Time to Get Healthy

"No matter how slow you go, you're still lapping everyone on the couch."

So while we were in Costa Rica, Cousin Swiss Mister really gave The Family Unit a speech about getting healthy. 

Although I'm not jumping on board his Paleo train, I did listen to him and decide that it's time to get my butt in gear. 

 Here are my big goals.

1.  Eating healthy.  This is something I struggle with.  Fortunately for me, I do not like fried food or fast food and I don't drink sodas.  But you've never met someone who is a better friend to a chocolate chip cookie (or any other form of sweet!) in your life.  Anyway, so in my "get healthy" attempt, I knew I had to make some changes to my fridge.  I've got three main focuses.  First, no sweets in my house.  Period.  I have no self control and I know this.  Second, whole wheats.  I swear that all the processed crap and white flower are such a huge part of the weight problem in this country.  So I'm making a conscious effort to stick with whole grain cereal, pasta and bread.  Third, more fruits and veggies.  I actually really like fruit and don't mind veggies.  It's just that I don't buy them and keep them around and accessible.  Here was my healthy food shopping trip this weekend!

2.  Exercising.  Of all of the list items, I'm the best at this one.  I enjoy exercising--running, the gym, spin class, you name it.  But sometimes when work gets crazy and I get tired, it's easy to skip this one.  No more.  Time to get serious.  And I got a good start on this last week when we had a guest spin instructor who was a complete nazi.  I burned 750 calories in her hour long class.  I usually burn 500.  I mean she killed us.  I was sore before I even got to my car!  I've also been running on the treadmill lately, which I don't like, but it's so flippin hot outside I have no choice.  I try to find something on tv or a good magazine to read to get me through it.  Also, the last two trips I have been on I've gotten out of the hotel and gone for a run outside--first around the Gaylord resort in Dallas and then around downtown Oklahoma City.  There really is no better way to see a city and you have the bonus of getting your exercise in!

3.  My Fitness Pal-ing.  So here's the deal.  I did MFP (which is just an online food diary) for a couple months earlier this year.  Lost 10 pounds.  But then Vegas happened and Costa Rica happened and the baptism weekend happened and Brett-Brett's wedding happened and sheer laziness on my part happened, and next thing you know I've gained half of that back.  MFP makes it easy--it's simple math, you get a certain number of calories a day and no more.  So if I want to eat something stupid for lunch, fine, that means my dinner is going to suck.  It's all in the math, and I know it works!

4.  Healthy cooking.  Y'all need to know that I'm NOT much of a cook.  I burn everything and sort of have a policy that if it takes more than about 5 ingredients I don't make it.  For real.  But I was reading Self in Costa Rica and saw this recipe for a healthy dish that was supposed to be a healthy substitute for fettuccini alfredo.  This girl LOVES her alfredo, so I figured it was worth a shot.  Y'ALL.  I cannot even tell you how delish this was!  I mean honestly, as I was cooking (and as I was asking someone at Whole Foods what the heck Oat Milk and Cashew Butter were), I had my serious doubts.  But once I tasted it, no more complaints from me.  It was really easy to make a super delicious.  I'd highly recommend it!

I'd love to hear your advice, recipes, thoughts, whatever. Let's get on this healthy living kick!