No, I didn't give up.

But I have been writing healthy stuff here every two weeks instead. I know, I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner. I suck. I decided I should at least let you know... but I'll also try to be better about keeping you entertained more regularly as well.

So... I'm still doing the "no high fructose corn syrup" thing. I have quit buying anything with it in the ingredients list, and I have stopped drinking a daily soda. In fact, if I have a soda it's usually once a week or so.  My husband has had a hard time following the plan (that he suggested in the first place!) so I keep finding cereal and snacks he brings home from his job at Kellogg's that have The Devil on their labels. Gah!! Lucky for me, I don't eat a lot of cereal... and rarely any of the snacks he chooses. But I'd rather not have my kids eating it either. So the uphill battle hasn't eased much...

This summer I participated in a fitness program at the University of Arkansas that resulted in no weight loss, but an improvement in my resting heart-rate and blood pressure. It's a start! I also renewed my membership to a local gym last week, and will be working out three times a week after dropping my son at school. I'm lucky to have a 30-hour-a-week job so I don't have to be in until 9am. I'm hoping for some weight loss, so that I can run in shorts without them pulling up and getting hung in my crotch. There are other reasons to want to lose weight, of course, but I think none are as pressing as that.

I will not resort to this kind of look to keep it from happening... just in case you were concerned... But on second glance, I think she's having crotch/crack issues as well.

Nothing brilliant or ground-breaking to share this go-round I guess. Just wanted to let you know I'm not dead, nor have I had a crippling accident that's keeping me from using my laptop. I'll try to be better.

Role Model

What the hell am I doing writing a blog about getting healthy if I'm going to take a month-and-a-half break? I'm a horrible role model, but since no one has been emailing me frantically to get an update, I'm going to assume that you don't really care that much.

Today I have to write, because I finally took a baby step forward to be a better example. More than that, it was a step toward actually getting healthy like I keep talking about.

I've cut high fructose corn syrup out of my diet pretty effectively. I read every label, don't drink soda (okay, maybe one every few weeks) and have really cut back on processed foods. I'm trying to cook at home more and use whole grains and organic choices whenever possible. The biggest issue I've struggled with is adding exercise to my routine.

It's easy to say I'd like to walk in the evenings - but then there is a work meeting, or it's raining, or a tee-ball game... I have been trying to remind myself that it doesn't get dark until almost 9pm now, so even if I have a meeting I can still walk after it's over. It's tough to make dinner at home AND have a meeting AND walk, but it can be done. I just haven't been doing it.

But tonight I did!

The G Man had a tee-ball game tonight at 5:30 p.m. so I ran home to grab his equipment and uniform after work, picked him up and headed for the ball park. I was ticked off at myself for getting there with my writing note book but without a pen, but I survived. We came home and I made some spaghetti instead of stopping for fast food on the way. Then I needed to run to the store for some hair color and some lunch fixings for my daughter who is out of school for the summer. Instead of jumping in the car to drive the 1/2 mile to and from - I put on my sneakers, grabbed a reusable tote, and walked!

I have walked around my neighborhood before, so I am familiar with the yards and homes around the block nearest my own address, but walking down the road to Harps was a little adventure. I didn't take my iPod, so I listened to the music thumping from the tiny little customized cars that are favored by some of our country's newer citizens who live near me. I wasn't enclosed in a box full of air-conditioned air, so I smelled the flowering bushes in the yards along the way. And I got a great workout in my butt... proven by the funny twitching that ensued as soon as I got home. (What causes that??)


It was the second time I've walked in four days. G Man and I walked four miles at the Artosphere events last Saturday. Hopefully these good choices are only the first of many more to come!

So, I'm back. You can stop crying now.

Yeah, that's right...

I am trying to get healthier.

I think I'm saying that to remind myself - not you, kind reader. I just haven't been doing everything that I could have been doing over the last week to get to that goal, so I need to give myself a little pep talk.

Today I definitely made better attempts to stick to my commitment. I had some tacos for lunch from The Flying Burrito - they had chicken, tomatoes, black olives, jalapenos and some cheese on soft tortillas. Not bad - nothing fried, at least (unlike Monday, when I ate Long John Silver's and knew with every bite that I was FAILING). Tonight, I had some homemade chicken soup with cabbage, carrots, onion, celery and rice. It was totally delicious, and helped me feel better about my efforts. I've made myself a pitcher of iced tea and am drinking it every night. One day at a time...

Not only was today successful in terms of my eating, but I also went to my second belly dance class tonight, and it kicked my ASS! I am absolutely blown away at the way my muscles feel after this class. I have trouble with a couple of the moves, the ones where I have to roll my back fluidly in an S-curve. It looks like my spine is fused... but I'm fairly confident that it's only a muscle tone issue. The core of my body is just so out of shape that I can't pull my spine around like I will when they're more toned. Thankfully, I'm not the only woman in the class who is wearing shirts that cover my belly! Several of the women are dancers, and they have gorgeous abs, and they wear little halter tops and skirts... I'm wearing my black yoga pants and a t-shirt. The belly can just stay hidden for a while longer. When I lose 20 pounds, I'll start letting it out.

So, it's been a tough week, but I did lose a half pound... and I'm on my way back on the right road. This healthy stuff is HARD.

Oh hai, fame and fortune!

