-Wake up at 7AM every day (unless working).

-Be in bed by 9:30 every night.

-Eat two servings of fruits or vegetables every day.

-Cut out processed food.

-Get at least half an hour of exercise on days off of work.

-Complete 1 task on the list of things that need to be done.

I started off 2016 sick. And then I somehow got pink eye (my best guess is that I got it from wiping my eyes with my dirty hands while at work.) This put me off to a bad start, because I was unable to follow my waking up and sleeping patterns. Then I had to work the night shift four nights in a row while not feeling that great, so that put me off schedule even more. It took me until around the middle of the month to get myself back on track. For the rest of the month, I had no difficulty waking up by 7AM and being in bed by 9:30PM. I like keeping to this schedule, and I've realized not to panic if I do go to sleep a little later.

I was successful almost every single day in getting enough fruits and veggies. I can only count a couple of days where I missed out on getting the amount of servings I wanted. If fact, there started to be more days where I got more than two servings of fruits and veggies. I noticed that eating healthier led to me having more energy. It has also made my body feel better, inside and out. I have also been able to lost some weight, which is a bonus, even though it isn't a goal for my project. Recent grocery store shopping trips have led to me paying close attention to something before grabbing it. I am checking the nutrition to see how much salt is it and making sure there are far more carbs than fat. I think my mom finds this self-discovery of mine to be a good thing, as she lets me stare between two loafs of bread for a minute while I determine which one is a better pick.

As for those good old processed foods, I have done a great job avoiding them. I have had a couple of days where I ate some pizza rolls or gave in to the craving and had those bbq chips or peanut butter cookies, but overall, I've eaten healthy. I would say that my cravings for processed food have diminished tremendously. I was snow shoveling a few days ago. I thought I was hungry for some peanut butter cookies when I came inside. I then realized that my body didn't want the cookies. It needed sugar. Instead of eating the cookies, I ate a banana. The banana curbed the craving, and I felt good about my discovery the rest of the day. I realized that if I listen to my body, I will be able to figure out what it wants and give it a healthier option, until I am only craving the healthier options.

The exercise regiment that I wanted to put myself on hasn't quite gone according to plan yet. I spent the first five days in bed, then worked five days. I still didn't feel 100%, and my sleep schedule was off, so I spent the next few days feeling sluggish. I did manage to get exercise on days I went out of the house. I went shopping with my mom so that I would walk around, I asked my friends if they would walk around with me for a little bit, and I even managed to do some core exercises on a couple of days. This past week has been the most successful. I was able to get exercise snow shoveling (and believe me when I tell you shoveling two feet of snow off a driveway for three days is a lot of work) and at work. I definitely want to try to keep exercising every day for my health and overall wellbeing.

The last thing I need to go over is completing one task on the list of things that need to be done. I was able to complete two instead of just one. The first task I completed was fixing my iPod. I was able to figure out why I couldn't sync my iPod to my new computer, and I got it to work. I also downloaded a bunch of new music and cleared out the music I have but never listen to. The second task I was able to complete was going through my makeup. Since I am planning on moving to Chiang Mai in two months, I need to downsize my belongings so that I only have the things that I really need to take with me. I was able to get rid of close to half of my makeup. I gave some things away to my friends, but a lot of my makeup is very old and no longer sanitary, so I tossed it.

This month has been a learning experience for me. Overall, I would say that I do have more energy than I did before. I feel better when I take care of myself by eating right, exercising, following a sleep pattern, and getting things done. I'm very excited to keep these goals up as I move into February. I will have a post going into detail on my February Goals very soon.

Did you start a Happiness Project? How did your first month go? Leave a comment below!

Shannon

Check out my previous post here.