Today is Ash Wednesday, and as a Jewish girl who up until high school went to private Jewish school, the idea of putting a cross of ashes on my head always really intrigued me. Along with that, in Wisconsin, there is a large Catholic population so restaurants with a fish fry on Fridays is pretty much the Midwestern norm.

Going along with my healthy kick for 2015, I decided to use Lent to my advantage. Since I have a lot of Catholic friends who will be partaking in observance of this 40 day sacrifice, I’m going to show my support and join them.

Here’s what I’m trying to give up during Lent:

1. No more drinking during the week: While having a glass of wine here or there is totally okay, I’ve realized that my evening vino is just empty calories for me.

2. Less carbs, more protein: My trainer is REALLY pushing the protein with me but honestly I’d much rather have a hefty bowl of pasta than a grilled chicken breast. For Lent, I’m going to try and heed my trainer’s advice and lay off so many carbs and hit the protein harder. Since they say it takes 21 days to break a habit may I’ll actually be able to adjust my carb-loving ways.

3. More cheese, PLEASE?!?!?: Like carbs, cheese is my other nemesis. Liz Lemon’s “night cheese” is my spirit-animal as I could easily sit on my couch and eat a block of sharp cheddar like it’s my job. Like carbs, while dairy isn’t the WORST thing for you, it’s also not the best so I’m going to try to consume a little bit less of the dreaded dairy.

We’ll see if these goals are reasonable ones for me to accomplish, but hey, Jews have suffered for THOUSANDS of years so why can’t I just put down the cheese knife for the 40 days of Lent?!