A couple of friends (RL here folks - just not make believe online friends) have made some enties in their blogs that strike close to home.

 

The first one by t3chdiva  (http://techdiva.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!A95B8F2F272033CA!352.entry) covers one of the most popular New Years resolutions (well two of them really) - quiting smoking and the battle of the bulge. While I quit smoking a long time ago (Ronald Reagan was president), I too battle the demons of too much easy food combined with flying a desk. While I am not prone to jump on the diet wagon, I am taking up "meal tracking". Meal tracking is honestly recording everything you eat and drink - then calculating out the water, calories, sodium, fat, protein and fiber intake. My basic guidelines are 1500~1700 calories a day, 64 oz of water, 150 grams of protein and 1000 mg of sodium. When I don't meal track, I run 2000~2500 calories a day and my sodium is over 2500 mg a day. While I am not focused on dieting when I meal track, I find that I do adjust my intake as I become aware of just what I am eating.

 

The second one by tom mccleery (http://tommccleery.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!6831ED254133FC0C!239.entry) also speaks to me. I do a miserable job of staying in touch with my family - regardless if they are only 40  or 2500 miles away. I have a couple of ideas about this - first is to use the spaces site on a more regular basis (nothing like daily, but weekly should be doable) and the second idea is to join a "365" group on http://www.flickr.com. This will give me a way to open up more via my pictures with my family (in addition to more regular blog posts) and also it will put me on the spot light regarding watching what I eat.

 

I am joining the http://www.flickr.com/groups/365days/ self portrait group in addition to my meal tracking. I want to see how I change over the year. Nothing like pictures to hold yourself honest