Here’s to Healthy Choices

My sister and bro-in-law were here and then we went on a road trip, but we’ve been back for a week and I still haven’t posted.  Partially because it can be hard for me to get back into blogging mode but also because I haven’t been making great choices.  In fact, I did drink a coke today.  and it tasted like crap.  But I’m not getting too down on myself for it (except for realizing that I hid the fact that I was drinking a Coke which as someone commented on Rachelle’s blog is junkie behavior).   I have really been enjoying reading Rachelle’s blog and it’s making me rethink my whole relationship with food.  But it’s late, and I should go to bed.  More thoughts another time.

I really need to spend some time working up more interesting titles (grin).

Went for a walk again this morning.  It seems to work better for me if I just wait for hubs to shower and then leave him with the kids during breakfast.  When (if) my son will ever sleep without me right next to him, maybe I’ll get up earlier.  Until then I just hate waking everyone up so I can go walk.  This seems to work for now.

Breakfast: a little funky.  Ate the half bowl of cereal my daughter had left.  Then nothing for quite a while.  Noticed I was getting shaky, so ate some cheese and some rhubarb muffins that I was making.

Lunch: ham and cheese with roasted red chile.  yum.  Plus a glass of soda.

Dinner: PB chicken and cauliflower.

AND even though the kids were freaking out half the day and melting down while I was trying to get dinner ready and hubs was LATE from work (by an hour), I did not succomb to the temptation of alcohol.  whoo hoo!

Breakfast: oatmeal with dried fruit & yogurt

Lunch: shared chicken enchilada & Lift with kids

Son’s nap: daughter and I ate 4 squares dark chocolate

late afternoon: 2 cups Milo

dinner: tuna casserole, cup of milo

still trying to figure out what protein to have with breakfast– I get tired of having eggs all the time.

I did get out this morning for a 20 min walk (all I had time for since my man had to leave for work and could only watch the kids for that long).

Oops, actually deleted Tuesday’s post by using it as a template for Wed.

Basically the food wasn’t great but not too bad.  The worst of it was having 2 drinks.  Bad idea to use alcohol to destress after a trying day, but it’s done.

Exercise: Walked hills this morning, but only about 20 min.

Breakfast: bowl of cereal, piece of toast with jelly  (eep, just realized I’ve had no protein this morning)

10:30 snack with kids: cheese, rice crackers, sultanas

11:30 lunch: Turkish bread with honey, cheese/ham, bits of chocolate chip muffin

12:30 some chocolate with daughter

6:30 fried rice with chicken/veggies (leftovers) and bits of omelet son didn’t eat

Still no Cokes!  Whoo Hoo.  In fact, I think I’ve cut down on sugar by quite a bit (although I have been indulging in some dark chocolate).   Down side was that I’d started having a drink every evening instead of the Cokes.  I’ve cut that out now (scary premonition of alcoholic-prone genes going wild).  The walking is still sporadic.  I think I want to, but then inevitably (sp?) something (cuddling/laziness?) keeps me in bed.  I’d like to start posting about my food choices in the hopes that accountability will help when that Halloween candy starts to call….

I didn’t walk this morning because the kids and I slept so poorly.  My son woke up every hour (at least) starting around 2:30.  Something was going on with him this morning and I was exhausted so we just hung out in bed.  I did walk from the grocer to home with 4 bulging cloth bags however.  But I’m not counting that as my excersise.  I felt myself wanting caffeine today, but I did not indulge.

I did talk to my husband about my need to know it’s okay to walk in the mornings.  He was supportive of me walking this morning and has already supported me for tomorrow.  Which is nice.

My 39th birthday happened on Sept 19.  I made two resolutions to myself.  One (already heard here, but not acted on) was to quit drinking Coke.  The second was to get up in the mornings and walk.  So far I’ve done really well on the Coke front.  In fact, I haven’t craved them as much as I thought I would.  It might help that my daughter is acting as my conscience everytime we go to the store.  I don’t want to let either of us down.

The walking is more touch and go.  The first week I did walk on a majority of days, although not every day.  This week I’ve walked on Monday (about 20 min), but I didn’t walk yesterday or today.  Part of the problem is that when I wake up, everyone wakes up.  I’ve tried sneaking out while Cam is still asleep, but he usually wakes up within 10 minutes of me getting out of bed.  It’s like he has a sixth sense.  Most days, he starts waking up and wanting to nurse if I even think about getting out of bed.  This morning as I’m lying in bed (feeling a little resentful/torn about what I should do), I several things.  One was that walking this morning was out for today since my husband needed to go in to work a bit early.  Two was that I really do want to walk in the mornings (no matter how much my night owl self wants to resist) and that on the mornings that I went I felt much better.  Three was that I need to hear from my husband that it’s okay that the household wakes up at 6am so I can go walking.  To be fair, he’s said it once.  But tonight I’ll tell him that I think I need to hear it again.

While trying on some pants in a fitting room with my four year old daughter, I was saddened to discover that I needed to go to a larger size.  Then trying on a different pair, I found that size was too large.  I exclaimed out loud that the pants were too big.  My daughter replied, “don’t worry mom.  You’ll grow into them.”

Yes, I want to lose some weight, but my primary goal is to make healthier choices.  I am hoping this site will help me clarify my goals and will serve as a reminder of what they are.  I need some help keeping on track.    So: onto the goals–

Broad Goal Number 1:  Make healthier choices regarding Food

A.  Drink water, tea, or milk.  No cokes!  This shouldn’t be too much of a problem now that we’re in Australia and a bottle of Coke is almost $3.

B.  Desserts should be something like fruit or small bit of chocolate.  Other dessert maybe only once a week or not at all?  I’m trying to think of what’s practical here since my whole family is addicted to dessert.  Will I be able to be the only one not eating it?  If I allow myself small bits will that satisfy the craving or is it like an alcoholic who has to swear off it all completely?

C. Dinner: I think we eat fairly healthy dinners although since I’m not a huge fan of cooking we sometimes have frozen pizza.  Still, mostly we eat food from scratch and not pre-prepared meals.

D. Lunch however is often a different story.  I hate packing lunches and often end up eating out but because I’m cheap and usually not willing to wait that often means fast food.  Again, being in Australia may help with this since food is more expensive and we’ll be watching pennies.

E. I always eat breakfast and it’s usually fairly healthy.

F.  Portion control.  Aha.  I think this is where a lot of my problem comes in.  I’m the typical American who wants to get the most fries for her buck.  I would like to relearn what the proper portion is.

G. Fruits and Veggies.  I don’t eat enough.  What we do eat is often canned or frozen (veggies).  Fruit is usually fresh.  I would like to start eating local produce.  I need to figure out how to cook it though.