Another New Year's Resolution

It's 2013 and I'm starting a new blog! In a manner of speaking. (It's a new year, so it's a new thing...so it's essentially a new blog, hmm?)

And of course, at the start of every New Year, there's the ubiquitous New Year's Resolution. I know, I know…I'm not good at keeping them but I'm going to draw up a list nonetheless. Committing them to paper or, in this case, putting it up on the Net might serve as impetus for me to strive to keep some of them, at least.

This year though, I'm going to keep it short. Five items max then cut it up to bite size pieces. So here goes something…

1. Lose weight.

Getting to a healthy weight is the all-time favorite new year's resolution of perhaps every adult tipping the overweight scale. Sad to say, this has been on my To Do list since I turned 30. (I found out that when women gets to the Big Three Oh, our bodies are fully matured. That means the extra calories that we ignored in our 20s which fueled our growth are no longer needed…they're making a beeline for our waists, hips and thighs, ugh!)

As of press time, my weight is 145 pounds (give or take a few). Since I'm 5 feet 2 inches in height, that means I'm overweight by about 1.6. My ideal body mass index (BMI) should be anywhere from 18.5 to 24.9. Currently it's at 26.5. Bummer!

To get back to a healthy BMI, I'll need to whittle down my size to 131 pounds…which I think is doable. Provided I don't eat rice (no, no, no!)…well, after 6:00 pm and I veer off anything fatty, sweet, and salty. Might as well croak and die if that's the case! But on both sides of the parental divide, we've got a history of hypertension, diabetes and heart problems so I guess, if I want to enjoy a fit lifestyle, I'll have to start denying myself. Argh!

Strategies:

• Subsist on half a cup of rice every meal. Question is, can I do this? Been on a rice binge for the past 3 years.
• No rice after 6:00 p.m. so my dinner should consist of salad greens, some protein, and juice. I did it before, I can do it again.
• Time between meals, including snacks, shouldn't exceed 4 hours. I heard that by the fourth hour, the body's starving so when you eat beyond it, you tend to gobble on anything and everything.
• Break the rules in the morning, but by lunch time, start playing by the rules. 
• Drink lots of water! No milk teas, no coffees, no sodas, no juices (well, sometimes).

2. Get fit.

Uhuh. Another one of those ubiquitous items on every adult's new year's resolutions written or otherwise. The problem with this resolution as in years past is, yeah, getting beyond the second week and still doing it. I think, what I should aim for is to take up the fit habit...daily.

Strategies:

• Rev up to a 3-mile walking exercise. Week 1: walk 1 mile. Week 2: walk 2 miles. Week 3: walk 3 miles. Use Leslie Sansone's walking videos. Download from YouTube and create a DVD.
• Do the walk Mondays to Fridays, rest on Sundays. (Bike on Saturdays.)
• 5-minute morning stretch upon waking.
• Drink 2 glasses of water upon waking.
• 30-minute road biking with hubby once a week. Stroll biking! Stroll biking...
• Early to bed and early to rise! No more late-nighters. Go to bed at 1:00 am and wake up at 8:00 am heh.

Here's the 3-mile walking exercise:

3. Restore spiritual life.

Guilty, guilty, guilty. I haven't had a decent, consistent, regular prayer time in ages so my spiritual life is shot to pieces! I always have fits and starts when it comes to my devotions. Well, this 2013, I aim to be closer to God. (So help me, God.)

Strategies:

• Morning prayer upon waking, including mass reading for the day.
• Reflection writing at 3 p.m.
• Rosary with hubby before going to sleep.
• Sabbath retreat on Saturdays at 3 p.m. using Sunday mass readings.
• Sunday mass at 6 p.m.
• Confession every 4th Saturday of the month.

4. Stop procrastinating!

It's probably the one worst habit that I have, putting off doing things for later. This one, I still have to write down my strategies. :( And that's not because I'm procrastinating but because I really have to research what works for me. Hah!

Strategies:

• One thing is clear, create a daily To Do list and follow it.
• For that matter, create a daily schedule.
• The rest, I'll have to research and draw up a really good anti-procrastination program.

5. Get into the blogging for money business.

I'm quite good at writing and researching, and I can get obsessive at stuff I like sometimes so I'm going to put this to good use. So this 2013, I'm starting a niche blog and, God willing, I'll earn real good from it. (So help me again, God.)

Strategies:

• Purchase domain name and hosting.
• Write first 32 articles, following list of keywords. (I cheated on this; already have the idea, haven't started it just yet, heh.)
• Research monetization streams and affiliate programs.
• List monetization strategy. For that matter, write down business plan. (I think this should be the first on the list.)

I think that's it. I dare not go past the 5th mark as it might get unwieldy on me and, with my propensity to procrastinate, I'll never be able to accomplish anything.

There's one thing that's certain this new year though: I'm going to do something with my life, something significant. So help me, God.