Ring in the new...

I am generally not a believer in new year’s resolutions.  While January does feel like a time of new beginnings, if the desired change is real, you can start at any time.  What I am a believer in is lists, calendars, and schedules.  I use these devices to get me where I need to go, and more importantly, help me take care of the things I need to.

About a year ago, I divided my to-do list into long-term projects and short-term projects.  I typed up the long-term list, printed it, put it in a pocket in my notebook, and avoided looking at it.  Looking back at it now is difficult because most of the items remain:  I still need to repair the roof and fix the water damaged ceilings, organize my office, de-clutter the craft room, compile a garden plant and care list, and on and on and on…

More successful is my short-term list, which is edited and added to almost daily.  Some items should stay on there for life:  do laundry, fold laundry, go to the library, write x dance program, but they don’t.  The act of writing, crossing off, and re-writing is to me a sign of progress, of life humming along, and things, if slowly, getting done

Making an annual resolution makes no sense to me, and the notion that I will get through everything on my short-term to-do list is not in any way based in the reality of my life.  Instead I would love to be able to point to something meaty that I accomplished once a month, something that’s been lingering on one of these interminable lists for far too long.  I hope to use this space to report on my results at the end of each month.  I actually didn’t wait for New Year’s, but started in December…

December 2012:  Eat gluten-free

It feels odd to say this out loud because eating gluten-free, while a health necessity for many seems to be trendy for the rest, and the last thing I am is trendy.  But I was curious to find out if cutting out wheat, i.e., bread, cookies, cake, and anything made with wheat flour or wheat-based anything, made a difference to my weight, skin, outlook, and general well-being. 

After a month, the jury is still out.  I’ve avoided wheat (except for those latkes at Chanukah, which have some flour in them), but not all products made in factories and on machinery where wheat is handled.  Yes, I have lost some of the weight I had lost and then regained.  I think I feel better, but it’s unclear if avoiding wheat is the cause of either of these results. 

Eating gluten-free is annoying and hard.  I miss not thinking about my food.  But that’s part of the point.  I like knowing that I can do this.  I can be mindful of what I eat, and make conscious choices and small changes, and more importantly stick to it.  It’s a(nother) start down a road I want to travel, and only a start.  I’ll keep this up for several months to truly evaluate whether it makes a difference to my overall well-being, or not, and what, if anything needs to change next.  Wish me luck.  And don’t mock me if I end up shopping at the Co-op sometimes.

What are your new year’s projects?