New Game Plan

I have been just struggling terribly trying to do what I did 2 years ago that worked so well.  Clearly it's just not working this time, so it's time for a new game plan.

I'm putting the whole family on the healthy track.  My 9 year old has just been really eating some bad choices and my two older girls are ready for a change as well, and hubby is always willing to try something that might work, so we are all in (to the dismay of the 9 year old).

One of my nieces is doing the Paleo thing, and while I get some of the idea, I'm not sold on it.  However, I do like the concept of lower carbohydrates which will then require our bodies to burn fat rather than just skim the carbs off the food and not do anything else.  I also like the idea of eating less processed foods, as I think that's one of the reasons we don't feel "well" some days.

With all of us being home for the summer, it has kind of been a free-for-all regarding food.  All kinds of junk in the house "just in case" someone wants it.

New plan:  I'm going to make the same thing for everyone for breakfast, lunch and dinner.  That way we can limit the extras that seem to be floating around.  Plus I can monitor my 9 year old's intake (she ate oreos for lunch one day, I have learned - that is not going to happen again).

So I've done a menu for the week and a grocery list (why is it so darn EXPENSIVE to eat healthy??) and am going to try and tackle this thing.

It is going to have some challenges.  I work from home and some days I get caught up in work and don't realize it's 1:30 and I haven't eaten lunch.  I can't make my kids wait like that so I'm going to have to actually schedule meal time.

I'm also going to cook less food.  There will be less of a problem with portion control if I cook just enough for us to eat well.  AND on the days when I need extras for another meal on another day, I will have to put that food away immediately or else we will eat it.

I'm going to try lean meats, fresh veggies from the garden, and try to use less of the processed "stuff" in cooking.  Going more towards whole grains, etc.  I'm going to mix this in with watching calories, but not being restrictive, because 1) my 9 year old doesn't need restrictive; she's still growing by leaps and bounds and needs good quality food, and 2) if you restrict, you want to cheat and it's never a long term thing.

Of course I'm going to step up my exercise.  One of my nieces has a fitbit like I do, so I'm going to see if we can link as "friends" to help support each other.  I'm thinking of upgrading to a fitbit charge HR (that's what she has; right now I have the fitbit one), and my 3rd daughter wants one as well, so that would probably be helpful to have more supporters.

I feel good because I have a plan.  It's worth a shot.

Really, good health is all about habits, and I just need to try and stick to something long enough for it to become a habit.

It's hard to do with summer vacations, but I can make better choices while on vacation AND I can ensure everyone eats well in between.

It's kind of about control, and, everyone will tell you:  I'm a control freak.

We'll see how it goes!