Resolutions for Lent 2014!

Oh Goodness gracious!!!

As If I didn't have enough resolutions already...

So, good people of Israel, let's make some Lent Resolutions for 2014!

I have been thinking about what to give up for lent, because you know, you cannot be a good christian unless you make vane resolutions that you'll probably give up after a couple of days.

So being the good (and apparently humble) christian that I am, I'm making some lent resolutions!

Keeping with the dietary adventure theme of last year's resolution (I was a vegetarian for lent) I am making a diet resolution!

So here it is, my little and probably painful lent resolution: limit my calorie budget to 2,000 calories!

Wait what?! That seems like a lot of calories right?

In a way yes, but given how tall and big I seem to be, in order to maintain my current weight I'd have to inhale 2,900 calories a day! Now that is a lot of calories.

It is unfortunately, what I'm used to. And a little more.

I am embarrassed to admit what I have written here before: I'm addicted to food! Especially bacon. And maybe sausages. Okay definitely bacon and sausages.

In all honesty I don't want to be addicted anymore. I don't like being addicted. I don't like being overweight. And I'm tired of putting up goals I never fulfill.

This is a great opportunity for me to (once again) tackle this head on.

I'm usually consistent with my lent resolutions, if strangely enough more so than my New Year's Resolutions, so this little and probably painful lent resolution should be interesting!

What are you giving up for lent? Do you make resolutions? Why or why not?

New Year's Resolution March Update!

It's amazing how fast this year is passing by! Though this should hardly surprise us, since we probably said the same thing about last year.

Anyways, it's that time of the month again, where I get to divulge my commitment (or lack of) on this year's resolutions. It is my way of giving value to these otherwise forgotten resolutions.

So let's start with Resolution #1!

Resolution #1 Achieve my ideal weight:

I still weigh the same, around 260 lbs. Yes, no weight loss this month, unfortunately. But I am not disappointed or discouraged, because I know that I will lose this weight.

I have decided to stick with my flexitarian diet, eating meat on weekends or in special occasions. Unfortunately, my criteria for what constitute a special occasion can be very loose and flexible.

I am eating a lot less meat now, however, and I hope that this diet is healthier for me.  

I am thinking of even making more changes to my diet. I'm thinking of even limiting what kind of meat I eat. I have no desire of eating more meat from these meat factories of today, where animals are simply treated as products.

Buying only grass fed beef, where cattle is treated humanely, is more expensive, and therefore not realistic to my budget, but on the other hand, my budget will guarantee that I really only eat meat on special occasions. The alternative of cheap meal is simply less attractive to me.

This is more than a leftist liberal turn to me but a Franciscan one, as St. Francis was one who cared deeply for animals, even calling them "brothers".

Resolution #2: Keep my room clean, year long.

I have seen some progress on this. I have rearranged some stuffs in my room and have more space in it. Things are more organized and clean than they were last month. But I still have too much stuffs and a desire has grown in me to give away a good part of it.

I was thinking of why I hate moving so much, and one reason of course, is moving all the stuff that I accumulated over the years.

My mounting collection of CDs. Seriously, why do I need so many of them?!

Having more stuff also means that I need to devote more time to clean them, organize them, and taking care of them. It is too much work, and I don't want to work so much for my possessions.

Resolution #3: Update my blog regularly, at least once a week.

Okay, I didn't post on my blog one week during lent! But other than that I have updated my blog pretty regularly, and I plan to continue doing so.

In fact, I want to update my blog more than once a week, maybe more than twice a week.

That's it for this month, see you next!

Stop Eating out!

To put it plainly, I have been eating out too much.

This is no healthy for my stomach and wallet, and so it is time to make a change.

Given how one of my New Year's resolution is to achieve my ideal weight, and how I committed to a life of Simplicity, well there is no way that I can continue eating out as I do now.

Food that you usually get in restaurants is less healthy, more addicting, and more expensive. I have found that I'm beginning to be highly addictive to certain kinds of foods, and trying to get into a healthy, balanced diet has proven more difficult now than before.

I can't go back to the way it was before, and I'm beginning to be afraid that it will.

And so, it is time to cut off eating out, cold turkey.

But how does a person, who loves cooking, spend so much time eating out? This is super weird.

Thing is, I hate cooking for myself. I find it such chore.

I absolutely love cooking for somebody else, and it fills me with a lot of joy and excitement, but the fact that you spend up to an hour cooking a meal that you, and only you, will enjoy for just 15 minutes seems like a waste of time.

But I have no alternative. Today I make the commitment to not eat out for a whole month.

The only exception for this is if I'm going out with somebody else to grab a meal.

It takes a month to form a habit, and so I want to create the habit of cooking for myself.

Who knows, maybe by the end of the month I'll discover that I actually enjoy cooking for myself.

I would love for that to happen.

Photo Credit: Tax Credit.