It’s a new year. Well, almost. This year I am making small changes that shouldn’t be that difficult to implement, but will have big payoffs for my mental and physical health. For anyone who reads these Mid Life posts, maybe some of my small changes will be ones you can try as well.
I hate to eat in the morning. Always have. Coffee is about all I can stand. Even though I always cooked breakfast for my family, I rarely ate any of it. I know this isn’t healthy, but until recent years it didn’t seem to matter. I know I am not alone in this, because I know many people who view a travel mug of coffee as breakfast. It’s not.
Over the past year, I noticed a lack of energy and sometimes a dull headache in the early afternoon. Not feeling hungry, I didn’t link it to the fact that I hadn’t eaten all day. Not that I am one to not eat; I just happen to start feeding myself after, say, 4 PM. Then one day the TV was on as background noise to my cleaning the bedroom. A doctor was on, saying that you should feel hungry in the morning. If you don’t then it probably means you aren’t used to eating breakfast. Your body doesn’t know the difference between starving and stupid eating habits, so your metabolism slows down in an effort to hang on to those calories. Humm…… when I thought about that it dawned on me that if I skipped breakfast I didn’t feel hungry all day, but on days when I did eat something I was hungry by lunch time. I also notice that on those rare days when I eat before late afternoon I have more energy.
My New Year’s resolution #1 is this: Eat breakfast. I am going to have to see what I like and don’t like. I am going to start small, maybe a hard-boiled egg or some yogurt. My goal is to work my way towards a more healthy meal. Some days I find myself rushing out the door, and on those mornings I will at least have something portable to grab on the way out. Even if that is a Ziplok bag of Cheerios or a handful of dried fruit, I am going to eat something before noon. Not too big a goal, but one that has the potential to make me feel much better throughout the day.
