post-Halloween "diet"

Hello November 1st!  You are a welcome sight right now.

Now that Halloween is over, I feel like so many temptations will be gone - food and money-wise.  October is always a "big-spender" month for us.  Between buying Halloween candy for the kiddies and then investing in costume supplies, I always walk away feeling empty.  I get so wrapped up in the spirit of Halloween and forget that it is very fleeting.  This year was a little different because Ethan was old enough to start getting into Halloween.  We took him trick-or-treating and he did great!  He loved seeing all the other kiddos and running up to people handing treats out to him.  It was freaking adorable.  Seriously.

Moving on (because I have a whole other blog dedicated the adorableness of my son)...

Michael and I had a talk Monday night.  He asked me what I thought would work for me, diet-wise.  He noticed that I did lose some weight with Ideal Protein, but I have also lost weight using good habits.  I feel like I would be better off using good habits.  Yes, I lost weight using Ideal Protein.  It definitely works.  But, once the accountability is gone, it's not as effective for me.  Plus, Michael wants this whole healthy lifestyle thing to be a family affair.  Honestly, I could do a program and still cook a healthy dinner for us at night.  The only issue would be on the weekends.  It could work.

But, the more I thought about it, I don't want my son and future children (especially a daughter) to see their mom constantly on a "diet".  I want them to grow up seeing healthy habits.  When I was growing up, my mom went to aerobics classes and practiced healthy eating habits for the most part.  Later in my childhood, she started trying different programs like Sugar Busters.  It was weird to me at the time to see her eating things that were different from us.  She had "special bread".  I feel like Ethan should be able to eat the same things that Michael and I eat.  We should all be able to sit down to any given meal as a family and eat together without someone having "special bread".

So, Tuesday, I went grocery shopping with a semi-list.  I decided to start out like I did before - go simple and use the "light" versions.  My health knowledge from before Ethan is still there, but in trying to get back to those good habits, I need to start small.  I used to cook elaborate healthy meals, and maybe I will work back to that one day.  Right now, I need simple.  Simple is a light Jimmy Dean breakfast quesadilla and coffee with sugar-free creamer & splenda for breakfast.  Simple is a sliced turkey or chicken sandwich on light bread with a 40 calorie slice of cheese and pre-measured/weighed Zapps chips and a light salad.  Simple is a crock pot dinner recipe from Hungry-Girl or Skinny Ms.  Simple.

That is where I am at right now.  And, I'm okay with it.