Where Are All of the Cookies?
Where Are All of the Cookies?
I’m pretty sure the cashier at Aldi today called an ambulance for us.
It was the first time in a long time that our conveyor belt did not have cookies on it. But that’s not all.
There were no frozen pizzas or corn dogs. There weren’t any packs of Kit Kats or ice cream bars. No soda, no brownies, no rice krispy treats. Instead, there were grapes, apples, lettuce, fit and active snacks, and a whole lot of healthy.
Usually, summers are a time for me to do a body reboot. During the school year, the stresses of lesson planning, conferences, grading papers, and grad school dictates that the drive thru is our only feasible option for dinner. Exercise often takes a backseat to sheer survival. Summers are my time to cook for the family, to get in better shape, and to shuck off any extra pounds gained during the school year. Summers are my time to get my body back into its best form.
But this summer’s been different.
My husband and I have both fallen way, way, way off the wagon. With book promotions and writing taking up much of my time, I’ve spent more hours on the couch than exercising. Cheese sticks, hot wings, and ice cream have become staples in our household. We’ve been eating out four and five times a week sometimes, fried foods becoming an addiction instead of a treat. I can’t even remember the last time I’ve cooked a vegetable for us. So, with the school year fast approaching, I think I’m heavier than I was back in June. My clothes are tighter, we are miserable, and we have no energy. We’ve decided to face the music.
So we’ve decided to do something about it. We’ve come to the realization this week that it’s time to grow up a bit at the grocery store. Mac & Cheese and Minion snacks are not healthy diets. We need fruits and vegetables. We need to count calories. We need to exercise. We can’t live off of cookies forever.
I spent a few hours today making salad, cutting up fruit, and getting our refrigerator healthified. Am I excited to trade in the cookies for fruit? Hell no. I miss them already. Are we going to fall off the wagon this week? I’m betting on it.
But at least we’ve made the first important step; we’ve set ourselves up for success. Dieting doesn’t start at home. Who in their right mind is going to choose a carrot stick over a chocolate when given the choice? Dieting starts at the grocery store. By making better choices today, I’m hoping we can combat our terrible eating habits and our metabolisms that are slowing down.
So I’ll keep you posted on our journey. I’ll even fess up if we end up caving to our cookie cravings. But for now, I’m off to snack on some grapes (can you hear my sigh?).
Lindsay Detwiler, Voice of Innocence
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00TMX826K
