Saved by a New Year’s Resolution

When I was younger I thought New Year’s resolutions were hokey. I didn’t have a bad habit to kick or a lack of purpose in life – so who needed resolutions? Now that I’m a mom, my perspective has changed. I know that making things happen for me is more important than ever, because I’m the centre of the family and it’s easy to lose sight of my personal goals and objectives.

Last January, I resolved to see a Naturopath for the first time and take a good look at my dietary regime. I was quite healthy, but aware that certain foods were not agreeing with me, so I decided that 2013 was going to be the year to sort things out. I began the New Year by signing up for a 30-Day Green Smoothie Challenge I saw on Facebook. With pre-set grocery lists and recipes, a virtual support group and incentives, the program was very easy to follow and a great kick-start to the new and improved me.

My big aha moment was when I realized that yogurt, milk and fruit weren’t the only things to put in my smoothie. I had to get creative because dairy was now something I could only have on occasion. I now use filtered water, coconut water, coconut milk and rice milk instead of regular milk, and add superfoods such as hemp hearts, coconut oil, flax, avocado, spirulina and more.

The social media component of the Challenge was great for keeping me accountable and I decided to Instagram my smoothies each day to share with friends and the Facebook group associated with it. On the fourth or fifth day in, I didn’t bother sharing a photo of my smoothie thinking that maybe my friends were getting sick of seeing my freaky green concoctions.

I was chatting with my neighbour over the fence the next day when she casually asked me why I hadn’t posted yesterday’s smoothie. “Oh, wow, I thought I was starting to annoy people,” I said. Well, I soon came to see that I was doing the exact opposite. The response on Facebook was huge and I was inspiring friends and family to take a look at their eating habits and consider making a change of their own.

Halfway through the month-long challenge, I went to meet my new Naturopath. What an amazing feeling – to spend over an hour speaking with a health professional who genuinely seemed interested in my medical history and was excited at the prospect of sorting things out with me. Countless questions and a copious amount of notes later, I left her office feeling like she had my back.

A year later, I look back on my 2013 New Year’s resolution with a sense of pride. I made it happen and initiated a positive change in my life. I shed a few extra pounds, regained energy and added a ton of amazing superfoods to my repertoire. I still enjoy green smoothies regularly and have a primarily wheat-free, gluten-free and dairy-free diet. Am I ever glad I made that resolution! Now that the kids are back in school, I can figure out my purpose for 2014 . . .

By Kristen Wint