A New Direction

I changed the blog's tagline this morning.  I need a little more motivation, and I'm hoping this venue will be just that.  I didn't gain too much weight while I was pregnant with Alia and had lost pretty much all of it within days of having her.   However I am not content with where I am at now because I had never completely lost the weight I had gained with Gray.  I still have a good ways to go.  I don't want to give an exact starting weight on here though.  You've heard the old saying "never ask a woman her age," well that applies to weight as well.  It's my own "don't ask, don't tell" policy.  I am going to look for some way to visually track my progress on here, perhaps showing the percentage I am towards my goal.

I actually have several new goals.  My first goal is to lose between 20-25 pounds by Christmas.  Normally I would say that isn't possible, but my sister has already proved the possibilities over the last few months.  I chose Christmas because every goal needs a deadline and 14 weeks is a very realistic deadline for that kind of weight loss.  Plus I really want to wear my gray cashmere sweater on Christmas day.  I haven't been able to fit into in a few years and it will be something I can look at every day in my closet and get excited about.  I intend to surround myself with more motivation and less chocolate.  I really wish now that I hadn't played around with that 5-minute chocolate cake recipe.

My next goal is to cook healthier way more often.  I'm going to be scouring the Internet for the best healthy (and edible!) recipes I can find.  My downfall is I love the Food Network and I love to try new recipes, but most of them are absolutely horrendous when you look at the calories and fat per serving!  I was so happy for Aarti to win the Next Food Network Star because of the Indian flare she would bring to the Food Network, however if Herb had won I'd have some very healthy yet flavorful recipes to be making right now instead!  I don't plan on having a super healthy dinner every single night of the week, but I do plan on making every meal healthier in some way and allowing splurges as rewards for maintaining my goals.

Last week I instituted a policy of no television until 6 p.m. during the week.  I decided Gray and I watched too much of it.  I plan on keeping this up not only to cut down on the number of food commercials we watch but to cut down on the number of shows I watch on Food Network.  Luckily for me, Good Eats doesn't come on till 11 p.m. so I can still catch Alton Brown!  He lost a ton of weight last year, and I think we'll be employing some of his strategies around here as well.  One of his rules was no processed or fast foods.  Ever.  While I can't guarantee I'll stick to this, I am going to make a huge effort to do much better with how much fast food we eat and what kind.

Besides eating better, I need to get more active.  Another goal I have is to get out of the house every day, weather permitting.  We have a park that takes only minutes to walk to and I should be there more!  Our neighborhood has dedicated walking trails that follow nicely along some of the retention ponds in the addition.  It makes for some really enjoyable walks and a great opportunity for me to point out some plants and animals to Gray as well.  And if I'm out there, I'm not sitting down in here.

So that's the initial plan.  Be more active and eat better.  And with breastfeeding Alia as well I should have no problem meeting that first goal.  Look for future posts to contain progress reports and any fantastically healthy recipes I come across worth sharing!  Now I'm off to go enjoy a bowl of oatmeal and some Teeccino!  Wish me luck!