My Life's Biggest Project: All About the Kids

My Life's Biggest Project: All About the Kids: "When you have a family the important thing to realize is that every decision you make effects everyone in your family. When you take on the ..."

All About the Kids

When you have a family the important thing to realize is that every decision you make effects everyone in your family. When you take on the responsibility of having a family or make the consciouenscous effort to be a part of a group then it is no longer just about you. There is no room for selfishness and on the bright side you now have a built in support team. A family is something that people are blessed to have and when you are making huge lifestyle changes like in activity and eating habits guess what, there is going to be an effect on those around you too.

I crack jokes about putting an overweight person who loves food around lots of food like a buffet or something is the same thing as taking a junkie to a meth lab. Now I say this as a joke, but how funny is it really? In actuality an addiction is an addiction and is kind of the same thing. Until one can overcome the desire and want for these things then it will always be a problem. The difference is that food is something you have to have for survival so it will forever be a factor.

I do not have kids, but I know that I would really like to someday. I would love to have a family and be a good example for my children. I would also like to be in tip top shape when I start to have children for several reasons. One it makes things easier on your body as well as the childs when one is pregnent, another reason is because it will be easier to get back into shape after the baby is born if you are in a better place beforehand.

As I said I am not a mother, but if there are readers out there today that are then these fun little tips I ran across will be good stuff for you! Changing how children think about food is a good thing, making them want to eat the right stuff however often times comes as a challenge for parents. The one thing nutritionists say not to do is to reward your children with desserts. If kids see eating veggies as an obsticle they have to overcome to get to the cake then they aren't really developing the right mindset about the food. One tip given is to allow children to be a part of the grocery shopping and the planning.

If kids feel like they are a part of the meal planning and a part of the shopping process then it makes them feel important. The one thing that most kids want to be is grown up (not sure why, being a kid is so much easier, but the fact remains that they do). By making them a part of the family decisions then they also get to get a dose of reality. If you say things to them like we have to have some kind of vegetable with  the meal so that the family will stay healthy they see it as a neccessity and not just something gross. They also see that it is part of their responisibility.

Another big thing is to have the kids help you cook and prepair meals. If they are older then let them be responsible for one meal. There is a family online who said that their tween son makes scrammbled eggs for breakfast on Sundays. He has recently been trying to find ways to change it up so he's been adding things like dill to them. The family said that this is the kid who thinks that anything green is a horrible idea now sees a need for it in terms of cooking. I will be the first to tell you I have certainly experienced this in my life. My little brother who is now 18 use to refuse to eat anything that was green. He would say "green is evil". This didn't leave much room for anything that healthy and to be honest with you I don't think that much has really changed.

The thing that amazes me about my brothers horrible eating habits is that even with the exact same genetics he is extremely thin. It must be nice to eat crap food all day and still be able to rock some skinny jeans. Not the point of my post today, really more of a jealous rant...lol.

Another tip online is to make healthy foods into taco's or burritos. Kids tend to like finger foods so if you have prepaired rice and boneless skinless chicken allow your children to put them onto a tortilla. Give them salsa and lettuce as fixings and this is something that they get to put together themselves. They will be happy and so will you. So really in the end this will be a win win for all.

These are just a few tips that I came across today and if you have anymore please feel free to share them with me. As I said I'm no mom so I haven't yet perfected any kind of tips and I also realize that each child is different, but a lifestyle change is a lifestyle change and everyone in your immediate household need to be on board. Because it is not just about you being happy and healthy it is about your family too.

My Life's Biggest Project: Relapse

Fall off the bandwagon, get back on: My Life's Biggest Project: Relapse: "So obviously we aren't going to make the right decisions all the time. I certainly don't...lol. For example I know that its not smart to res..."

Relapse

So obviously we aren't going to make the right decisions all the time. I certainly don't...lol. For example I know that its not smart to respond to texts from a certain guy, but still as soon as I get it I always do. Silly stuff like that. Well poor decisions may also be made when it comes to food. As I've stated before it is much harder to control and watch what you're eating when you are staying at other people's houses or someone else is prepairing the meals. I'll tell you a personal example from last night, what you should do and what I did.

