I refuse to "Diet"

There are 2 very different meanings of the word "Diet."  To get completely technical "Diet" is a term for the sum of food consumed by a living organism or group. "Dieting" is the act of deliberately selecting food to control the body weight or nutrient intake. For as long as I can remember I had been searching and trying every kind of dieting gimic out there. Some would work temporarily, and then when I would start to stray from the particular "dieting" technique, the weight would come back twofold.

I have gotten to the point that I am DONE doing the popular gimics, pills, shakes, and everything else. I refuse to spend anymore money or get my hopes up on something that will not help me in the long term. (I am not bashing anyone who does these. I am simply saying that they do not work for me and sometimes only gives me the quick satisfaction instead of what I am searching for overall). I refuse to adhere to an Atkins, or South Beach, or blah blah blah. It's time to stop dieting and start living healthy and I just plain refuse to keep looking for quick fixes. I needed something to change my mind permanently about how I feel about foods, portions, and creating some eating rules for myself. And for me, that was my health and my family.

I have always considered myself to be somewhat picky. I am not a big fan of many vegetables, I enjoy carbs entirely too much, and have a sweet tooth for chocolate and peanut butter like you wouldn't believe. Basically, if it's really good for you, I'm really not interested. So it will be a matter of retraining my mind on what I consider a "snack" or what I consider "side dishes".(I'm not saying that lately I have been pigging out on anything and everything. I have still been drinking a ton of water, eat at least 1 pretty healthy meal a day, and watch my snacks. But there is a lot of room to improve.) I think in soceity, we see snacks to be things like cookies, ice cream, chips, etc. When in turn we should think carrots, cucumbers, apples, grapes, etc. I need to also think out of the box when fixing meals at home and trying to decide what we will have for side dishes. My arsenal usually includes Mashed Potatoes, corn, pasta salad, chips, bread(for pasta), etc. I have recently within the past couple of months been doing many more salads, green and red peppers, and other veggies. Something that really made me think the other day was when I was fixing Lenae's supper I had steamed some broccoli and she offered me a bite with the sweetest little look on her face. If it was anything other than broccoli I wouldn't have thought twice about accepting her sweet offering. But BROCCOLI?! I usually gag at the smell of it...let alone the taste. Wanting to be healthier version of myself and not wanting to discourage her love of this veggie, I accepted a bite. I smiled the whole way through it. And you know what? The taste really wasn't as bad as I remember it being the last time I tried it. After being pregnant with Lenae, I all of a sudden developed a tolerance for many many foods that I once got sick at the thought of even touching them. Anyways....Children are sponges. They will soak up every single thing that you say, face that you make, and action that you perform. What do you think it would have taught her had I snarled my nose and said "Ew Mommy doesn't like broccoli!"? She would have adopted my same aversion to it, because naturally she wants to do everything that I do. So just a reminder that your love or distaste for a certain food will be passed onto your child eventually, whether through seeing you eat it a lot, or by watching you chow down happily at next weeks meal.

I really have started to cut a LOT of salt out of my diet(there's that word again...but in the right context for me!). I have started to be very conscious of how much or any salt that I put in dishes, or sprinkle on meat, and even the butter that I sometimes use for my toast or baked potato. I really don't eat very many chips, really watching the intake of deli meats with all of the added sodium. In turn...I'm seeing a significant lowering in my BP. I don't feel so lethargic or out of energy. I'm seeing that it really is about the little choices that you make daily, that make the biggest difference in the overall picture.

As for portions, I have mentioned it before that I try to use a child's plate when eating meals. It really does not allow you to put enough food on the plate to overeat, and then by putting the food away before you sit down to eat, you avoid going back for seconds. Just being conscious of how many scoops of that chili you put in a bowl or how many chips that you pull out of that bag can really start to add up and make a difference. If you start eating a little bit less at each meal, your stomach will start to adjust to this newer amount and you will soon start feeling full.

As for new eating rules, the one major one that I HAVE to start making myself do is shutting down my kitchen after 8. Yes Mom, I know you have been telling me this for AGES. I never used to eat after 8 until meeting my husband and moving in together. He was always used to eating before bed, which ended up being 8:30, 9, or sometimes even 10. I quickly fell into this pattern because sometimes he was the one having to cook while I was working or at school, or more recent taking care of Lenae.(She always eats around 6). It's also hard when Shelby is on nights because he takes his "lunch" break around 8:30 so that he can see Lenae right before she goes to bed. Its nice to be able to eat with him, but I know that in order for myself to see more of a change and stay on the right track, I need to do this for me. I did it last night and it really was not that hard. I am guilty of always thinking I need a bedtime snack, so giving that up last night was a little bit of a challenge. I know though that the more I resist, the easier it will be.

I need to start gathering healthier recipes and letting go of old habits. I need to remind myself that this is mind over matter. I have changed MANY of them already(I am not sulking about my weight on the couch anymore, I am incorporating more and more healthy foods daily, I have cut my soda intake from 6 a day down to 1/2 a can). I'd say that's a pretty good start, but now that we are set to begin a weight loss challenge in the group I am in, it's time to buckle down and get serious! And in closing...Instead of choosing to do the "Dieting", I will instead change my "Diet."

On a related note, I am down another 3 lbs and am up to 6 inches lost off my stomach! Holla!! I think this had something to do in part with adding the 30 day shred fully into my days. I do this while the kids first go down for a nap and still have plenty of time to get other things done too. I still do my running on top of this...although these last couple of weeks I haven't been running as much because of the 5K's at the end of each week and not wanting to be overtired for them. We do our 3rd this weekend which will be another "Color Run" only at a smaller scale and not the official ones. Hopefully the weather holds out and it won't be as cold as last weekend!!

Here is our after picture that we got ahold of...

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