Making Some Accountable Changes! (Health Month)

So, lately I have really been letting myself slip in terms of my health.

I have had a head cold for two weeks now, which is just insane...so I ask myself, why is this not getting better?

Also, my skin is taking a serious turn for the worse, which I COULD blame on the weather changes, but let's be serious...I am eating too much crap lately.

Between the amazing vegan wings I am overdoing, and the amount of chocolate and sugar I have been consuming, no wonder I am feel so icky!

I started training again, and so I need to revamp the way I eat again and get back on track. It is helpful to realize, that even though I am Vegan and eat a lot of healthy foods, small changes like increasing sugar intake can really take a toll on my body!

I signed up for Health Month again which is an online game in which you choose rules for yourself regarding your health and track your progress. Here are my rules for the rest of April:

1. No White Flour (easy)
2. Drink at least 60 glasses of water a week (for some reason this is hard for me)
3. Exercise for 20 minutes at least 4 days a week (moderately difficult time wise)
4. Stretch for 10 minutes every day (difficult time wise)
5. Bring lunch for work 5 days a week (easy)
6. At least one hour of art making 4 days a week (tried this 2 hours 4 days a week one month and that was nearly impossible).
7. No dairy (duh, easy...but harder when you see rule #12)
8. No high fructose corn syrup (easy)
9. Get at least 7 hours of sleep every night (I will be seriously AMAZED if I can do this even 2 nights during my work week....incredibly difficult/borderline impossible and yet SO important).
10. No fried food
11. Do weight training at least 4 days a week
12. No processed foods.

I think the thing that will make the biggest difference is going back to no processed foods. When I ate all unprocessed before it made a very noticeable change in my overall health for the positive. I felt more energized, I lost weight, and I never felt full and lethargic after eating.

I am also going to track my weight and keep a photo journal of how this exercise and diet change affects my body over the rest of the month. My body has a way of really fluctuating based on the way I treat it, which is why I think it is so important for me to re-chiggity-check myself before...well, you know.