Baby Steppin'

Real life.

That's where I live, smack dab in the middle of real life. Schedules, budgets, lesson plans, meal plans, and absolutely NO LAUNDRY plan shape much of this real life. During the past year and a half my family and I have been trying to better our real lives in very real ways by taking very small steps toward healthier living. None of us has taken any drastic measures like becoming vegetarians, nor have we sworn off of sugar, a few of us have set and reached a fitness goal or two, and all of us have reaped the benefits.

What did it take to send us baby steppin' down Health Avenue? It was the nudge of a health concern that sent my Man to the doctor for a check up a little more than a year and a half ago which yielded numbers that got his attention. My Man, who until that point, had never had any issue with excess weight, who was a dedicated 3-day-a-week runner, and a generally healthy fella, was concerned. Very concerned. So concerned that he came home from the doctor's office and at once, began making changes in his diet.

{Before...June 2010}

I loved watching more vegetables disappear from his plate, and watched amazed as sweet tea also did a disappearing act from his daily routine. Second helpings of dinner were a rarity as were requests for dessert. I no longer kept sweet tea cold in our fridge replacing it instead with unsweetened tea. Almonds and craisins soon took the place of chips and cookies as this Man of mine became a much healthier, much happier, much more fit individual right before my very eyes.

I was so proud of him and happy for him and more than a little bit irked. Yes, that's right, irked...big time. I had made all of the changes that he had (except, of course for the exercising which I was heartily opposed to) yet I was experiencing minimal results. Eventually, I found new vices and lost my way as winter doldrums set in hard and real life responsibilities and stresses loomed large. While the numbers on my Man's scales had decreased by almost 40 pounds, my results were heading very much in the opposite direction which only served to send my doldrums into overdrive.

I've written here and here about how my Man finally nudged me out of the doldrums and into the gym without, somehow making me feel like the frumpy, lumpy, jiggly, aging version of the girl he'd married. What I've not written much about are the things I've been learning along the way about food, and new-to-me ways to prepare it so that my gang reaps the ultimate benefits. I've also learned a thing or two about where my food originates and why that just might be important.

Don't for one minute think that I've gone all tree-huggery. I've decidedly not. I am however a little more of a health-hugger these days and I've brought my little gang along with me. During October my plan is to post a baby step or two among the other bits of happenings around The Wright Place so that you can take a baby step or two for yourself if you so choose.

I'm still learning, still trying new things, still indulging in sorbet date nights and birthday cake breakfasts once in a while (or once a week sometimes!), still failing and flailing, and every now and again, enjoying some measure of success. I'm loving all of the learning and I'm loving that what I'm learning is having such a deep impact on me and on those I adore!

{Stinker!}