A New You in 2020

If you are anything like me, by mid-January you have abandoned your New Year’s resolutions. I always set unrealistic goals for myself. And once again, I’m surprised that I cannot meet them. So this year, let’s try some baby steps. Here are six healthy habits you can incorporate into your life gradually. Try one at a time.

1. Make water your beverage of choice

Ah, but you say, “I don’t like water.” Neither did I. A few years ago, I accepted the conventional wisdom that drinking 6-8 glasses daily was good for me. So I bought three sturdy 16.9-ounce bottles of water and numbered their lids 1, 2, and 3. I squirted a little lemon juice in each to make it more palatable and MADE myself finish them as early in the day as possible. (Umm…I don’t recommend doing so before bedtime.)

Each night, I’d refill the bottles and put them back in the fridge for the next day. Now, I’ll admit that for a few weeks I didn’t enjoy drinking my daily water allotment. But, I did feel incredibly proud of myself whenever I emptied my three bottles.

I persisted, and so can you. Over time, your tastes buds will change. Today I LOVE to drink water. I crave water. Nothing else satisfies like water.

2. Take a brisk walk daily

I confess that I’m a lazy creature who hates exercising. But walking is simple. It requires no athletic ability, special equipment, or gym membership.

I like to walk first thing in the morning—it sets a vigorous pace for the day. I walk outside, circling around my neighborhood. Not only do I benefit from the fresh air, but looking at the open sky elevates my perspective on life. Ah, but you say, “It’s too cold to walk outside.” Just remember this Russian proverb, “There is no bad weather, only bad clothing.”

3. Eat nutrient-dense foods

Not all foods are created equal. To get the biggest bang for your caloric buck, try adding these superstars to your diet: salmon, kale, spinach, broccoli, sweet potatoes, blueberries, almonds, quinoa, garlic, chia seeds, olive oil, and green tea. Until your taste buds adjust, try sneaking these foods into other recipes. When I cook beans, I toss in some fresh kale. I add spinach and frozen blueberries to smoothies. I carry almonds with me in the car for an on-the-go snack.

You can LEARN to like anything. My entire life I have hated fish and seafood. But a year ago, I decided that salmon was so off-the-charts nutritious that I would start eating it. And guess what? I’ve since developed a liking for this fish. Try adding a couple of these foods each week.

4. Cut out sugar

Did you know that sugar is eight times more addictive than cocaine? In her book, Bright Line Eating, Susan Pierce Thompson (who has a Ph.D. in Brain and Cognitive Sciences), describes how both white powdery substances trigger the brain’s pleasure center. Besides causing weight gain, sugar indulgence can lead to diabetes and inflammation, which exacerbates arthritis.

I think that good things like drinking water, taking walks, or eating nutrient-dense foods are best added incrementally to your lifestyle. But bad things are better to quit cold turkey. With any addiction, the slightest stimulation rekindles the pleasure response in the brain.

Last year, mid-January I cut from my diet all sugar, artificial sweeteners, agave, honey, and even dried fruit. When I wanted dessert, I ate fresh fruit. After two weeks, I no longer craved sweets.

I maintained this restriction until mid-October, when I dove head-first into pumpkin pie season. But a curious thing happened over the course of nine months. Fresh fruit began to taste FABULOUS. And when I finally indulged in holiday desserts, they didn’t taste as wonderful as I had remembered.

I challenge you to try an experiment: cut from your diet all sweets except for fresh fruit. See if your cravings don’t cease after two weeks.

5. Get enough sleep

Back in 1910, before the prevalence of electricity, people slept an average of nine hours per night. No wonder our ancestors were hardier folks than we. According to a Gallup poll, the average American sleeps 6.8 hours a night—with 40% banking less than six hours per night.

Sleep is essential for our physical and mental health. In Macbeth, Shakespeare says that sleep “knits up the raveled sleave [sleeve] of care.” Studies have shown that insufficient sleep has been linked to obesity, Type 2 diabetes, heart disease, cancer, ADHD, depression, and Alzheimer’s as well as highway deaths and injuries caused by drowsy drivers. Let’s face it, we are not Energizer Bunnies. We need to stop and recharge our batteries.

6. Give yourself grace

Do I drink only water? No.
Did I take a brisk walk this morning? No.
Have I eaten salmon or spinach this past week? No.
Did I successfully dodge dessert during the holidays? No.
Did I sleep the recommended 7-8 hours last night? No.

But that’s okay. Most days I make healthy choices. Each morning is a new beginning. Set yourself an attainable goal. Expect to fail sometimes, but get back up and keep trying. Persistence is more powerful than perfection.

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Download a pdf version of Just About Anything January 2020

Just About the Sweetest Letter I Ever Received

My cousin Chris Testerman emailed me his response to December’s blog “Why I Write the World’s Longest Christmas Letter.”

Mona,

I just finished reading the most recent blog post about the Christmas letter, and I felt like you needed to hear the perspective of a nearly lifelong recipient. You mentioned that you’ve been writing these letters for 26 years. That means that I was two years old when you sent your first one. These letters have become as much a part of my Christmas tradition as they have yours. When I was a kid, mom and grandma would get together every year and read your letter to us. They’d laugh, tell stories, explain big words, and try to help me understand who the “characters” were. As Hunter and I got older, we started looking for these Christmas “novellas” every year. (If I’m honest, it was mainly just to see what weird thing you’d gotten into that year— still kinda is).

When Hunter and I received our first letters (addressed to us), we called each other to confirm that we’d finally grown up. You’re not an adult in this family until you get your own Christmas letter from Mona. We call each other to talk about them every year.

The point is, we appreciate all of the effort that you put into the letters. You say it is necessary to enjoy the process of writing the letters, and not just admire the final product. That’s fine by me. Let me do the admiring.

Much love,
Chris