Last night I went to Wagoner and my friend prepared a meal very Paula Dean style. By this I mean that it had a whole lot of butter. It smelled devine while she was prepairing everything. For dinner last night what my dear friend made was boneless skinless chicken breasts smothered in some kind of cream of mushroom sauce, green beans, biscuits, mashed potatoes and turtle cake. Did I mention that everything was jam packed with lots and lots of butter? Anway that was what was on the menu and it tasted awesome.

What I should have done was eaten a little something before I got there because I knew what kind of dinner was in my near future. They say that you will eat less if you are not hungry. When you are put in this situation the smart thing to do is to go ahead and be polite, so eat, but watch your portions. Also you shouldn't be scared to miss out on something like seconds or dessert.

What did I do? Well none of the things I should that's for sure. Yesterday I met up with some of my sorority sisters at a Chinese food buffet, where I did not eat (so that part I did well), but as soon as I got back to my BFF's house he and I left to go to Wagoner. We got there around 4 pm and dinner was ready to be served around 6:30 pm, so by then I was starving. I ate a whole piece of chicken as opposed to a half, I had everything and it was yummy, but I felt a little guilty after and uncomfortable. This however didn't stop me from having a very small piece of cake for the dessert.

These things happen and we relapse into our old ways, but we just have to remember that this is no longer our way of eating or our way of life so the next day we have to make better choices. Today for example has started with a grape fruit :) Take it a day at a time like anything else and don't beat yourself up. You will have off days, just don't make them off months!

My Life's Biggest Project: Mmm Mmm Good

Try out this recipe: My Life's Biggest Project: Mmm Mmm Good: "I've talked about this in the past, but it's worth talking about again. Many times we think that if something is a wrap then it must be fat ..."

Mmm Mmm Good

I've talked about this in the past, but it's worth talking about again. Many times we think that if something is a wrap then it must be fat free or really good for you. This couldn't be further from the truth. It depends on so many factors as to whether or not the wrap is going to be good for you or not. Since I'm such a sweet girl I found a recipe for you to try out and I'll even let you know exactly how many calories and heck I'll even throw some other nutrition facts in there for you. What I want you to do is to try this wrap recipe and then come back and tell me what you think of it. OK? OK then here we go...

Chicken and Rice Wrap

Here's a healthy wrap recipe that's simple to make and tastes great served either hot or cold. Makes one dinner for two . . . or two lunches for one!

• 1 boneless, skinless chicken breast, cubed
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/4 medium onion, chopped
• 1 cup romaine lettuce, torn into bite-size pieces
• 1/2 cup cooked brown rice
• 2 lowfat whole wheat flour tortillas (6 to 8 inches in diameter)
• 1-1/2 Tbsp. fat-free salad dressing
• Nonstick cooking spray
• Medium-sized frying pan

Spray medium-sized pan with nonstick cooking spray and place over medium heat. When hot but not smoking, add onions and garlic and sauté until slightly browned (You don't have to add things that you don't want. I for one would not be adding any onions to stuff. I hate onions and when I say I hate them I mean I HATE them). Add raw chicken and sauté until browned and cooked through, about 5 to 7 minutes, or until no pink remains in center of each piece. Remove pan from heat. Place tortillas on plates. Put half the lettuce on each tortilla, followed by half the chicken, half the dressing, and half the rice. To assemble wraps, roll tortilla around contents, securing each with a toothpick if necessary. Makes 2 servings.

Cooking Time: 20 to 25 minutes

Now time for those facts I promised you:

Calories: 345
Protein:  32 g
Fiber: 4 g
Carbs: 36 g
Fat Total: 4.5 g
Saturated Fat: <0.5 g

The beauty in recipes is that you can make them your own. I for one love sandwiches and wraps and other things like that which I refer to as girly food. So something like this would be perfect for me. Again I ask that you try this out and let me know what you think of it. I hope to hear from you guys soon to be filled in!

My Life's Biggest Project: Heavy

My Life's Biggest Project: Heavy: "So it is official. Whenever you lose weight you always lose it in the places that you don't want to first, especially if you are a girl. Cas..."