Together on Tuesday:

Here we are again!!  It's Tuesday!!

This week we will (I think?) have 2 new bloggers.  Charlotte at The Dog Days of Life and Nancy at Purple Peaches will be joining us!  And, of course, Michelle at After 9 and Some Weekends will cover this too!

So...what did y'all have for breakfast?  I had a skinny green monster smoothie (minus the green today because I ran out of spinach).  It was tasty and it is now 11:20 am and I'm not famished. (Thanks, Laura, for forcing me to drink that shot glass of your smoothie!!)

I ask because it pertains to our topic today:  What do you do to be healthy?  Exercise?  Eat right?  What specifically makes your lifestyle healthy and/or unhealthy?  Would you like to change it?  How?

DIETS
Here's a shocker for everyone:  DIETS DON'T WORK.

Until recently, let's say within the past 5 years, I've not ever worried about my weight.  I've never worried about what I ate or how much of it.  I never really sat down and thought about what I put into my body.

And then I became...AN ADULT.  An adult with a child.  And then everything changed.

Of course it did.  Everything changes when you have a child.  If anyone ever tries to tell you any different.  Send them straight to me so I can smack them square upside the head.

But I digress.  Since I've gotten...we'll just say "older"...I DO in fact have to worry about what I put into my body.  And for various reasons.  Reason number one being that what I eat directly affects the size of my backside. 

No, seriously.  Something in my body chemistry changed.  Weight comes on sooner and easier and comes off later and harder.  It's just a fact of life.

Two years ago Chris and I went hardcore on the South Beach Diet.  It was the first diet that I did that actually worked.  And don't you dare say, "That's just like the Atkin's Diet!!!  OMGEEEEE, Danielle, are you trying to kill yourself??!  That diet is suuuper unhealthy!!!"

Because you would be wrong, my friend.

Yes, you cut carbs.  But not all of them.  And yes, you eat protein.  But not just bacon and steak.

The SB Diet taught me what it means to change my lifestyle.  After all, THAT'S what a GOOD diet does.  It teaches you how to turn a set of rules that works for you into a lifestyle that you are able and willing to adhere to for the rest of your...well, LIFE.

At this point in my life, I probably eat about 50% vegetables, 35% protein and 15% carbs.  I only eat good carbs, i.e. whole grains, beans and NO POTATOES.  (Shhh...I still have french fries about once a month.  And they are oh-so-good now that I don't eat them once or twice a week.)  I think that's a pretty good ratio.  Of the 50% vegetables, probably 3 or 4% is fruit.  I love me some vegetables though and I eat more different kinds of vegetables now than I ever have. 

What does all this mean in regards to our question of the week?  I do my best to keep my lifestyle healthy in terms of what I put into my body.

EXERCISE
I don't get nearly the exercise that I want to or should.  I do play with Jayna a LOT outside and I do keep busy.  I don't consider myself a couch potato, but I definitely don't belong in the "athlete" section either.  Truth be told, I'm still COMPLETELY TRAUMATIZED by my Mini experience that I've yet to actually try and run any sort of distance.  I've run a few times since last May, but I'm actually...scared.  Lots of memories come back that I'm not prepared to deal with yet. 

I don't really like to exercise.  I like to do activities that make me exercise without knowing.  I like to have dance parties in the living room.  Play "freezer tag" in the yard.  Help Jayna learn to ride her bike (TRUST ME...that's more exercise than it EVER should be).  Swim.  Do flips.  Do cartwheels (although I did one a few months ago and I think my pancreas is still in the wrong place).  I like to be ACTIVE.  I do not like to EXERCISE.

What does this mean?  I'd like to exercise more, but in FUN ways.  I'd also like to get to the gym about twice a week.  That's all I can commit to at this point in my life.

ALCOHOL
I probably drink too much in most peoples' eyes.  I drink beer probably twice a week, but I limit myself to a maximum of 3.  I drink wine almost everyday.  THERE.  I said it.  I have a glass of wine almost everyday.  I'm okay with that and that is pretty much all that matters.

I bring up the topic of alcohol because one of the main lifestyle changes I made when I started the SB Diet was to stop drinking beer.  For those of you who know me, you know this was a HUGE deal.  But after one month of not drinking beer, I noticed an enormous decrease around my midsection.  I lost my spare tire!!  So now I drink beer, just in greater moderation than before. 

HOBBIES vs. PARENT vs. WIFE
When I think of my health, I don't JUST think about my weight and my nutrition.  I think of my mental stability.  My emotions.  All that stuff that makes me "not crazy."  And all of those things are important to me.

It took me until Jayna was around 2 years old to finally find some sort of balance between being a parent and a spouse and a functioning member of the workforce and a housekeeper and a cook and a maid and a...and a...and a....  I could go on and on just as most of you can.  Balance is important to my health.  If I go for longer than 4 or 5 days without doing SOMETHING besides cooking and cleaning and giving baths and playing Barbies, I get a little irritable.  I need to do things.  I need to refinish furniture.  I need to paint on canvas.  I need to scrapbook.  I need to garden.  I need to be a PERSON.  With my OWN interests and feelings and thoughts.  Hence the blog. :)

I think these days I do a pretty good job of The Great Balancing Act.  I am not afraid to get a babysitter for Jayna.  I am not afraid to tell Chris that he needs to help me more.  I am not afraid to spend a little extra time on doing things for ME on occasion.  I lost the guilt long ago because it was doing me ABSOLUTELY NO GOOD.

And for all you moms out there who don't take time for yourselves?  You're nuts.  DO IT.  It is important for your mental health and the happiness of your children that you be happy. :)

Where does this fit in with the topic?  Well, I view health as a comprehensive effort.  I need to take care of every part of me to be healthy.  And I'm very proud that I do these things to that end.

CHANGE?  HOW?
Well, I do need to get more exercise.  I think that things are good in moderation.  I'm getting better at that.  Instead of a whole chocolate bar to satisfy a craving, I'll eat ONE Hershey kiss.  And it works for the craving.  Instead of a whole entree at a restaurant, Chris and I share.  Those entrees can feed atleast 2 people anyway!  My biggest challenge is beer.  I like good, dark and high-calorie beer.  And I'll continue to drink it...in moderation.

How do I make these things happen?  I just have to do it.  I just have to do it.  Actions speak louder.  So do it to it!!!


What do y'all do to be healthy?  Are there changes that you're trying to make to be healthier?  What are they?

Now pop on over to Michelle, Charlotte and Nancy and see what's up with them!!  If their entries aren't published yet, I'm sure they will be soon.  Check back often!!!