New Week - Semester - Beginnings

I start school this week. I have two classes this semester. I have a nutrition class on Tuesday mornings and an energy medicine class on Wednesday evenings. I am not a fan of evening classes. I prefer to do my studies in the the daytime. Maybe its the warmth of the sun and its brightness. I just feel more on top of things during the day.  Unfortunately, you have to go with the schedule they give you and I will make the best of it. I just want to avoid becoming the caffeine junkie I was last semester. I was having green tea, brewed coffee and energy drinks near daily. Not all of them in one day, but definitely 4 servings per day on some days. I didn't really cut back this summer and my stomach and teeth are suffering for it. Its all too acidic and while I get the physical and mental energy boost, I feel awful on the inside. So my plan is to get off the stuff. I plan to drink more water and tisanes. I will go for quick little jaunts during my midclass breaks.  I will make sure I am not hungry or that my blood sugar goes too low. I will limit my alcohol intake to healthy levels (drinking too much has me dragging my feet the next day). I spent last week easing into these new changes as well as tracking my eating and my spending. After a year and half of chaos and crisis I am in a strong and stable space. It is now time to undo some of the damage I did while I was coping with all the upheaval that comes with ending a long term relationship and rebuilding your life. I had to create a new foundation for myself and along the way I made some pretty bad food choices as well as reckless purchases. They were my ways of dealing with the pain - plain and simple. I now have the waistline and the credit card bills to show for it. Thankfully, I was going through therapy (still am) and as the fog lifted I was able to be more mindful of what I was doing.  I have made some changes over the summer, but now its time for a bigger push towards a healthy, balanced and mindful life. I created some charts for my fridge to track my activities. I use an an agenda but at the end of the day I note my success with stickers on my chart. Similarly I have a financial budget on my fridge and I track my daily spending based on a budget of actual money I have in the bank (no credit card spending!). I carry a little notebook to write the spending down. Some of the stuff health I am tracking... daily vitamins (take a multi plus B, D, Calcium, Omega 3s, Probiotics and depending on my menstrual cycle Magnesium and Evening Primrose Oil) daily flossing 30 minutes of exercise 3x week : cardio, strength and yoga (right now I am aiming for 1 of each per week, but after 2 weeks I will up them to 2 times per week with the goal to be 60 minutes daily - I would love to be back to my 21k shape!) The number of vegetables I am eating (I am vegetarian but I am a bread fiend. I do enjoy vegetables, but its not something that I am naturally drawn to. I have to make an effort.). - I have been in excellent health in the past. I was physically active on a near daily basis. I  trained for a 21k race in the dead of winter! It was brutal! I was strong and I was toned. I felt and looked great. This past year I did a lot of work on my mental and emotional qualities. Now its time to include the physical again.  A switch went off this month and I feel like I am ready for the challenge!