it's a revolution

I've mentioned here and there that Mike and I are doing the weight watchers thing. Mike is doing tremendous and has lost 41.8 pounds so far. I can't claim those kinds of numbers, but I have lost a respectable 12 pounds so far. Now if you're paying attention you'll notice that last week I said I had lost 13 pounds. Yep, I gained a pound back. That's what happens when you lose focus my friends.

I could tell you it was because of my messed up sleep patterns this past week. Or that I misplaced my book, so nothing was getting written down. Both of which are true, but what it all boils down to is - I just wasn't putting in the effort. So, I'm regrouping. I found my book and I'm ready to get back on track.

This is about so much more than just losing weight, which is awesome, don't get me wrong, but let's keep in mind that we are parents to two young girls. I don't want them to think it's all about losing weight. So we talk about making healthy choices to be healthier and the positive changes we're making are having a trickle down effect to them.

These kids of mine are picky eaters and if I'm being honest, I'll tell you that we let them be picky eaters. We do. I make them separate meals. I let them refuse to try new foods. I like to think that I'm a pretty good Mom when it comes to raising these girls to be productive functioning members of society. I am willing to be the "bad guy" if it means my kids learn manners and respect for themselves and others, but you know what... when it comes to food I'm a total pushover. I have to stop that. And we have..... well we're working on it. And the shocking part of it is, the girls have been working on it too. I mean it hasn't been without it's hiccups, but so far it's been pretty great.

Yep we've started a food revolution of our own.

Here's some highlights so far......

1. We switched to whole wheat bread. I really thought there would be a mutiny with this, but the kids barely mentioned the switch from white. At Abby's school they have a sub day once a month and I made the switch to whole wheat there too. I almost fell over when Abby came home from school and thanked me for switching her sub to whole wheat because it "tasted so good that way". Why whole wheat and not whole grain? The whole wheat bread we buy has a lower point value than the whole grain. It's hard to have a sandwich if you're dealing with a bread with a high point value. It becomes very "cost prohibitive".

2. I've been trying to make our meals a mix of things I know they'll eat and things they usually turn their nose up at. They are free to eat or not eat anything on their plate, but we have a reasonable expectation that they try a bit of everything. Abby is much more willing on this than Maya. In fact Abby even voluntarily tried a bite of cucumber the other night. She didn't like it, but I was so impressed that she wanted to give it a try. Unheard of!

3. The amount of junk food in this house has decreased significantly. Replaced with healthier snacks. I do still bake cookies and what not. I prefer the kids eat my chocolate chip cookies then store bought. At least I know exactly what's in them. And it gives us an opportunity to teach the kids about "sometimes" foods.

Those are probably the biggest little changes we've made with the kids so far. As they say... it's a marathon not a sprint. We keep plugging away at it. And while there may be set backs, we're just looking to keep the forward momentum going. I mean I may have had a less than stellar week, but today both my kids picked yogurt to have as a snack. Something neither one of them would touch with a 10 foot pole before! So I'm still going to count it as a success.

Thanks to the lovely Scattered Mom for hosting Food Revolution Fridays