September Is the Best Month to “Plant” Good Eating Resolutions
It’s nine months since New Year’s. How are those resolutions going? Can you even remember them?
Statistically, there’s a good chance they’ve slipped your mind. Maybe being reminded of them even feels a bit uncomfortable. I’m always a little embarrassed that so many of my resolutions disappear into thin air–and usually a lot sooner than September! But now I’ve discovered that we all get a second chance.
Turns out that September is high time for buying gym memberships, browsing career development opportunities, decluttering closets–and cooking and planning meals to eat better and lose weight. In fact, in September “people make as many promises to be healthy, responsible and fit as they do in January.” (1)
As surprising as that may be, it really makes good sense. Autumn swirls with change. Cooler weather blows in, the outdoors explode in a magical riot of color and the harvest arrives with the last of summer’s tomatoes and cucumbers and the beginnings of winter’s root vegetables and squashes. And of course, the nervous excitement of “back to school” charges the air, even if you’re long past school age.
Experts say that after the laid back days of summer, the shift back to routines makes desired life changes easier, especially as compared to January, when “post-holiday exhaustion” can make it tougher to initiate and stick to changes.
I think there’s also another, deeper reason why September fills us with a desire for change. Look around at all the flowers, plants and trees that are going out in a blaze of glory. They may be dying, but they all leave something vital behind: Seeds. While we generally think of spring as the time for planting seeds, on Nature’s calendar, autumn is the time when plants surrender their seeds to the earth. Once there, nature begins it’s work, breaking down protective coatings, covering them in leaves, working them down into the dirt, biodegrading them with snow and rain. Bit by bit, small step by small step, each progresses from inanimate seed to a small life force, primed and ready to burst forth as a full-fledged plant with spring’s warmth.
It’s not a bad model for those of us on the healthy eating journey:
Why not use the season’s momentum to your advantage?
Initiate some changes in your eating life!
As you eat lunch outdoors, go for a walk or otherwise enjoy the last warm days of summer, take a few minutes to think about and “plant” some seeds. What are a couple eating dreams you’d like to achieve by March? As always, what best takes root are small changes–the kind you hardly notice but that nevertheless add up to big results. Once planted, do the slow and gradual work of rooting those seeds over the cold months of winter. It will be interesting to see what new blossoms show up next spring.
Be the Lucky One
Want to share a couple of the good eating “seeds” you decide to plant? Pop them in the Comment box below. I’ll choose one to explore, to give an idea of the strategies, tricks and tools that transform good intentions into healthful meals on the table.
My “Seeds” for this Autumn
To help spark some ideas if you’re having trouble pinpointing a good target for the next few months, here is what I’m planting:
- Getting in the habit of drinking apple cider vinegar each morning–just 1 Tbsp. in a small glass of water. I’ve been reading about ACV’s many potential benefits (e.g., aiding the digestion of starches), and figured why not give it a try.
- Substituting more buckwheat and millet for brown rice in my diet. Since brown rice is one of the few grains I can eat, I’m in the habit of making and eating it fairly frequently. I want to get in the habit of making buckwheat or millet one day a week.
Footnote:
- See “Now Is the Real New Year,” Anne Marie Chaker for the Wall Street Journal (9/15/16 p D1), where you’ll also learn that autumn beats early summer as the most popular time to get married!