory box. It is not like the photo boxes I have with old pictures, concert tickets and my babies' hospital bracelets from when they were born. This is a box in which I keep my daily reminders. I haven't made it yet, but it will basically be like a recipe box with recipe (or index) cards inside. I am going to glue a clear pocket onto the front or top (haven't decided yet) of the box. On the cards in the box, I will write things like "eat two portions of dairy today," "eat fish three times a week," "go to bed at a decent time and sleep at least nine hours" or "go for a run today." Every day, I will pull out a card at random and try to concentrate on whatever it tells me to do. In the meantime, I figure I will have other things that I remember, so while I won't overload my brain with all the things I have to do at once - and get nothing done in the process - I will take baby steps and hopefully develop healthier habits this way. Even if they don't become habits, at least I should get around to everything once in a while, which is what balance is really about, isn't it? So this should work, as long as I don't forget to draw a new card every day. Sort of like my personal little health lottery. Today you win... veggies instead of potatoes as a side dish! Yaay! (See? I can be enthusiastic if I want to! Hopefully that is where the motivation to actually stick with this will come from.)

So I have to get a recipe box with plain cards, and start brainstorming about all the things I can write on them. We will see how well this works. I'll keep you posted.