New Goals.

I've lost 15 pounds since the year began. I'm super happy with my progress. Slow and steady has always been my way.  I feel like I have learned SO much about health and fitness since having babies. In the beginning, dieting meant buying "healthy" frozen meals for lunch and getting a diet soda instead of getting a Root Beer. Slowly, but surely, I began to make small changes. I heard about the disadvantages of High Fructose Corn Syrup and started to read labels (it's in SO many things). I felt such a sense of pride in making healthier choices for my family. I started buying whole grains instead of white bread or white rice and real butter instead of margarine. I wanted our food to, at least, be all natural. It was such a great start and as I learned new things I would adopt them into our lives. In March I spent two weeks "sugar free." I cut refined sugar out of my diet. I knew I was addicted to sugar and I was ready to see if I could go without it. I quickly learned how many things had added sugar in them that really didn't need it. Those frozen meals, salad dressings, even "healthy" options at fast-food restaurants. (And as a rant, why do people think that brown sugar is a healthier option? It's not like substituting white rice with brown rice. Sugar is sugar.) But, it wasn't as difficult as I thought it was going to be and I actually felt better after those two weeks were over! I had lost a few pounds and I knew it had benefited me. I think my decision to cut out sugar was a stepping stone into the phase of my life that I'm in right now. I had been toying with the idea of cutting processed foods out of my diet, but I didn't know if I could do it. As I had begun to understand the benefits of "whole foods" I knew it was something I needed to to for myself and for my family. One morning my sister, Kacey, and I were watching Dr. Oz and he had Dr. Fuhrman on as a guest. I loved everything he said. I agreed with it and it made sense. No gimmicks, no weird ideas or crazy meal plans. He wasn't selling a product, just information. It peaked our interests. We brought it up to my mom and she happened to already own his book! We were stoked and committed right then and there to follow his 6-week diet plan starting April 1st. We pigged out (ok, I did for sure!) all we could before April rolled around and then jumped into our new way of eating. Fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans and nuts were found in abundance in our fridge and pantry. That first week was SO hard for me. I struggled with not using salt and oil in my food. I craved cheese desperately. It took all I had to not run over to El Taco and get a green quesadilla! I was having major withdrawals. I knew it would take time for my body to acclimate, so I hung in there. It's been two weeks now and I feel amazing. I feel so healthy and good about our change. I no longer crave cheese and the only time I think about a green quesadilla is when I realize that I'm not craving it anymore! It's been an adventure to try out new recipes. Some good, some not so good. But I feel such a sense of accomplishment in making our meals from scratch. I told Brett that the best of both worlds would be to make all of our food from scratch and have it be completely delicious! Haha, we're still working on that. It's a learning process but I'm enjoying the ride. Looking back makes me feel that I've come a far way. Looking forward makes me feel excited for all that I still have yet to learn.