Resolution #1 for 2011

I haven't really written out any official New Year's resolutions since I was a teenager.  I mean, sure, I always say I'm gonna lose weight, eat right, blah blah blah...but I never do.  This year, however, I have the urge to make (and actually keep!) a few.  Not only do I have the urge to write them, but I also feel the need to write down why I am resolving to do such-and-such.  I guess I'm feeling very introspective and eager for real, lasting change in my life.  Anyway, as I was talking to a dear friend last night, I may have had a mini-epiphany of why I am feeling this urge.

Lately, I have become acutely aware of my family's history of cancer. I believe practically everyone on my mom's side of the family -- except me or my cousins (my generation) -- has been diagnosed with some form of cancer at one time or another.  This scares me.  I've known this and thought about this form time to time over the past several years, but lately its been a nagging thought.  I know what my mother-in-law would say.  She'd say not to think about such horrible things.  "Stinkin' thinkin' " is what she'd call it.  She'd tell me never to verbalize such a fear because verbalizing it gives "power" to the fear and might make it happen.  Maybe she's right, but I feel like I must confront this fear and decide what I can do now to prevent it from becoming a reality later.

This leads me to my first resolution for 2011:
EAT RIGHT & EXERCISE REGULARLY SO I CAN BE HEALTHY AND STICK AROUND TO SEE MY KIDS GROW UP.  

How am I going to do this?  I am going to continue to Zumba twice a week!  I also plan to dig out my Tae Bo DVD (I think I might even have a couple of old VHS tapes!) and work my way through it at least once a week.  Zumba and Tae Bo are fun for me, so they are the two forms of exercise I am most likely to stick with. :)  Also, I am going to hunt down the little 8 lb weights we have lying around here and, instead of snacking or just lying there like a sloth while watching TV with the hubby, I will do some quick reps and get some resistance training in.  Squeeze It In will be a great resource for helping me implement little things here and there to help me tone up and get this ol' body into better shape.  As far as eating better, I am going to go on a modified version of the Daniel Fast.  Last Aug/Sept, Chris and I followed this fast for 21 days with our church and after a few days of "detoxing" I felt better than I had ever felt in my whole life.  I want to feel that way again.

The point is, if I eat better and exercise regularly, I hope my chances of avoiding cancer and stopping the cycle in my family will skyrocket.  I know there's not much of anything that can be done about genetics, but doggone it, I am going to do whatever I can to keep myself healthy and HERE for my husband and kiddos.  Losing weight isn't the main goal, but it just might be a nice by-product.