Stop! Put the chocolate down and back away slowly....

Look, I've read all the same articles you have and done all the same research. It really boils down to a very simple equation - burn more calories than you take in - very simple math. But if it was always that simple or easy we wouldn't have the issues with weight in this country that we do.

So, knowing what I know about the simple caloric equation, how am I going to accomplish my goal of losing 15 pounds and keeping it off? Because caloric intake is where the keeping it off part is really going to come into play. I could work out 8 hours a day (note: I really couldn't) but if I'm taking in too many calories it won't make a darn bit of difference. I'm also not going to starve myself in order to lose the weight, that's not healthy nor is it a long-term solution. Plus I really do love food - the enjoyment of a meal is a great joy in my life. But I need a strategy going forward that will allow me to lose weight, keep it off and still partake of awesome deliciousness.

1) The beginning of any good plan starts with the fundamentals and with this one it's eating well-balanced, healthy meals that aren't full of processed junk, added sugars and additives. This I pretty much have down - we eat like this most days so I feel comfortable with this part of my life.

2) So, I'm eating healthy meals but now I need to cut out around 200 calories a day to lose at least pound and a half a month (the math is that 3500 calories equals one pound). To hit that goal, I really need to cut back on the snacking. If I stopped nibbling between meals, that would probably be my 200 calories right there. I eat when I'm stressed, bored, hungry....pretty much it's a comfort thing. I need to find something else to do or I need to eat a piece of fruit. I'm going to experiment with the old 'drink a glass of water if you're hungry' and see if it works. Hey I read about it on Yahoo so it must be true. It would probably also help if I didn't have quite as many snacks available....I need to work on that. I must also have the stomach of a preschooler because when 10:30 hits, I'm ready for snack time and I'm actually hungry. Pistachios and raisins are going to be my go to snack (note, add pistachios to the grocery list). It used to be almonds but since they're now persona non grata in these parts, pistachios will have to do.

4) And then....vino is SO keeno BUT I lost 6 pounds like 'that' (imagine snapping fingers) last year when I cut it out due to some hot flashes that decided to hit way too early for my liking. Taking a sip of wine made my ankles sweat. Seriously. Not much fun so I cut it completely out for several months and lost weight without changing anything else. Then I decided to see if I could drink again and, well, I could, so I gained back everything I had lost. I'm not giving up wine but I'm cutting it back to a glass or two a week.

5) I have a gorgeous cousin who lost her baby weight over time by only eating till she was 80% full. I've tried this and it's way harder than it sounds. My mouth just wants more of whatever delicious thing it's eating and next thing I know, I'm stuffed. Consciously thinking about what I'm eating and how my body is feeling - this is a huge part of what I want to improve.

6) What's left, is my weakness, my downfall, my Achilles heel if you will. That damn leftover Easter chocolate (or any sweet treats). Mmmmm. Dark chocolate eggs stuffed with chocolate raspberry ganache. Have mercy. Mama ate most of those goodies and they were good. Really good. And I had at least one every day. Just couldn't stop myself, I mean if I was eating them then that saved Jacob the sugar right? I ate the last one yesterday and now I'm going cold turkey because cool turkey doesn't work for me. It's all or nothing. I've done this many times (sadly) so I know what I need to do. It's insidious that desire for something sweet, it sneaks in when I'm stressed (or bored) and next thing I know I'm stealing my son's candy and hanging my head in shame. I won't cut out chocolate completely because a life without chocolate is a like life without sunshine but I will keep myself to one small intense square from an amazing chocolate purveyor (my current favorite is Dandelion Chocolate).

These are all things that I can do or change easily (well except for the sweets craving, that one is a bitch) and if I'm successful I will well be on my way. This is not a 'diet' per se, it's an integrated lifestyle change. One I have had various levels of success with in the past but since I'm not getting any younger and because weight is so much harder to lose as we grow older and because I'd like to be in a healthy and physically fit way before I turn 50...I'm going to make this stick this time.

I have a weakness

I have a weakness. Legos. And trains. And J. I have three weaknesses: Legos, trains and J. J is the big one though. Went to Target today to get gifts for some kids and a few other things. Did great buying just what was on my list until we hit the Lego aisle and there was a Duplo set. That was a train. And J's eyes lit up and asked "can it go home with us?". I did pause, I really, really did. I almost put it back up on the shelf, reminding myself of The Compact and how J has some duplo already (which he LOVES) and then those eyes looked at me and I saw the train has blocks with NUMBERS on them (he's learning his numbers) and I gave up even trying to pretend that I wasn't going to get it for him. Using a 5% off coupon and a gift card. This Mama is weak but the boy is happy.

I wasn't going to work out today, we had errands to run and my legs are suspiciously sore from Pilates yesterday. I was putting things away in J's play room and he asked "potties mommy?" pointing at the cabinet where I keep bins of Plan Toys for him. Thinking he was talking about a toy/game and that I just didn't catch the name, I opened the cabinet. He pointed at the TV, "potties mommy?". My boy was telling me to do Pilates! So I did. I finished up the dvd I started yesterday and discovered that I gave up with only one exercise to go. Isn't that always the way? So feeling more robust, I walked for 35 minutes. That kid got me moving this morning! And he was sad when there weren't any other 'Potties' to do. I think he likes seeing his mommy on the ground not looking AT ALL like the lovely, lithe lady on the TV. The noises are pretty funny too.

