SOS: Day 1
April 1, 2011 
7 Comments
Day 1
Get some sun.
Photo of the sun, May 2010. Courtesy NASA.
SOS stands for Starve Or Sweat. Because that’s what we all assume we have to do to get fit. But here at Habithacker, we take the position that slow, gradual lifestyle change is the only method that works. So your task for today is easy. Get a little sun.
Everyone knows magic happens when you’re outside. Ultraviolet rays stimulate endorphins, a brain chemical that makes you happy. And a bit of exposure without sunscreen powers up vitamin D production, which may prevent osteoporosis.
[Update as of December 2010: Vitamin D has been much in the news lately because of some hyped studies, a popular new book, and because some doctors have been warning that many of us are deficient in it. On the other hand, a panel convened this month to note that studies have been inconsistent. I'll keep you updated when more news comes out.]
You can safely get thirty to ninety minutes week of non-protected sun exposure (depending on altitude, skin type,etc.). Beyond that, slather on the sunscreen or wear a jaunty hat. Why not take a stroll during your lunch hour?
SOS Month 1
What to do so far:
Get some sun (even five minutes outside will make your outlook sunnier)
Welcome new habithackers! So thrilled to have you next to me as I starve and sweat.
At Habithacker, unlike other blogs, we beg you not to read all posts.
Instead, we ask that you choose one category, Nest (upgrading domesticity), SOS (healthy living habits) or Create (putting the oomph back into your creative life) and follow it sequentially, Days 1 through 90. Every category repeats every month starting on the 1st so you can stop and start when you want. If you haven’t visited our instructions, click over to START HERE now.
The easiest way to follow along is to use an RSS reader to subscribe to ONE category and ONE month only–say, SOS Days 1-31. If you don’t know how to RSS, google it. It’s not hard, especially if you have a MyYahoo or iGoogle home page set up. Getting email links to new posts is great, too, and works if you’re using Outlook.
NEW: For the Nest and Create categories, you can sign up to receive emails that contain complete postings for all three months! This is still a work in progress (I’ll be doing some revisions), but feel free to sign up by dropping me a line letting me know you’d like to get them. See sidebar on main page. I’ll be adding SOS this month.
My area that is going to be my zone is going to be my kitcen table. I did it today but Mike seems to always be puting junk on it. My placemats are precios and I cannot ever replace them. They are hot-air balloon placemats that mom made to match my kitchen curtains
Welcome to habithacker, Shar. Men and stacks of junk on horizontal surfaces is a long-standing problem…I will have to address this in a later posting.
Check habit girl-done
That is excellent, bkshanson. Keep checking in and let me know how the pacing is for you.