Excitement Abounds!

I am very excited to begin things tomorrow. I watched a great movie today entitled Food, Inc. about the "manufacturing" and engineering of food these days. It is a very scary concept that one single company dominates the US soybean seed market (with genetically modified seeds that are patented so farmers can't "clean" their seed to re-use it each year) and that the 1,300 slaughterhouses of years' past have dwendled down to 11 which are now owned by three companies. Did you know that the ground beef your children consume is washed with ammonia several times to make the bacteria (mainly E.coli) count low enough to pass FDA inspections? I don't kow about you, but I really don't want my family consuming beef from these large companies. I want to KNOW where my families' food is coming from. I know Americans across the country are beginning to think about this concept. Yes, right now it may be cheaper to buy a burger at a fast food joint than it is to buy a bunch of carrots; however, it won't always be that way. Soon the government will get it's head out of its you-know-what and stop subsidizing the price of corn. Then, corn prices will escalate to a normal level and high fructose corn syrup will no longer be a cheap alternative sweetner.

Ok, I'm almost off my soap box...I want my children to make wise choices now about the foods they eat as I am not always going to be there to say, "Hey, don't you think that 6 slices of bacon is enough?" But, I will instill in them knowledge and a willingness to learn which will carry them through the years. BTW, we get our bacon from a local butcher who kills and processes his own meat. :)

Bring it Monday, February 1st!

Two Days and Counting!

Great interval biking/running workout today fueled by lots of crap I consumed this morning. My brain knows that things will change on Monday, so it is telling my tummy to eat marshmallows at 10:30 in the morning. Yikes....I'm in big trouble!

Monday it's green tea in the morning and a healthy breakfast around 300 calories....marshmallows are not in the picture. What is a marshmallow anyway?

The Low Down Part II

BTW, this info is for those of you who think I do not have the same tempations or distractions as you....well, that is not true at all. I am a 37 year old female that has three boys who can consume everything in sight and still stay slim as pencils. My boys love to eat home baked goodies, candy and chips and they are always ready for swimsuit season (unlike me who must prepare for months). I have tried many times to convert them to healthier snack options, but junk slowly sneaks back into our pantry. Our household has given up sodas and crappy beverages, junkie crackers like Cheese-its, and store bought pastries and cookies. However, we do like to eat out in restaurants, eat dark chocolate and ice cream. It is unrealistic to think that I am going to be able to cook every meal at home or tell the boys that they are never going to be able to have another chocolate chip cookie again. So all you nay-sayers....this is possible!

The Low Down

Last week while soaking in the tub and reading Shape, I made a very delayed New Year's Resolution (it's nearly February). I decided that I am frustrated with my lack of committment to fitness and healthy eating. Inside Shape was an article entitled "Finally, a diet you can stick to and love!" You see, I have a love-hate relationship with food and fitness. I am either on fire, running marathons, training for a 50 mile ultramarathon or eating only vegetarian fare. By the way, it is quite a challenge to be a vegetarian in the Panhandle of Texas, aka "The Beef Capital of the World."



Not only is the Shape diet personality and lifestyle driven, but it had a very realistic caloric intake of 16oo calories a day. This diet stated that one could lose up to 30 pounds before bikini season. Well, I am already a month late beginning the plan and I need to be in the best shape by the middle of May for a hike up to Macchu Picchu along the Inca Trail. I realistically only need to lose 14 pounds and am in decent shape already.



I am going to blog my weight loss, food consumed, exercise, wonderful recipes and musings.....I know this sounds boring, but this is the only way I am going to be able to truly lose the weight. I have many friends who struggle with gaining and losing the same ten pounds or whether to have some sort of plastic surgery to reduce their "problem areas". Well, this is my committment to all that I not going under the knife or the laser. I am going to do this the old fashioned way....hard work and actually consuming less calories than I expend (a novel concept). I am going to follow the Shape diet for the next 4 months and see where it takes me! Maybe I will post a photo or two along the way.