Okay, my final goal is the other big thing that I feel convicted about and have trouble changing.
Read scripture daily!
I have a "read through the Bible in one year" plan on my Bible app. I'm like a quarter of the way through and I started it three years ago. Which is better than nothing! But the real problem is that I can go days and days without reading any scripture at all. How am I supposed to find direction for my life and emulate the fruits of the spirit when I don't even make scripture a priority? It's easy to make excuses but when I'm living in a day and age where the entire Bible, along with my reading plan, is literally in my hand or in my pocket all day and by my bed at night, there is NO real reason not to do it. Unacceptable. Buck up, take ten minutes out of your day, and read. Don't give in to human nature or spiritual attacks that try to distract and dissuade you. Just do it.
So the final and most important one:
- Read scripture every day without exception, preferably an entire day's worth from the plan.
Tuesday, April 24, 2018
Monday, April 23, 2018
Nutrition
Ugh. I hate thinking about food.
Why does food take up so much head space? Why do humans have to eat so often, especially tiny humans? Why can't we just walk around with an IV and call it a day??
So this one is two-fold, just like the screen time issue. For myself.... right now I'm just eating whatever. Sometimes I make myself eggs for breakfast, sometimes I eat cereal or oatmeal or something else full of sugar. For lunch, fast food or kids snacks or a sandwich or sometimes healthy leftovers. For dinner, I often make a healthy dinner from real food because my husband is eating healthy right now which is awesome. But because I'm eating high carb food the rest of the day, a low carb dinner leaves me hungry an hour or two later and then I get something else to eat! So.... junk junk junk. And yes I'm tired and stressed and not sleeping well and have a lot going on. BUT. C'mon. Just do the dang thing.
"Food-like products" full of processed carbs cause brain fog, poor memory, inability to focus, feelings of stress, depression - heyyyyy all of my excuses are literally CAUSED BY MY BAD CHOICES. Well, the lack of sleep thing is caused by my 13 month old and she's definitely a good choice. But the rest is directly related to a terrible diet! There are other factors but if you're in a stressful phase of life, should you eat foods that make you stressed and unable to focus and depressed, or food that helps regulate your mood and gives you energy and clarity?
yeah.
For the kids... eek. Why is it so hard to get my kids to eat healthy food? Mostly, I feel like if my big guy doesn't eat the healthy meal I prepared he's going to staaaaarve and waist away into nothingness. Somehow. Basically when I really meditated on this, I found that I have some sort of irrational fear about him not eating enough. I think that's why I offer healthy food but also allow cereal bars (sugar), teddy grahams (sugar), cereal (sugar), gogurt tubes (a little better but still sugar), and a slew of refined carbs like goldfish and Ritz crackers. Are carbs evil, especially for little ones? No. But protein and fat and vitamins and minerals are super, super important. And that's my job. Literally. God gave me this kid and told me to take care of him.
SO. Primal all around. I choose primal for a few reasons. It's similar to paleo except it allows dairy, and I'm not afraid of giving the kids milk or using cream, cream cheese, etc for myself. Also, he recommends an 80/20 rule - in other words, even if you just eat awesome food 80% of the time, you're still going to be doing great. It's okay if it's not 100% of the time. So for me, I'm going to allow about one meal and one snack per week (I might be a little more flexible for the kids) that don't follow primal guidelines. That's way under 20% so I feel totally comfortable with that. The rest of the time... veggies! meat! veggies! oil! veggies! fruit! veggies! Oh and don't forget the veggies.
So my nutritional goals:
- For me, no more than one meal and one snack per week that isn't primal
- For the kids, no more than 20% that isn't primal
- For everyone, eat at the table! Every time!
Why does food take up so much head space? Why do humans have to eat so often, especially tiny humans? Why can't we just walk around with an IV and call it a day??
