I never truly appreciate my health until I catch a cold or something and the constant sniffling and coughing makes me miss the carefree days of being fully healthy. 2012 started with me having a cold (for 10 days). But during that period, I started a new eating plan so that at least I could combat the overall "I feel so gross" mentality with having a tad bit more energy and sleeping better at night. Since I am a planner at heart, I began to evaluate my eating habits and change the way I eat by incorporating it into my weekly menu planning activities.Almost a full month in and I have to tell you... So far, so good.

I definitely have more energy on a daily basis and my patience level continues to improve (my kids are beyond thrilled with this one). While my grocery bill has increased (eating healthy is expensive, you know) it has definitely been worth it to continuously feel better. Being in the situation that I am in as the only surviving parent to my children, my health is taking a front seat in terms of priority. Eating better, exercising regularly and getting to sleep at a decent hour whenever possible are all contributing factors to feeling as good as I do.

Let's just hope I can keep it up.