I know a lot of people hate the idea of making new year’s resolutions but not me!  There’s no harm in trying to make improvements.  And if you fail, well, then you are just back to where you were before.

How did I do in 2017?  According to my resolutions blog post in Jan 2017, I had hoped to only spend 1200 dollars on clothes all year.  Well, that was a major fail!  Because I spent 3x that amount!  But I did make good on my other goal of staying out of credit card debt.  When I graduated from medical school (5 years ago), I was 10K in credit card debt, mostly just spent on daily living costs while receiving minimal parental financial support.

I was able to climb out of that debt exactly two years ago and stayed out of that kind of debt since.  In order to pay it off, I don’t think I ever made any big sacrifices with my clothes, but I did cut out things like going out to nice restaurants and bars.  And I haven’t travelled much at all either.  Most of my vacations were stay-cations.

When people come visit me in NYC, they often ask if I’ve been to [insert trendy new restaurant].  But my answer is almost always no.  I rarely go out which is fine by me because I’m happier as a home body than most people. Some people might read this and think I’ve prioritized consumer goods over life experiences, but for me, my clothes are important experiences.

Another resolution I made last year was to improve my summer wardrobe, which I did succeed in doing.  In 2017, I added a handful of linen flow-y garments and work friendly sandals.  I always had something to wear in the summer.  So in 2018, I won’t need to add that much for the summer.  In 2016, I did a really good job of beefing up my winter wardrobe, so this year I’ve been really toasty and didn’t have to invest in any winter outerwear or accessories.  I’m still using all the same stuff from two years ago.

This year I don’t have any major seasonal type gaps in my wardrobe to fill but may need a few things throughout the year to replace unwanted or worn out things.  I think 2018, will be about upgrading existing garments types that I already have rather than filling holes.  This year I won’t be putting a dollar amount limit on my clothing budget.  I think it makes more sense to just limit the rate of my clothing acquisitions.

Resolutions for wardrobe:

1. Buy significantly less clothes, ie. less than 1 item per month.
2. Be willing to pay a lot more for each item of clothing.
3. Donate all remaining unwanted clothes that were not sold in 2017.
4. Lighten up the color palette.
5. No more stripes (already have too much).
6. No more synthetics  (it’s bad for the ocean).
7. No more cashmere (it’s bad for the planet).

Resolutions for health:

1. Complete at least 5 Barre3 workouts per week.
2. Eat less meat.  Lower LDL cholesterol to < 80 (current level = 100).
3. Take daily vitamin D.  Raise vitamin D level to > 20 (current level = 12).
4. Take better care of skin: wear sunscreen, cleanse, and moisturize every day.

I already started these resolutions in December and have made good on these promises.  I completed day 7 in the Barre3 8-day beginner series and have been sore since I started on Christmas.   The Barre3 online courses give you a sticker for each calendar day, each time you complete a work out.  As a good student, I’ll do anything for a sticker!  It’s genius.

On top of that, I’ve remained vegetarian for all meals except dinner with a few exceptions, while cutting back on carbs simultaneously. And have been taking my vitamin D daily.  I also updated my skincare routine and already feel like my skin is a million times smoother (I’ll write more about this in another post).

Let’s just hope I can keep it up!  What about you?  How did you do on last years resolutions? Do you have any wardrobe or health related resolutions for 2018?

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Bonus:  A sweet but healthy smoothie recipe

If you’re really craving a sweet dessert but want to keep it (somewhat) healthy then this is the perfect recipe!  I’ve made it a few times already.  The BF loves it so much, he keeps requesting that I make it again and again.  For two serving sizes, combine the following in a blender:

• 1.5 cup almond milk
• 1.5 tablespoon natural peanut butter
• 1 ripe banana
• 4 ice cubes (each 1.5″x1″x1″)
• 20 frozen blueberries
• optional:  1 teaspoon hot chocolate mix or 1/2 teaspoon cocoa powder

This is probably around 280 calories total; half that if you’re sharing it.  Enjoy!