I love to make New Year’s resolutions! Though it does seem like I rarely continue them more than halfway through the year. I think it’s because my interests are always all over the place. I love learning about new topics and experimenting with new ideas but it isn’t too long until I move onto the next interest.
While January 1st is an arbitrary date, for me it has always symbolized a fresh start and a clean slate. This is something I’m especially looking forward to after 2020.
As I’m sure is the case for most people, 2020 turned our lives upside down. We dealt with unprecedented amounts of stress and worry. We lost family members and jobs. Throughout we have tried to remain positive, calm, and downsize our life as we embrace new opportunities and continue forward with our sustainable property dream.
2021: Year of Health
This new year instead of making resolutions, I’m turning to a wider concept – a year of focusing on our health. In 2021, I’m hopeful that by embracing a large idea like health, I can throw myself into a new area to explore each month in an effort to work toward a healthier lifestyle.
For me, the concept of a healthy lifestyle includes elements of physical, mental, emotional, social, spiritual, and environmental health. Areas of interest include:
- nutrition and diet
- sleep
- exercise
- sex
- stress management
- relationships
- health insurance
- natural remedies
- alternative practices
- zero waste living
I plan to delve into one new topic per month. I’ll announce the topics on a quarterly basis. I prefer a balance of structure and flexibility so I’d rather not have the whole year set in stone.
Each month I plan to read at least one nonfiction book covering the health topic. I’ll read the book in the first half of the month and then apply a few concrete steps or lessons to my life in the last half and share how it goes. This will also help me incorporate more nonfiction books into my reading life again.
January Topic: Cutting Out Sugar
I have a major sweet tooth and I struggle with sugar cravings on a regular basis. Since taking a nutrition class in college and learning about all the different names for sugar and the ways it is slipped into processed foods, I’ve made an effort to consume less of it.
A long time ago, while listening to Gretchen Rubin’s Happier podcast, I learned that she has completely removed sugar from her diet. There’s a great article on her blog where she gets into the why and how of her strategy for quitting sugar. After discovering that fact about her, I’ve been curious about the book that inspired her habit change, The Case Against Sugar by Gary Taubes.
In The Case Against Sugar, Taubes shares how sugar has become the tobacco of modern times and is at the root of society’s health problems with obesity, diabetes, and liver disease. He covers the history of sugar in America, how it became overused, and it’s addictive nature. The book gives the reader the facts needed to make informed decisions about consuming sugar.
This holiday season, we have actually had a lot fewer sweets in the house than previous years. Still I’m feeling a bit burnt out on candy, chocolate, and baked goods. The fresh start of a new year seems like a great time to study up on the dangers of sugar and discover strategies for cutting it out.
The First Quarter of 2021 Reading List
- January – The Case Against Sugar by Gary Taubes
- February – Mating in Captivity: Reconciling the Erotic and the Domestic by Esther Perel
- March – Deep Nutrition: Why Your Genes Need Traditional Food by Catherine Shanahan, M.D.
What ideas or resolutions are you trying in 2021? What are your favorite health topics?
