Health Kick

Well, the time has come to face the facts. We (as a whole family) need to crack down and get serious about getting healthy. I used to be afraid of healthy cooking, I had tried the low fat/no fat, I have tried the low/no carb thing,weight watchers, atkins etc... none of it appealing.  I also did not care for the lean cusine etc... meals, they seriously lacked taste. So I was hesitant to try new "healthy" meals. I had tried regular new meals that weren't always so healthy, but something different, but my family members are hard to please. However,  as I watched us all pack on the pounds, I knew SOMETHING had to be done. So I once more vowed to make this family healthy. But I was going to try a new approach, one I had never done. I was going to mix and match healthy programs. a little from this program and a little from that. Several of my friends and some of my family are doing weight watchers. Another friend had done the caveman diet, where if a caveman wouldn't recognize it, you don't eat it. I think that has also been called the God diet, where you eat things as God made them, and God didn't make processed food. But I also knew, if I didn't ease the family into this, it was never going to work. I had my work cut out for me, but as the "keeper of the home" it was my responsibility to "git r done"!


The past week and a half, I have been trying to fix healthy meals. It started with my bi-weekly grocery trip. Not buying anything bad. I had bought some 100 calorie packs to help ween us of the junk we were so used to eating. I added more veggies and fruit to some meals. One of my close friends had told me, "don't focus on what you CAN'T have, but what you GET to have".  I had gotten a weight watchers cook book at the library and had incorporated some of those meals into our weekly menus. Suprisingly. so far,  they  have all gone over well. Gracie and I had gone to my mom's for dinner one night and she made a weight watcher friendly spaghetti sauce and we fixed spaghetti squash in the oven and put the sauce over that and it actually tasted just like spaghetti. That motivated me on the other meals I was going to fix. So far we have had 2 weekends and a full week and a half (yes, i'm still counting the days so far). We started adding excersise into the mix last Friday. Thankfully my mom has her own littl mini gym in her upstairs and we have become members over there. We also have mixed it up a bit, and went bike riding and walking over there yesterday as the weather was so nice. today, we went to a local nature park and walked the trails. The kids are motivated, and I am feeling more confident in the food I am preparing. I have substituted raw veggies where I might have served chips or fries before, I am trying to vary the cooked veggies where I mostly made mashed potatoes in the past. While I have made some of the weight watcher meals, I have also kept some of our old ones, such as hamburgers, or chicken nuggets, but I measure out portion sizes and have fruit and veggies to go with them. In doing this, the family (me included) do not feel the weight (no pun intended) of a "diet" rather the excitement of a healthy change. I used to make a large pitcher (sometimes two) of sweet tea every weekend, and we would get that on our many eating out trips. Well, I have not made that tea the last two weekends and we haven't ate out, except once this whole time, so we have lowered our liquid calories considerably not to mention saving a bunch of $. We also are working hard at eating at the table rather than on the couch or in our rooms. I think that the hardest change to make of them all!
 
We did have a cheat day, and we have allowed ourselves small treats when we have had an overwhelming craving that just will not go away. But again, we portion it out and actually after that, it goes away. Example, my husband brought home our most favorite doughnuts just a few days after starting this. Why? you might ask, because in the past, we have made food our way of doing something nice for each other and he was trying to be nice (it takes time to change our habits). So I immediately asked he take them to the basement and not even let Gracie know, Frankie was there, he saw them, no getting around that, but he was only allowed one. I did not feel an immediate urge for one and thought, heh, I can handle this. But later that night, it kept popping in my head, and would not go away, I started eating this and that, to get my mind off those wonderful doughnuts downstairs. By the next morning, I caved and went down and had one....just one, I ate it slowly and enjoyed every bite and guess what, after that, I did not crave one again for a couple days. and by then, he had finished off the box so it didn't matter and I have been fine ever since. I even found, when going to the store yesterday to get more fresh produce, while Frankie was drooling over the things in the bakery right next to the produce section, I was not.....for now anyway! lol
 
Anyway, to sum it all up, so far, we have succeeded, in my opinion, in getting off to a good start. We are trying and liking new fruit and veggies and are starting to change our thoughts on what to do with our spare time and how to MAKE time to work in our daily excersise. I KNOW we will make mistakes in the future, but we have a pretty good start. I think Frankie summed it up the other day when he said, "you know, I dreaded this eating better and exercise stuff, but with us ALL doing it as a family, I actually find myself excited about it". I am too. I just pray that we can continue in doing this well. Keeping God in it, I think will be  a huge factor, and with His help, as we all know, you can't loose (well, i want to loose, just not fail! lol). But knowing I am and CAN do this for my family, makes me a happy camper.
 
On a final note, I have to say, along with God, I could not have had the motivation nor so much knowledge or access to success, without my mom. She has had her own good start and has encouraged, supported and helped guide me through he whole thing. It just goes to proove, a mother's job is never done! We love her dearly!