New Year, the Best You

I see that it has been awhile since I've posted...that's about to change.  Why?  Because I'm about to start devoting more time to not only making myself the best I can be, but I'm also going to embark on a "Best You" challenge with a few friends.

What makes you the best??  The answer will be different for everyone.  Here's what I think our goals might be:

1.  Use food as fuel and honor our bodies by eating foods that are worthy of eating.  Does that mean we can't eat junk food?  Of course not!  Food isn't ONLY for fuel.  Food is fun and satisfying and emotional and makes us happy.  However, we put so much into our bodies that just doesn't belong there.   We'll work together to plan meals and talk about what we should and should not be eating.  I want you to see how affordable it can be to eat whole foods.  I want you to forever eliminate certain foods from your grocery list (microwave meals, canned soup, Hot Pockets, soda...bye bye).

2.  Exercise to support useful, strong, supple bodies.  Forget six-pack abs, cellulite-free thighs, or perky boobs.  That shit just ain't happening.  We should be exercising so that we can chase our kids.  We should exercise to build strong bones and flexible muscles.  We should exercise so we have energy and calm and confidence and coordination.

3.  Create a village.  By creating this challenge I hope to create a village of people who are here to support, defend, encourage, and lead each other.  Being the best you can be is so much more than physical health and appearance.   Make friends.  Feed friendships that already exist.

4.  Do more yoga.  I know.  I'm biased.  I could preach forever about the benefits, but I'll keep it simple.  Do more yoga.  Period.

5.  Let go.  Let go of any resentment you have toward your body.  Appreciate it for what it does and not just for how it looks.  Let go of toxic relationships.  Some people aren't meant to come along with you on your journey to the best you.  Let go of comparison.  Your body is yours, and her body is hers.  That's it.  Stop comparing apples and oranges.

6.  Lose weight.  Weight loss usually isn't on my list of goals, but I know that carrying too much fat on our bodies is harmful.  The difference with this challenge is that I will never, ever encourage you to be a certain size or weight.  I want your body to be healthy and functional.  I want your body to ache because of a workout not because it's tired from carrying around extra weight.

7.  Drink more water. Enough said.

8.  Finally, stress less.  I hope that by putting all these pieces together you will have the tools you need to handle stress.   Research shows that stress can prevent you from losing weight and can, in fact, make you fat.  Healthy mind.  Healthy body.  Healthy Spirit.

So, that's a start.  I'll have some work to do getting everything together because I've never embarked on a challenge like this with other people.  So, let's get to work!