Me: Hello?... Cool local blog written for moms? Would you be interested in letting me share my efforts to get healthier with your readers on a regular basis? I'll try to be interesting and funny and generally entertaining, what do you say?

NWAMotherlode: Are you kidding? You are awesome and we love your writing and we can't wait to see what brilliant, hysterical, and at times, thought-provoking, things you have to say to us and our fabulous readers! *happy dance*

So, that's sorta-kinda how it went last week when I emailed one of the women who manage a local blog called NWAMotherlode. Kay... maybe the response wasn't quite that over-eager... and really, I didn't have my hidden camera focused correctly, so I can't guarantee what I saw was a happy dance. It could have just been someone trying to put on pantyhose. (does anyone wear pantyhose anymore? eww..) But, she did say they love my writing, and would love for me to write for their blog. So, Yay!

I'm going to start posting at the Motherlode (not sure when yet) every-other-week as a regular feature. I will be doing what I'm doing here for the most part - sharing info I'm learning about incorporating healthy choices into our lives every day, how to lose weight, get fit, and be healthy without having to follow some crazy "diet" and join a gym. The difference will be that on their blog I will probably not refer as much to my own personal stuff - unless the readers demand it. It's going to be more informational and educational. But of course the only way I know how to write is by throwing in a lot of Goofy and a bit of Wacky now and then... so that will be the same.

So, now on to the personal stuff! This week my weight is still 196, as it was last week. I have been drinking water like crazy, and have started taking a daily vitamin - both easy ways to immediately change the reading on your health-o-meter. I am also taking a ginko biloba supplement and some calcium, since I'm in my 40s and don't drink much any milk and have ridiculously bad memory challenges.

I keep saying I'm going to start walking after work. I know, right? How easy it is to say, how hard it is to DO! Actually, I feel I have a fairly legit reason for not starting - my daughter and I have been sharing a car for the last couple of weeks. Since I have to pick her up from school at 4pm, and I get off work at 4pm, it makes for no time to walk. By the time I get her, go pick up my son from daycare, and get home, it's dinner time. I have asked Oprah to loan me a chef (just during her "off the wagon" days would be fine!) but she hasn't returned my phone messages. Or emails... or tweets. She's just such a busy lady...

But, if all goes as planned, I'll have my own transportation by this weekend, and after The Storm of the Decade - Part 2 passes, I'll be hitting the streets of Har-Ber Meadows in my sneaks! Care to join me??

Get thee behind me saute pan!!

Okay, I'm not really ditching my saute pan... I'm not completely crazy. But it sounded good, right? The demonization of saute pans is not something I would be surprised to see in some of the "eating light" magazines on the market...

But I'm not here to demonize anything in particular. Or even to chronicle my "diet" (because I'm not going on a diet). I'm just going to make some serious changes this year in the way I interact with food. I'm going to be more conscientious about my intake, and make decisions about my meals and snacks that are based on whether or not I'm hungry (there's a novel idea) and whether or not the food I'm choosing is the healthiest option available.

I know what you're thinking. "But Laurie... sometimes I don't WANT the healthiest option." And you're right - sometimes it's a birthday party, and there is cake and ice cream. And sometimes there's a road trip and a 44 oz. drink and a paper boat full of chili cheese dog is required every bit as much as a cd player playing Under the Table and Dreaming...  BUT (or should I say BUTT) that is a choice that has to be dealt with. If I go for the chili cheese dog and 44 oz. soda - it's salad for dinner and an extra 30 minutes on the walk or the treadmill. That's what my world is going to be like from here out.

In this (new) blog of mine, I will not be focusing on how to make your favorite fattening foods non-fattening, or how to live life sans Sonic and Taco Bueno. Life would not be worth living without the 2-4pm happy hour and Taco Bueno's tamales! Instead, I'm going to focus on how to live live life - a HEALTHY life - with those things included. More activity, less refined sugar. More veggies, smaller portions. Stuff like that. Follow along if you like, and feel free to share with the class if you have a success story of your own, or some tips for slimming down and firming up and living healthier. I'm going to also be using the word "healthy" a lot... because that's what it's about for me. Not a size or shape, but my health.

And, here's where I sound like a hypocrite: the reason I'm starting this journey is because I looked at the scale recently and finally saw the number I refuse to accept. 200. I weigh two hundred pounds. I know there are a lot of people out there who way a lot more than I do (except Oprah, who weighs the same) - and I am also aware that I'm fortunate to have a body-type that allows me to carry a lot of weight without looking too out of proportion. But that number, and a couple of pictures of myself that have surfaced lately, have pushed me to the limit. This one is from the summer of 2008, when I was around 195. I'm in my 40s, I have a 5 year-old I would like to see grow up, and it only gets harder to get in shape from here. So, today's the day.

First steps I've taken this week:
Signed up for the online version of Weight Watchers. It's only $17.95 a month (and there's a special going on right now!) and they offer a tremendous amount of information on living healthy. I'm tracking my points there as a way to keep a kind of food journal, and am logging my weight each week. I'll also look there for recipes. If I find good ones I'll share. :)

Cut out colas. This is REALLY hard for me, even though when I had them it was usually only one 20 oz a day, sometimes not even that. But I still want to switch to tea or water in order to cut out the sodium and sugar and, in the case of the diets, the artificial sweeteners. Soda just isn't "natural", and I don't need it.

Now I need to start putting more physical activity in my routine... that's next on the list.