Stalled

Last month I started contributing to a local website called NWAMotherlode writing about weight loss and making healthy choices. As a result, I've completely neglected this blog. I suck. I know.

Well, I'm back, and let me tell you, it's become very obvious to me that writing about weight loss and making healthy choices somehow doesn't translate into ACTUAL weight loss and the certain ability to MAKE healthy choices. I truly thought that it would be easier to stick to me guns when I'm around my weaknesses if I were accountable to all the people reading my personal account. Somehow, it's not working. Maybe I'm smart enough to know that no one (or at least not many) who reads the stuff I write will actually SEE me. So... the numbers on the scale can be between me and myself, and that's not helpful since I'm way to easy on myself.

That said - I have been better over the last week. I haven't eaten out as much, I've refused sweets at work and elsewhere, and I have been refusing coca cola more easily as well.Un-sweetened tea is my new friend. And this week I lost another pound. So, thus far, I've lost 5.5 pounds.That leaves me with a lot more to go to get to my 40 pound goal, but I'll take it one step at a time, right??

Okay, enough whining...

My brother told me I should read Food Rules by Michael Pollan to learn what he has to say about food choices. It's been really interesting, to say the least. It's a small tome, and very easy to read. Pollan says things like "If your grandmother wouldn't recognize it as food, don't eat it." And "if you can't prounounce the ingredients, don't eat it." Even if you don't follow all of the rules that Pollan lays down, this book is really a good thing to refer to as you start making decisions about changing your dietary habits. They are simple, and basic, and a lot of them have made me say "well, DUH!"

I'm putting a lot more fresh veggies and fruits on the counter at the grocery store lately, and reading almost every label. I'm amazed at the misleading things on the labels on the foods we eat. For example - I was looking at Cool Whip recently, and saw that there's a "Sugar Free" variety. Great, right? But I'm skeptical, so I look to see if it's got corn syrup or some other sucrose variety... In fact, it does. High Fructose Corn Syrup, right there on the label. But here's the REALLY stupid thing - the ingredients are exactly the same on the Sugar Free version as on the regular version! They are playing on our wish to cut out sugar by labeling their product as sugar free... hoping we won't notice their deception. I chose to buy a carton of whipping cream, and add my own little bit of sugar instead. YUMMY!

I just don't want so much processed and "____________ added" foods in my kitchen anymore. I'll do my best to take things back to basics and eat stuff that takes a little more prep time. It's healthier, and much of the time it's also cheaper than all the crap that's boxed and packaged and pre-prepared. I have time to make my family's food healthier - it's important.