It's been a pretty nice, sunny day today, no coat needed, so we played outside for a little bit and I rearranged some stuff in the yard and tossed/recycled some junk - feels pretty good to streamline things. I don't like random stuff just being there but sometimes I get too lazy to take care of it. Speaking of recycling, (nice segue, right?) if they really want us to be diligent about recycling they should pick it up EVERY week rather than every OTHER week. That really annoys me. My recycling bin is always full after a week.

Dinner tonight is Stuffed Potato Soup. I'm super excited to make this recipe up. I'm putting bacon and yukon gold potatoes in it. Two of my very favorite things. Even J paused in his saying "I don't like potato soup" to say "I like potato soup". Now if he eats some I will be victorious! "I don't like_____" is the phase du jour unfortunately. He did love the pretzels I made yesterday.

No games on TV tonight, nothing urgent to watch, my plan is to keep it off all night and play board games or do puzzles. Or to do art or crafting. Something, anything, other than the siren song of the TV. We have more get well cards to make today, both Grandpa's have had or are having surgery. Maybe we should start a side business, get well cards by J featuring loads of cotton balls and buttons. Any takers?

My first day back into, not reality since vacation is, of course, reality too, but into the swing of things? The groove? Whatever, I'm back. Trying to follow the new schedule of Mondays being our baking/errand running day, walking on the treadmill, trying Pilates, not looking like something the cat dragged in, cooking real food meals, not relying on the TV or computer games to entertain J, crafting something, Me Time, doing some art with J, my god. That's a lot for one day to handle not to mention me.

I did get up on the treadmill for my 30 minutes of walking up a sweat, I did try Pilates and made it though a good portion of the dvd before I gave in to hunger pains and turned it off. Plus trying to do a dvd in my son's play room was...interesting. Between the toys on the floor, the cat and kid who both wanted to cuddle me and not being able to hear the instructions because J was talking to me, I think I did ok. I enjoyed it. I enjoyed turning it off even more. I'll try to finish it up tomorrow and see how long this dvd actually is. I know that my core is weak and this is definitely going to help that. Felt pretty good just putting it in the dvd player actually - something I haven't managed to do for the past 6 months!

I trimmed J's hair today. I've been trimming his hair and the Pippins. J's doesn't save much money (Pips saves $75!) but he hates going to the hairdresser and ducks and dodges so I actually end up giving him a more even cut than she does. I guess I'm getting better? This cut is definitely less of a monk look. My little elf looks adorable no matter what his hair looks like. :) Besides I love cutting hair, D used to (used to) let me cut his hair back in the days when he could wear a baseball cap to work.

I spent the weekend in some truly nasty old sweats and old t-shirts I have. I didn't put on mascara and I didn't even put gel in my hair yesterday. As a result I didn't FaceTime with my brother when he asked knowing that I wouldn't want anyone to see me this way (sorry Drew). Silly? Quite probably.
Would my brother care or notice? Probably not. I cared. Not enough to go put mascara on but I definitely felt less than great. I should probably just donate those sweats, they're a crutch. Ok I'm doing it. Consider them gone! They're the last vestige of not making an effort to look decent.

Today I've baked pretzels, whole wheat bread and made pizza dough for dinner tonight. Pizza will be topped with homemade tomato sauce, provolone, free range pork sausage, and chard from our garden. Eating well and eating real isn't going to be much of a challenge. I love good food. It's skipping the snacks and eating well while out that's going to be hard.

Haven't done art with J yet, but we will as soon as he wakes up from nap. I think we will make a get well card for a friend of his who is in the hospital. I gave away the little table and chairs that we had previously used as his art table - the only place to do art now is at the breakfast room table. I do better without a fall back.

Haven't bought anything today, besides pizza for my friend who is with her daughter in the hospital and that doesn't count. So far my monthly 'Not in The Compact' tally is towels and a puzzle for J. Tomorrow we are running all our errands and I'm going to Target and Michaels. This should be interesting. Fingers crossed I stay strong.

I need to keep exercising. I walk on the treadmill, and I need to/want to introduce Pilates for core strength.

According to my doctor, lifting a 35 lb toddler isn't enough of a weight/core work out in fact, I need to do core strengthening so I can continue to lift my kiddo. My doctor told me these things back in May and I immediately purchased some Pilates dvds from Amazon. Ask me if they've ever been opened. Go on ask me. Uh huh. They sit there next to the dvd player gathering the proverbial dust.

I've been averaging 2 days a week walking on the treadmill and zero days a week doing Pilates. This has to change. I'm no longer a Spring chicken (in fact I'm a late Summer chicken) and I'd really like to be around both mentally and physically as my son grows up. I've seen how lack of movement can be damaging to older people and it's about time I do something about it before, in the blink of an eye, that's me.