January 3rd – Day One

Here comes the New Year cliché; I’m on a diet.

*cue eye roll*

I love good food. I love healthy food. I love homemade-from-scratch food. I’m not typically a sucker for fast food or processed food, I have a pretty good quality diet, but I’m still a bit…fluffy.

Pregnancies and mommyhood have taken a toll on my body and fitness level that I’m not happy with. I know there are lots of super moms out there (looking at you, Erin of www.storybooklife.com) who actually improve their fitness and weight management while having 3 babies in three years, but I am not one of them. I gained 25-35lbs with each pregnancy and then typically lost about 20lbs easily after the birth but those last few stuck and hung around for the next pregnancy.

I also struggle with snacking too much, especially during each baby stage. It is my stay-awake weapon of choice. Sleeping is not always an option with the tiny minions and coffee does give me a boost but the crash afterwards is often worse than the fatigue I was trying to shake off. I would grab a handful of whatever was available to keep going or I would munch a bite of the kid’s snacks and that would keep me going. That habit added yet more fluff to the fluff leftover from pregnancy.

I do not hate my body and I refuse to beat myself up about the weight gain. I’m not proud of it and it makes me uncomfortable but I have three incredible little people to show for it. My body is a bit fluffy but it is an amazing creation and God and my husband still calls it beautiful.

All that said, it’s time to drop a little fluff and get healthy for my family and for myself. So, Michael and I have committed to a new way of eating and are determined to stick with it until Easter. It is pretty basic but it’s going to be challenging so I’m going to attempt to keep the blog updated on it as an accountability tool.

Here is the outline of our plan:

• Meat: lean, white meats, eggs, and fish only
• Veggies: unlimited except for white potatoes
• Fruit: Michael is doing a lower carb version so fruit is a no for him, I am allowing myself fruit in my breakfast smoothie
• Grains: none
• Dairy: limited amounts of cheese on a rare basis only
• No sugar
• Drinks: water, tea, coffee only and sweetened with stevia
• One cheat meal per week
• Lots of family activities like bike rides, walks and playground fun

I am also going to be adding in some Slim and Sassy and Trim Shakes  from DoTerra as soon as my January order arrives so I am excited to see how those go as well.

We have cleared the house of everything not on the list except for things for the kids which we will be staying out of. And yes, by “cleared the house” I mean “we ate all the things” over Christmas break.

Wish us luck!