So this one is two-fold, just like the screen time issue. For myself.... right now I'm just eating whatever. Sometimes I make myself eggs for breakfast, sometimes I eat cereal or oatmeal or something else full of sugar. For lunch, fast food or kids snacks or a sandwich or sometimes healthy leftovers. For dinner, I often make a healthy dinner from real food because my husband is eating healthy right now which is awesome. But because I'm eating high carb food the rest of the day, a low carb dinner leaves me hungry an hour or two later and then I get something else to eat! So.... junk junk junk. And yes I'm tired and stressed and not sleeping well and have a lot going on. BUT. C'mon. Just do the dang thing.
"Food-like products" full of processed carbs cause brain fog, poor memory, inability to focus, feelings of stress, depression - heyyyyy all of my excuses are literally CAUSED BY MY BAD CHOICES. Well, the lack of sleep thing is caused by my 13 month old and she's definitely a good choice. But the rest is directly related to a terrible diet! There are other factors but if you're in a stressful phase of life, should you eat foods that make you stressed and unable to focus and depressed, or food that helps regulate your mood and gives you energy and clarity?
yeah.
For the kids... eek. Why is it so hard to get my kids to eat healthy food? Mostly, I feel like if my big guy doesn't eat the healthy meal I prepared he's going to staaaaarve and waist away into nothingness. Somehow. Basically when I really meditated on this, I found that I have some sort of irrational fear about him not eating enough. I think that's why I offer healthy food but also allow cereal bars (sugar), teddy grahams (sugar), cereal (sugar), gogurt tubes (a little better but still sugar), and a slew of refined carbs like goldfish and Ritz crackers. Are carbs evil, especially for little ones? No. But protein and fat and vitamins and minerals are super, super important. And that's my job. Literally. God gave me this kid and told me to take care of him.
SO. Primal all around. I choose primal for a few reasons. It's similar to paleo except it allows dairy, and I'm not afraid of giving the kids milk or using cream, cream cheese, etc for myself. Also, he recommends an 80/20 rule - in other words, even if you just eat awesome food 80% of the time, you're still going to be doing great. It's okay if it's not 100% of the time. So for me, I'm going to allow about one meal and one snack per week (I might be a little more flexible for the kids) that don't follow primal guidelines. That's way under 20% so I feel totally comfortable with that. The rest of the time... veggies! meat! veggies! oil! veggies! fruit! veggies! Oh and don't forget the veggies.
So my nutritional goals:
- For me, no more than one meal and one snack per week that isn't primal
- For the kids, no more than 20% that isn't primal
- For everyone, eat at the table! Every time!
Sunday, April 22, 2018
Screen Time
Have you seen the movie Wall-E?
The humans are practically glued to their chairs, never leaving (and probably too weak to support their own massive weight in any case). A screen hovers in front of their faces, blocking their view of their surroundings - what isn't blocked is unnoticed. Speakers on either side of their head blast their hearing with continuous input. They're automatically ported about, completely oblivious to everything except their screens. They consume food, consume drink, consume media, contribute nothing. It's... horrifying. Horrifying because it's a terrible way to live, and horrifying because some days I resemble those folks a lot more closely than I'd like to admit.
One of my major changes during this Radical 21 Day Challenge is to drastically reduce our screen time. I haven't quite decided whether to allow my 3.5 yr old a little screen time in the evenings, or just shoot for absolute zero. The 13 month old doesn't need any at all, that's for sure. It's funny because I kept wanting to talk myself into allowing my big kid "just _____ each day" and I kept asking myself, "How does that help him? What value does it add to his life?" Yes he has learned a lot from various YouTube videos and educational shows, BUT couldn't he have learned that stuff from a book? Museum? Me?
