Knowing What's Good for You

Tonight, after almost three months of school, I finally finished decorating my dorm room.  My friend Minnie and I went to Bed, Bath, and Beyond and Target tonight after dinner at Panera. She is from Thailand and does not have it where she lives, so it was fun to have dinner at the traditional lunch place.  We opted to not go for frozen yogurt and right to the shops so that we could focus on shopping without feeling too full.

First stop: Bed, Bath, and Beyond.  I decided to purchase a spring rod and a white curtain to serve as a medium between the dark hurricane shutters and bright sunlight during the day.  That side of the room looks complete, and I absolutely love how homey my room feels after buying that.  At Target, I decided to do some restocking for my pantry and bought some more granola bars, fruit, and healthy hot chocolate alone with my usual essentials.  I even bought some contact paper to cover the unsightly white corkboard that is over my desk.  I needed this room to feel like home, and now it really does.

A lot of you have probably heard of "No Shave November," a tradition where men and women ditch the razor for the month that we typically break out the pants or grow Santa Claus-like beards.  Well, here in Miami there is a different fad going on, and it is called No Gain November.  This is because a lot of us go crazy at Thanksgiving and then decide to extreme diet before Christmas.  But this is not the case this month.  In order to keep this New Year's resolution in January, it takes some preparation in the two months prior, some education, and more research.  And this whole topic has inspired me to join along.  While I am no registered nutritionist or dietician, I have been going through this THINK class at the wellness center that has taught me all about healthy eating and exercise in college.  And I am taking nutrition next semester, so this has given me a leg up for that class as well.  So each weekend this month I am going to share with you my college grocery list.  This will prepare me to make good choices this December during winter break.  Making the decision to go healthy will be what is good for me the rest of this fall and in the coming early winter.

And here goes, the Week 1 Grocery List:
1) A bag of red grapes
2) Chewy 25% Reduced Sugar granola bars
3) Kellogg's Fiber Plus Antioxidants granola bars
4) 6 bottles of skinny water
5) 6 bottles of SmartWater
6) A box of Swiss Miss diet hot chocolate packets

While this list may seem extremely small (and it is, I acknowledge that), the goal is to keep me from snacking when I do homework, watch TV, or relax in the room.  I also have the snacks that my mom sent me in her massive "snackage" (a snack package) two weeks ago already packaged in single-serving baggies and plan to take full advantage of my meal plan this week by making time for meals.  Not bad, right?

So, here's the lowdown on the post tonight (or this morning, depending on your coast): tonight I have acknowledged what is best for me by making my room feel like a home, spending time with a close friend in my dorm, participating in a "no" event this November, and making a plan for my New Year's resolution.

What else is good for me?  Feeling like you did well on an exam, talking for half an hour to mom on the phone after class, working hard to improve the blog, and everything else that today brought.  So what is good for you?  Whether you know it or not, what is best for you lies within your reach, and we are all capable of finding it.

Happy Weekend, everyone!

XOXO