Since I’m already 100% gluten-free, I decided to dig a little bit deeper into my New Year’s Resolutions for 2014. Although I’m eating right and doing what’s right for my belly – am I doing what’s right for my mind? This year’s resolutions focus on my mental health and helping to achieve life balance. In case you’re curious – here’s my resolutions for 2014.

1. Keep Fighting For Our Community

My first goal is to keep on truckin’ – to keep doing what I’m doing for the medically gluten-free community (celiac, gluten intolerance, etc.). We still need to educate – each other, our families, our friends, and the community at large. With ‘gluten-free’ in the news all the time, and consistently the butt of jokes. Apparently I don’t laugh enough at the jokes, but most of the time it’s not really a laughing matter. The world is largely uninformed about celiac disease and gluten intolerance. And I want to keep fighting for science and awareness.

1.5. But Stop Feeding the Trolls

However, that being said, I’ve been told too many times this year that I have a stick up my ass. I’m kind of tired of that. I also hate when I post on regular message boards and I get the dumbest most asinine responses from people who are obviously so dumb I shouldn’t even waste my time on them and/or people who are smart and understand science and gluten-free but just post stupid stuff to get proverbial panties in a twist. These people are considered trolls – those that just state the most annoying things ever and counter the arguments just because. I need to stop feeding them. I need to stop feeding them gluten-free cupcakes.

2. Diligent Label Reading

So I’m pretty great at reading labels, but I need to be a label reading superhero. I need to be more cognizant of “manufactured in the same facility” if I don’t trust the manufacturer. If I can’t find nuts that are certified gluten-free or are at least not made in the same facility, I need to skip the impulse purchase and buy them the right way. I can’t be scared of every label, but I can’t skip them either.

3. Celiac and the Beast book takeover 2014

I want everyone to read my book. Not just because I’d like to pay my bills in 2014, but because with your amazing feedback so far, it seems like it’s a pretty damn good book. I like it, you like it – and I’d like to share that love with others. I’d like others to laugh at celiac and feel like they’re not alone. I want them to read my book.

3.5. But Remember to Live My Life

That being said, I have to remember that besides being an author now, I’m also a human. I’m a woman. I’m a girlfriend. I’m a daughter. I’m an employee. I have a lot on my plate in life and I need to respect that. I need to live my life outside of Celiac and the Beast, and I hope you all respect that too.

4. Patience With The Uneducated

Dear God, please grant me the patience to deal with people who think gluten-free life is just a fad and don’t take celiac disease or gluten intolerance seriously. Because I need it.

5. Less Cookies More Fitness

I want to work out 5-6 days a week because that’s what my body needs to function efficiently. Especially since I’m 30. And I’m no longer 21 and I can’t eat cupcakes 24/7 and still fit in my pants. Plus, I need to take care of my body and treat it like how it deserves. I also need to rebuild my muscles from my two surgeries at the end of 2012 that I still haven’t really recovered from.

5.5 But Being Less Hard On Myself

However, I need donuts. I need donuts all the time. And I need to stop being hard on myself when I eat a donut. I only have one life and I need to enjoy it. I can’t spend all of my life obsessing about calories when a better measure is how I feel when I fuel my body with food. I’ll be thinking of you when I have my next lemon pistachio GF donut guys.

Tagged: 2014, 2014 Resolutions, New Years Resolutions