Santa Claus conjures up images of snow covered cities, bright twinkling lights, presents under the tree, and most notably:
He had a broad face and a little round belly,
That shook when he laughed, like a bowlful of jelly.
While this is fantastic for Santa Claus, this probably doesn't bring warm fuzzy feelings when it's your round belly that shakes when you laugh.
My husband, Freddy, and I, Stef, have decided to shrink down our bowlfuls of jelly and lose weight together. When we first met in Chicago, Illinois we were both in better shape and enjoyed going out a great deal. As the years went on and our happiness grew, so did our pant size.
We're in our thirties and now living in Lubbock, Texas. We miss having the energy had when we first met. After discussions of our unhappiness with aspects of our life we decided it was time to make a change. Healthier meals and a more active lifestyle is going to become a main focus in our lives.
While exploring new job opportunities we've been setting our alarm in the morning and getting up for a walk to start our day. We have a miniature dachshund named Lucy who we take along with us. Back in September she hurt her back and couldn't walk for about two weeks, so we purchased her a wagon that she gets to ride in when she isn't feeling up to walking.
In the coming weeks we will be working on cleaning up our eating habits. Neither of us b
elieve going cold-turkey is healthy and it would make it harder to stay on track. So, each week we are going to cut our something else from our diets. This week I've cut out sodas and Freddy is cutting down his consumption considerably.
Next week we are set to start cutting out processed snacks and coming up with healthier snacks that are both healthy and tasty. I've lost 160 pounds before and before we met Freddy lost 185 pounds on his own. We both know how this works and we both fully agree that chemical filled diet food isn't what works. Learning how to make nutritious meals and snacks that are delicious IS possible.
I'll be sharing some of the recipes we try and enjoy along the way. As well as the occasional special meal. I refuse to call them cheat meals, because in reality an individual wi
th healthy eating habits allows themselves a decadent meal now and again. However, it is important to let those meals come along sparingly.
Right now our work out routine will be walking in the morning and as the months grow colder (yes even in Texas) and our stamina increases, we will join a gym to increase our workout and start adding in strength training.
Stay tuned!