Thursday, October 28, 2010

Health Goals

A personal goal of mine (one of many) is to start eating healthier and get my family on track health wise.  I haven't made the best progress in this area, but the desire is there!
I feel our family is not the worst when it comes to nutrition, but we are no where near where we need to be.  An area where i feel we are better is the fact that we eat meat very sparingly and if we do, it's normally chicken.  I also try really hard not to make too many "box meals" and the such.  But there is so much more we need to do.

One of my delimas is the fact that The Hubby is kinda a picky eater (he's a texture guy mostly).  He's not the worst, but he knows what  he likes and what he doesn't like and sticks with that (even if he's never really tried the thing he "doesn't like").   It's hard for me since i am not a picky eater (and i hate feeling like i have to cater to his likes).  I feel i'm not picky because when i was growing up i was encouraged (and sometimes made) to eat all different kinds of food.  Yes, there are some foods i truly do not enjoy, but for the most part, i will try anything.  Hubby on the other hand, well, his mother tended to cater to all the kids desires and they weren't made to try things if they didn't want to.  Also, i don't think his mother really likes to cook so pretty much everything is their house is prepared food of some sort (or they eat fast food, like eating out at least 2-3 times a week).  Like, think freezer meals, stove top, pre-made spice packets, box meals, pop tarts, jars of candy, pop, etc etc.  The only fresh food they normally have is possibly an apple or two, a bag of baby carrots for the crockpot on sunday, and a bag of pre-made salad.   

So this makes it hard when i try to make healthy food for our family.  The Hubby's favorite go to food is pasta.  Can that man eat pasta! (think a pound at a time!)  And i guess it would be ok if he ate it with a healthy tomato sauce, but he doesn't.  His favorite topping is ranch and cheese.  Yes, you did read that correctly.  I was able to get him to switch to whole wheat pasta instead of regular, so that's a bit better i guess..... I love this man so much, but sometimes trying to get him to each healthier is a hassle, so i don't really bother.

But i need to, i really do.  I am not where i would like to be health wise.  Sure, i can blame it on having 2 pregnancies 6 months apart, but i wasn't healthy before my first pregnancy and i'm not healthy now.  To put it plainly, i'm obese, even if i don't look it.  Yes, i'm obese.  I hate knowing that.  And then there is The Hubby.  He is also overweight and not where he should be health wise.  And this scares me since his family has some serious health issues (although a lot has  to do with their lifestyle of course) and i don't want that to happen to my husband.  And my mother was obese my entire childhood and still is and i don't want to end up like her either.

 But i will say it is hard to take control of our lives and change.  There was always so much pressure from my mother not to get fat which made me upset and depressed and made me not want to try even that much more.  And like i said, The Hubby never grew up eating well (i'd say he's lucky if he gets 1-2 servings of fruits and veggies a day).

But we need to take control and change.  We need to do it for ourselves, for our daughter and our future children.  Yes, i can keep making excuses or i can get down to business and just try harder.  It is not going to be easy, but i need to try, because if i don't try then i will fail. 

I'm sorry if this post hasn't made much sense, or if i've rambled...i think i'm making this post  more for  myself so i'll stop making excuses.  If i put it out publicly that i want to change, then maybe i'll feel more of a commitment to my goal.

So what is my goal?  I can't just say i want to eat healthier, that is too broad of a goal.

I would like to loose at least 80lbs in the next 2 years.
I want to eat at least 5 servings of fruits and vegetables a day.
I want to plan my meals so i know what  is for dinner before 7pm.
I want to get active and exercise at least 3 times a week.
I want to drink at least 2 liters of water a day.
I want to stop buying so much processed food and cook more from scratch.
Limit the sweets in our house.
Eat at the table.
Eat more beans and such.
Eat more fish.
Use the crockpot more.
Limit eating out to 4 times a month (including take out)
Pack The Hubby's lunch every day.

I can't say i'll get on top of all these goals right away while trying to juggle life with a new baby who is having so many fussy issues (she can't handle dairy in my breastmilk and she's not even 2 months old yet and is cutting 2 teeth).  But i have my main goal to loose weight, and i have my deadline, so one way or another i need to reach this goal.  Thank you for letting me ramble and let my feelings out.  

Do you have any goals to get your family healthier?



5 comments:

Krista said...

Yes! I want to start making BuggaBoo eat what we're eating. It's so much easier to make whatever he wants, usually because I use what he wants as a springboard for our meals. Recently, however, he's been putting on an attitude about everything and food is one of them. He'll ask for something, and then say he doesn't want it, and ask for something else. I don't usually cave in, but, blah!

Also, I want my The Hubby to have better meals to take to work. Which means I"m going to have to stop commenting and get cooking, because I don't have anything made for dinner.

Jillyn said...

Good luck with that Krista! :) Hope thing fall into place for you!

Chris and Bonnie said...

Jelly Bean,

My husband and I made the same conscious goals in our household about a year and a half into our marriage because I gained about 25-30 lbs on the processed junk that we were eating. It is an up hill battle so to speak, but you can do it. You (and your precious family) are worth all the effort. My one piece of advice is to start little and work your way up. Example: first week plan and make 1-2 meals at home. Next week make 2-3 meals at home working your way up to all 7 days if that's your end goal. We also like the cookbook series Cooking Light. Good luck! You can do it even if you miss a day. Just pick it up again tomorrow!
Love, Cousin B.

Honeybee said...

My mom did the catering thing for my little sister for years. When mom got sick and my step-dad took over, he did the same thing because cooking is not his strong suite. So sis is spoiled about her food, and she's 13 now. It's a struggle, from an early age. I think the longer we're set in our habits the harder it is to change. Oh, and mashed cauliflower instead of potato's is texturally the same but less starchy. :)

Jillyn said...

bonnie: How are things going for you? I like the advice to take baby steps:)

Honeybee: I'm glad you can relate! thanks for the tip!