According to the U.S. government, losing weight and eating healthier is the top New Year’s resolution.  Everyone around me is vowing to stick to their resolution of cutting the fat, doubling up the veggies and cutting the sugar. Me on the other hand, I’m being forced to do so. And being forced to do so makes it that much harder.

Beginning January 7, my doctor put me on a very restricted detoxifying diet to deal with some health issues. I like to call this diet the “You Name It, I Can’t Eat It” Diet.  No more dairy, wheat, sugar, potatoes, salt, alcohol, bananas, pop, citrus fruit, or anything processed. That leaves me with brown rice, vegetables, fruit, nuts, fish and chicken to munch on. There’s no limit to how much I can eat, but it’s pretty difficult to fill up on salmon and broccoli. Along with the restricted foods, I have to drink lemon water, dandelion extract, and vegetable powder dissolved in orange juice – which is about as appetizing as it sounds.

Despite the fact that all I can think about is eating a Big Mac, and sipping a strawberry daiquiri, I am more than willing to put up with the diet. I have been dealing with a painful nerve condition for the past 10 years, and this is a last ditch attempt to try and heal myself from the inside out.

This year, I didn’t make any New Year’s resolutions, thinking that this new diet will be a difficult life change on its own. At least it’s something that I know I have a fighting chance of sticking with if I want to prevent myself from getting sicker. Resolutions are an attempt to better ourselves, and if I can heal myself with some brown rice and spinach, I will definitely be better off.

People all over the world have become more health conscious over the past few years. All morning new shows, and all radio broadcasts have time slots for their health conscious viewers and listeners. They bring in their own specialty doctors to diagnose us, tell us everything we’re doing wrong, and what we should be doing right. It’s become ever more popular, and trendier to be healthy. Global News brings in a health reporter during the evening news, and CTV has brought in a doctor during Canada AM. Even Oprah has Dr. Oz telling us everything we’re doing wrong. The media’s hype and attention on certain issues makes it that much more noticeable to the public, and in this case, it’s a good thing, because as we choose healthier options, we’re choosing to better ourselves and enrich (and possibly prolong) our lives.

So while at this time of year talk of New Year’s resolutions are incredibly cliché – maybe the less cliché thing is to actually follow through. Whether it’s your own motivation to make a life change or something outside your control…we’ll all be better off in the end. You hit the gym, I’ll hit the rice.