2025 Resolutions (3): Eating Healthy

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🍪 Story on 01/17/2024

This is my last New Year's resolution. Last but not least, it will be my first year striving to embrace a healthy lifestyle.
Now that I'm in my mid-30s, I've come to realize that staying healthy requires more than just working out. A healthy diet is an essential part of it, and I've neglected this important fact. From now on, I plan to keep track of my daily diet habits.

embrace a healthy lifestyle: The phrase “be in a lifestyle” is less idiomatic in English compared to “embrace a lifestyle”. 

come to: (1) to begin to have a feeling or opinion, (2) to do something by chance, without planning or intending to do it
"점차 깨닫게 되었다" 라는 의미로 finally learned 를 사용했으나, come to realize 가 자연스러운 표현.
finally learned 라는 표현은 "마침내 어떤 지식을 경험을 통해 완전히 익히다" 라는 의미로 읽히는 것 같다. 내가 쓴 맥락에서 이 표현도 나쁘진 않은 것 같다. 이 외에도 come to 는 "생각이 나다"라는 의미로도 쓰임. (It suddenly came to her that she had been wrong.)

It requires more than ~: It is typically used to convey that a certain amount, effort, or action is not sufficient and more is needed to achieve a desired result or meet a requirement.
"단지 ~만으로는 ~할 수 없다" 라는 표현. It is not enough to do something 도 가능하나 이게 더 영어식 표현인 것 같다.

First, reducing my salt intake is my top priority.
Adding less salt to my cooking and opting for low-sodium products would help me achieve this goal.
In the past, I enjoyed savory foods because I believed they made me feel excited and relieved stress.
However, I changed my mind after I married my husband who prefers a low-sodium diet. I noticed I've been consuming excessively salty foods, contributing to inflammation in my body. That's far from healthy.
I am determined to change my bad habits and get back to a healthy appetite.

low-sodium = mild, lightly salted, less salty, reduced sodium
- Mild: A common term for food that is not too seasoned
- Low-sodium: A term that describes food with reduced sodium content
- Lightly salted: A term that describes food that has a small amoun of salt
- Reduced sodium: A term that describes food with reduced sodium content
- Salt-free: A term that describes food that has no added salt 
- Unsalted: A term that describes food that has no salt added 

get back to a healthy appetite: 건강한 입맛을 되찾다;
get back to 대신 retain 을 사용하면 더 formal한 느낌. 보통은 maintain a healthy appetite을 쓰는 것 같다. 그러나 나는 이미 건강한 입맛이 아니므로 다시 돌아가는 의미를 강조하는 get back을 사용하는 것이 적절한 것 같다.

Addtionally, I have decided to moderate my alcohol consumption.
I will limit myself to drinking no more than two days a week.
Previously, I used to drink four to five days a week and have two cans of beer on each occasion; I was not a heavy drinker, but a consistent one! While I've known that even moderate daily drinking could also lead to health issues, it was difficult for me to give up my nightly beer. It had been my stress reliever. 
However, I noticed that I recently started experiencing hangovers more frequently, which disrupts the following day! Moreover, it can never be good for Theo, my baby.
Cutting back on drinking won't be easy. To be honest, I suspect I may already be a bit dependent on it..🥲 But I'm committed to making a change and will keep trying.

This is the first time I've set goals like adopting a healthy diet and moderating my drinking. I know there will be challenges along the way, but I'm determined to stick to my resolutions throughout the year.

challenges along the way: "중간에 좀 실수할지라도 (계속 노력할 것이다)" 라는 의미의 관용표현. 처음에 ChatGPT가 missteps along the way라는 표현을 추천했으나, 좀더 young한 표현을 원한다면 challenges ~ 가 낫다고 한다.

missteps along the way: mistakes or wrong decisions made during a journey or process, implying that despite these setbacks, progress is still being made towards a goal.
This phrase is often associated with Nelson Mandela's famous quote, "I have tried not to falter; I have made missteps along the way," where he acknowledges that even in his long struggle for freedom, he made mistakes but continued to persevere.

 

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✔️Original Draft before revised by ChatGPT

This is my last New Year's resolution. Last but not least, it's going to be my first year trying to be in a healthy lifestyle.
Turning into my mid-30s, I finally learned that I cannot stay healthy only by working out. What I mean is, a healthy diet is an essential part of it, and I've ignored the fact. However, from now, I'm going to keep track of my daily diet habits.

First, taking less salt is coming the best priority. Putting less salt in cooking and choosing low-sodium products would help it. In my previous days, I enjoyed savory food because I thought it always got me excited and stress-relieved. However, I changed my mind after I got married to my husband who loves a less-salt diet. I noticed I've been eating excessively salty that my body has been easily getting inflamated, which is not good. I should change my bad habits this year and return to a healthy tongue.

Additionally, I decided to moderate my drinking. I will limit my drinking days up to two days a week. I used to drink four to five days a week and get two cans of beer on one occasion. I know. I was not a heavy drinker, but an earnest drinker! While I knew that drinking a bit daily could also cause health problems, it was difficult for me to give up drinking beer at night. It was my stress reliever and a night friend so far.
However, I noticed that I recently felt hangovers more often, making the next day mass! Moreover, it can never be good for Theo, my baby.
Cutting down drinking won't be easy, (Frankly say, I think I'm already a bit addicted..🥲) but I'll keep trying.

It's my first time to setting a goal like a healthy diet and a moderate drinking. Though there might be some mistakes on my first few steps, I'm going to keep my resolutions throughout this year.