Health and Nutrition

I am NOT a dieter.

I LOOVE food.

Really. I love that I know that I can eat whatever I want, when I want it.

My physical appearance reflects this mentality...

This has made me feel pretty bad. Not only do I feel like I don't look good, but I also have little to no energy (that may also be because of my three little ones+working...)

Having a Pizza delivery place on your speed dial or saved on your favorites on your phone's browser is NOT the way to go.. It seems to be

obvious, BUT it is so easy to fall in that trap.

Take us for an example:

1. the kids love it

2. mom and dad love it

3. easy dinner ready made delivered to door hot (heavenly!)

4. did i mention how delicious it is?

5. it is overly marketed, T.V., online, radio...

and MOST importantly, we thought it was EASY...

Now, dont get me wrong. We did not eat pizza every day... However, this is just one vice out of many...

We have made small improvements since starting this blog, what a difference it has made! We have already been loosing weight and saved quite a bit of money!

The first thing I can tell you is that MENTALITY is everything. Dont think about being on a DIET. Think about those cute clothes you will be wearing soon because you are eating differently!

When I first sat down to see what menus to plan and shopping lists, it was a nightmare! I searched online for healthy menus. I found some that I was totally and willing to follow EVERY step of the way, but looking at it, I knew our kids would not have the same opinion... (I could just hear in my head "ewe, what is that mom?")

So, ok, I thought I will make them a separate meal for them.... I printed out calendars with Mom and dad's menu, and kids menus...Like I said, a total nightmare. I literally cried, and wanted to pull my hair out after staring for hours at my computer monitor and the ridiculous looking menu plan.

Guess what was running through my head at this point...

GIVE UP, MARIA..........................................

You CAN'T do this

After this, Justin walks in the kitchen. Saw my frustration and how ridiculously frustrating it was to me. He said: "It doesn't need to be this complicated".

I laughed, and said, yes it does, look at this. If we want to change, this is what needs to happen.

Well, hate to admit that he was absolutely right.

WHY does it need to be complicated?

So I threw the calendars away. I wrote out a grocery list of things we normally purchase. Then I crossed out things that we could live without. For example, soda pop (sniff sniff!), chips, those hostess cake snacks... you get the idea.

We replaced those things with crackers, granola bars, baby carrots, broccoli, string cheese and such.We eliminated the junk and brought in fresh snacks.

We also are testing out using ground turkey instead of ground beef, a healthier option. My opinion??? It is actually a great substitute! We have so far made delicious turkey burgers and hamburger helper, the only trick is you need to make sure it is well seasoned, since compared to beef, it is nearly tasteless. We will probably substitute 25% of our meals with ground turkey.

Since starting this blog, I have lost 7 pounds!!! And my secret? Was to do something different. I chose different and healthier foods to buy. I didn't even go crazy and get every thing low fat/ fat free, or "diet". I changed what I did and not what someone else did... And the best thing about it, I don't go hungry and I still eat what I want, without really going out of my way to make a huge effort!

It was simple and uncomplicated to just make a change. I truly believe, if you aren't happy with your results, its time to change your actions!

This is just the beginning of our journey of Pinching our Fat. As we try new things, we will update our success and failures!

If you have your own success stories, or have any word of caution about Health and Nutrition, send me your story at celesteandersen@gmail.com to be shared!