My New Year's Resolution--For REAL this time!!

Happy New Year!!! Yes, it's that time of year again when everyone makes their resolutions and then sticks to them for about the first week. Or first day. I'll be honest, I'm usually in the "first day" category. My resolutions have ranged from cleaning up my language, to reading more, to not gossiping, and to the ever popular WEIGHT LOSS.

As you can imagine, this year, weight loss is heavy on my mind. And not just because I want to look good in a bathing suit when that season rolls around again. In fact, at this rate, I'm kind of hoping the newest look in swimwear is a sweat suit. My new and ample curves make it hard not to think about losing a little weight this year.

Usually, my weight loss resolution looks something like this:

1. Lose 25 pounds in 3 weeks
2. Never EVER eat a drop of sugar
3. Never EVER eat fried food
4. Work out twice a day, 7 days a week
5. Stock up on super low-fat, low calorie foods like soup and carrots. Yum. Soup. And carrots.

Sound extreme? Yep. And I bet every woman that read that has, or has had at some point, that exact same plan. There are multiple problems with this resolution though.

Problem number 1: I LOVE food. I mean: I. LOVE. FOOD. If you offered me a choice between $100 and a chili cheeseburger, I'd probably choose the burger and eat it on the spot. And even more, I LOVE sugar. A LOT. I love sugar so much that if you put it on tree bark, I'd probably eat that too. To top it off, I live in the south. Which means that I'm pretty much genetically programmed to love fried food. No really, it's genetic.

Problem number 2: That kind of diet just isn't realistic or healthy. Soup and carrots??? I've seriously tried that before. And I was so light headed and delirious from hunger that I accidentally drove my car to a McDonald's and ordered numbers 1 through 7.

So, here's my REAL resolution this year:

1. Make better food choices
2. Take care of myself better by making time for exercise
3. Really, truly focus on being HEALTHY

This resolution isn't about being skinny or looking like a super model. Quite frankly, I just don't have the time or energy to obtain a super model body. And right now, I feel like I don't even have the time to work out or eat healthy.

This resolution is about making better food choices and MAKING the time for ME. The reality is that I don't always have the time to work out or take care of myself. But, if I want to be around for my sweet daughter and husband, I have to start making the time. Having a family is not a good excuse for putting my health in jeopardy. I owe it to Mike and Olivia to take better care of myself. Most of all, I owe it to myself to take better care of me.

When you have a baby, you suddenly become responsible for the life of this little person and you'll do anything to make sure that person is healthy and safe. You spend all day every day making sure that your angel baby is okay. Then, one day, you look at pictures from New Year's Eve and think, "Hey, I don't remember that fat chick being at the party..." Oh, wait...

I want to be healthy again. I want to know that my weight is a healthy weight. I want to look in a mirror or at pictures and really feel good about myself. As a mom, I deserve and I need to be healthy--for me and my family.

Now that's not going to be easy. For instance, tonight I had every intention of doing some yoga after I put The Boss Lady to bed. But, The Boss Lady likes to remind me that my intentions don't mean a hill of beans to her and she has been fighting her bedtime for the last hour. So much for yoga tonight. BUT that doesn't mean I can't still make good health decisions. I can still choose better foods. I can still try to squeeze in a yoga routine or a walk every now and then.

Why even write about this? Because I need some accountability!! I have almost no will power and I'm hoping that if I set up some real expectations for myself I'll be able to stick to them. I'm setting realistic weight loss goals and I'm going to weigh myself weekly. I'll make better food choices and I'll still allow myself a "cheat" day (Sunday). That doesn't mean I'll allow myself a half gallon of Blue Bell...mmmmmm...Blue Bell...Wait, what was I saying?? Oh yeah, my cheat day. This new resolution doesn't mean never being able to have a brownie. It just means not being able to eat the whole pan of brownies. Now I have to stop talking about Blue Bell or brownies or I might just derail tonight!

So, I'm putting it out there. As of today, I weigh 172 pounds according to the scale in my bathroom. I was just recently at my doctor's office and I saw my chart. Next to my weight, the chart said "Chubby McChubberston." Okay, it didn't say that but it did say "Overweight." The hard core truth is that I was a little overweight before I had a baby. I'm going to change that status on that chart.

Starting today, I will make better choices for ME so that I can enjoy my life with Mike and Oli. The holidays are over and it's time to put away the maternity pants for good! It's time to start taking my health seriously. I'll update this blog every Sunday with my weight. I know these changes will be hard and I will probably dream about eating junk food. I've already started off on the right track though! I made a menu for myself this week for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. And I'm going to work on finding a time when I can do a quick workout 3 days a week.

This isn't going to be a weight loss blog but it will be a way for me to be accountable for my choices. Prayers are needed and welcome! Okay, now off to bed for me! I have a yoga workout to squeeze in in the morning!