Day 2

I started my day today with a run....nearly 8 miles.  Then, I headed to the grocery.

I am not sure if all grocery stores do this but Meijer does.  They discount their fruit and veggies when they get close to their expiration date.  I always snatch those up.  First, it is ready to eat.  Second, it is finally the price it should be in the first place.  Third, it never spoils in my house.  We eat it right away.  Fourth, it a great way to add variety.  Just some food for thought.

 Something I do that helps me a lot is when I come home from the grocery I wash and cut up my veggies right away.  Then we can grab them for a quick salad or an easy snack if we are in a hurry.  It makes us less likely to grab an unhealthy snack.  I don't do this with fruit though.  I've read that your fruit doesn't last as long if you wash it ahead of time.  I've noticed this with grapes so I just wash my grapes one bunch at a time as we eat them.

When I came home from my run, I had 2 Bob Evans sausage links on a piece of Sara Lee Delightful bread.  I love that bread.  It's so thin and light.  Sometimes we will get the Healthy Life High Fiber bread that is only 35 calories a slice.  I added some Gulden's spicy mustard to it.  I love mustard and use it a lot.  There are little to no calories in it and it is a great way to jazz up any sandwich.  I also ate some of that fruit from the picture above!  

For lunch, I had a salad with lots of fresh veggies, croutons, and almonds slivers.  I also had my all-time favorite snack....non-fat vanilla yogurt with fresh blueberries.  I LOVE THAT STUFF!!!!  It's like a dessert.

I'm going to write a little about my kids.  Yes, they eat junk.  They will eat fruit snacks and ice cream.  They eat pop-tarts and root beer......only at camp though!  BUT I try to teach them about eating healthy.  They are all about exercise.  They will be doing something and randomly say, "Hey, this is good exercise.  It's so good for my body."  (Yes, I've brainwashed them!  ha!)  We try to make them eat healthy and teach them to make healthy choices on a day to day basis when we are at home.  They eat a fruit and vegetable at every meal.  If they haven't had enough fruits and/or veggies by the time snack rolls around, I make them pick a fruit or a veggie.  Yes, sometimes they complain.  One day last week Sam said, "Fine.  Then, I won't have a snack today."  That was fine with me because then he ate 2 helpings of veggies and 2 helpings of fruit at dinner and I still got my way!  Sometimes I say, "Eat a fruit or veggie and then you can have something else." They usually get full and forget about the 'something else' so it works too.  Most of the time, they make very healthy choices and don't complain about what I give them.  This is a picture of their lunch plates.  Nora had the peas.  I don't give her fresh broccoli and cauliflower yet....only steamed.

Here is where the cheating comes in.....

We went to a 4th of July cookout.  I had....

a chicken leg, cheesy potatoes, chicken and noodles, 7-layer salad, and a deviled egg....oops!  :)  I had a small serving of each item but it was yummy!  I topped it off with a small slice of peach pie.  Don't worry though....it wasn't a la mode!  :)  I also got a cupcake brownie but I only took a bite or 2 of it.  It wasn't worth the calories so I stopped.

On a different note....I love food journals.  People come up to me all the time and want to know about losing weight and I always suggest a food journal.  You have to chart everything you put in your mouth and count calories.  I could workout all. day. long!  I love it but eating is the hardest part for me.  I want to grab a handful of this or that while I am making dinner and it really adds up.  I also have to be careful not to grab little bits of food off of my kids' plates.  That can really add up too.  It's all a balance and you have to find what works for you.