5 Bad Habits I Picked Up in 2017 and How I Plan to Break Them in 2018

In May I put myself on a gut-reboot diet that cut out carbs and sugars and overloaded my body with good bacteria and loads of produce. But the minute those 28 days were up, I treated myself to everything in sight and found every excuse possible to avoid the gym. The result is that I feel weak, sluggish, and I picked up 8-10 lbs. that forced me to shop for new clothes.

The 2018 fix: I will start slow. My plan is to commit to 2-3 sweat sessions a week, even if it's just a walk around the block or a good stretching routine. I have to start slow to build my stamina and wade into cardio classes and muscle strengthening because if I go hard right away and feel the burn and get sore, I'll quit. I also bought a pocket calendar to schedule my workouts.

I used to be (still am) a latte snob. The trendier, more complicated, the better. But I was NEVER someone who straight up drank coffee on a daily basis. And soda? I recognized from a very early age what that can do to my body. But there I was suddenly every morning either stopping at Dunkin' or at the break room Keurig filling up one, sometimes two cups a day. It's no surprise I've become addicted. And I also started downing giant bottles of Pepsi to the point that I craved it several times a week.

The 2018 fix: I am switching myself back to flavored seltzer water to satisfy my carbonated beverage craving. As for kicking coffee, I'm going to back to green tea (which offers similar caffeine content), and I'll treat myself to one cup of half-caff on Sunday's with breakfast. As for those fancy lattes? They'll become a treat as well.

This is the worst of all the bad habits I picked up in 2017. You could not drag me out of bed for ANYTHING. Forget being a snooze 'queen', I've become a snooze god. What way oversleeping has done is deplete my productivity and turn me into an anxious, hot mess.

The 2018 fix: I'm going to set my alarm for the absolute LAST minute I could possible sleep without being late, which will hopefully stop my need to slap snooze so much. I'm also going to start putting myself to bed a bit earlier and cut my fixation with my phone/tablet about a half hour before I hit the hay.

Oversleeping meant that I had no time to have breakfast or pack a decent lunch. So that meant rushed trips to Wawa or the nearest bagel place for a morning meal, and then running right out as soon as I could in the afternoon to grab lunch. That caused my eating habits to tank since I was relying on muffins and BLT's to get me through the day, and also drained my bank account.

The 2018 fix: I'm going to grocery shop on Saturday and make a few unfussy snacks on Sunday so I'm set for the week. I'm also going to keep a box of oatmeal at my desk for hectic mornings, and pre-portion out smoothie ingredients in plastic bags and keep them in the freezer so I can whip them up in a flash. Keeping nuts and pre-cut veggies nearby will hopefully stop me from running out in the middle of the day to find sustenance.

Part of the reason why I put away less into my savings account in 2017 is because I spent so much of my money on food! Morning stops, eating out several times a week, and ordering take-out on weekends started to break the bank. I've also done a really bad job of tracking my spending, just swiping my debit card and hoping for the best.

The 2018 fix: Cut out all unnecessary spending which, in referencing some of the points above, will include cutting out latte and lunch runs. Getting back into the habit of meal prepping will also force me to use the food I have in my fridge, and I won't have to shop as often.