Healthy Choices

Last year I was adamant that I wanted lap ban surgery to loose weight. A friend got it done and booked me an appointment with her doctor who made me a priority on the Lap banning waiting list. Just a few months later I was due to go into surgery. I wussed out. I actually got real with myself. Not band around my stomach was going to stop my love of food. I love food. My diet last year sucked. I'd miss breakfast and lunch daily and eat a large dinner (plus the kids left overs) at night. Our deep fryer lived on the bench and chips, chiko rolls and dim sims would always be in stock in our fridge. I didn't need a lap band. I needed a reality check.. Not only was I eating junk, I'd eat a lot of it. My portions were huge and my body was in starvation mode constantly.

This year I am eating breakfast and lunch most days. But I struggle as I feel that I'm not hungry in the morning or at lunch time so I have to do this by watching the clock. 7-9am Breakfast. 12-1pm Lunch. 5-6pm Dinner. I have even set reminder on my phone to eat.

Because I have started eating well so have the kids. I buy fresh and tend to now stick to the outside of the supermarket and avoiding the isles as much as possible. Because of the lack of junk, when the kids are hungry Nevaeh and Jiedyn both have tried things they have never attempted. Nuts and kiwi fruit, Carrots, tomato and cucumber on a salad roll and Jie finally tried Avocado. Salad used to be an occasional food. For dinner parties or barbecues with friends. Salad is now a big part of our menu and you can guarantee to find it on the shelves of our fridge daily. Fruit has become the kids after breakfast before lunch snack while nuts and rice crackers are usually eaten between lunch and dinner. Water is the drink of choice since we switched to low fat milk. But juice (with no added sugar) with dinner is a nice treat!

I'm so impressed with the kids. We have labeled processed food "Fat Food" and now use these two words together a lot. We have substituted KFC for Subway (costing around the same price) and we now enjoy encouraging each other to make healthy choices at McDonalds. "Don't have that Mum, it's fat food." they tell me. Keeping me accountable.

On top of making healthy food decisions, we have started walking together as a family three times a week. Nevaeh and Jie are on the trampoline daily and I use the Wii Fit and exercise bike too. But I'm mostly in love with Zumba. The kids and I love to dance and Zumba has us all working out or abs with laughter when we muck up. It's so fun!

This is just the beginning of a healthier family and I'm on the look out for healthy recipes which dont cost a fortune so if you have any tips, I'd love to hear them!