I believe a balanced life is a healthy life. After having been out of balance for quite awhile, I decided 2010 would be a year of change for me. I didn’t want to focus just on my weight for the entire year as I had done before. Instead I decided to concentrate on making small changes that would help balance my life. Two of these changes were getting a new job and sleeping better. I saw these changes as important steps in helping me take better care of me!
Tired of working long hours, I left my advertising job at AOL to take a contractor position with AOL Kids. Being a contractor gives me more flexibility to work when and how much I want. It turns out that the AOL Kids team is a lot more fun and less stressful than advertising too!
I really enjoy exercising but found that fitting it into my schedule just wasn’t happening. Why? because I was spending too much time sleeping. So I decided to change my sleeping habits and that, it turned out, was much easier said than done! I used to go to bed around midnight and wake up close to nine. Six am was my goal, but I knew I couldn’t magically just start getting up then. My plan was to slowly change my alarm clock to wake up 15 minutes earlier each week. I also went to bed 15 minutes earlier each week. I’m happy to report it all worked and now I get up at six am each morning.
By the end of the 2010, my small changes had left me feeling more balanced so I decided to set some new goals for 2011. My goals for this year are:
- Adopt better eating habits by including more fruits, veggies, lean protein and whole grains. Yum, yum!
- Train for a marathon. That’s right, I want to run 26.2 miles… I’ll explain why I'm taking on such a task in a separate post.
- Practice yoga, OM.
- Build more lean muscle by weight training.
Weight loss still isn’t on my list but it’s happening naturally. I’ve lost 25 pounds since October.
"Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving." - Albert Einstein