For myself, I've been feeling so convicted about disconnecting from the kids by using my phone in their presence. I notice it most when I see my (wonderful) spouse use his phone - I constantly want to say, put the phone down and watch the kids! Talk to them, observe them, engage with them. I don't say it because a) he is a fantastic father who spends a lot of quality time with the kids and he's doing just fine, but mostly b) I do the same thing all the time. I'm good at still hearing and responding to them, and keeping track of them, but I think of how it feels when someone else is looking at their screen and I know it makes me feel disconnected. So. No phone in front of the kids. Period. I don't think I need any additional screen time limits for myself because as a stay at home mom with two young kids, 98% of my day is "in front of the kids". This single rule will drastically cut my screen time.
So there you have two of my big decisions:
- Little to no screen time for preschooler, zero for baby
- Never use my phone where the kids can see me
Oh boy!
The humans are practically glued to their chairs, never leaving (and probably too weak to support their own massive weight in any case). A screen hovers in front of their faces, blocking their view of their surroundings - what isn't blocked is unnoticed. Speakers on either side of their head blast their hearing with continuous input. They're automatically ported about, completely oblivious to everything except their screens. They consume food, consume drink, consume media, contribute nothing. It's... horrifying. Horrifying because it's a terrible way to live, and horrifying because some days I resemble those folks a lot more closely than I'd like to admit.
One of my major changes during this Radical 21 Day Challenge is to drastically reduce our screen time. I haven't quite decided whether to allow my 3.5 yr old a little screen time in the evenings, or just shoot for absolute zero. The 13 month old doesn't need any at all, that's for sure. It's funny because I kept wanting to talk myself into allowing my big kid "just _____ each day" and I kept asking myself, "How does that help him? What value does it add to his life?" Yes he has learned a lot from various YouTube videos and educational shows, BUT couldn't he have learned that stuff from a book? Museum? Me?
For myself, I've been feeling so convicted about disconnecting from the kids by using my phone in their presence. I notice it most when I see my (wonderful) spouse use his phone - I constantly want to say, put the phone down and watch the kids! Talk to them, observe them, engage with them. I don't say it because a) he is a fantastic father who spends a lot of quality time with the kids and he's doing just fine, but mostly b) I do the same thing all the time. I'm good at still hearing and responding to them, and keeping track of them, but I think of how it feels when someone else is looking at their screen and I know it makes me feel disconnected. So. No phone in front of the kids. Period. I don't think I need any additional screen time limits for myself because as a stay at home mom with two young kids, 98% of my day is "in front of the kids". This single rule will drastically cut my screen time.
So there you have two of my big decisions:
- Little to no screen time for preschooler, zero for baby
- Never use my phone where the kids can see me
Oh boy!
Saturday, April 21, 2018
Radical Change
What if you actually DID all the things you KNOW are healthy?
I know I can't be the only one whose days are full of shaking my head and saying "I know I should ______, but it's hard." I know I should cut sugar from my diet but I get the munchies. I know I should dive into scripture every day but I don't feel like it. I know I shouldn't let the kids watch TV but I need a break. I know I shouldn't use my phone so much but it helps me unwind. I know I should make the kids eat real, whole food and stop buying processed junk but they'll complain and it's a lot of work.
So what if, for 21 days, you just... did the right things? All of it. Cold turkey. Just make good choices. Quit whining, quit excusing yourself, quit your bad habits. All of those things you KNOW would make you healthier, you KNOW would help your kids grow up stronger, do those things. What would happen by the end? Would the habits stick, or would you decide it's not worth it? Would you hate yourself for putting yourself through it, or love yourself for the gift of improved health, better mood, and increased productivity? Most scary of all, would the kids be miserable and traumatized for life, or more stable, capable, happy, and healthy little creatures of joy?
I don't have the answer to those questions, but by May 19 I will. Stay tuned for the details on my personal changes - and please do let me know if you're in this with me. Keep me company. This is going to be a bumpy ride.
I don't have the answer to those questions, but by May 19 I will. Stay tuned for the details on my personal changes - and please do let me know if you're in this with me. Keep me company. This is going to be a bumpy ride.
The change begins on April 26!
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