An Epiphany?

It's late so I have to make this quick...

This week my husband and I have been talking about our health some more. We've also been talking about the health of our children, none of which are or ever have been overweight. He said after the first of the year he's heading back to the gym. I casually asked him if he'd consider being okay with me not buying any more soda for the house? He said that was fine, and "we can all just start ordering water at restaurants."

HUGE. Just HUGE, because there was a day he said, "I'll never quit drinking soda."

Now, he did say he might grab one at lunch or here or there once in a while, but he okay'd for me to quit buying it.

So, we told the kids we are going to try and eat better, not for weight, but for health, and we are going to stop buying soda. They seem okay with this.

I also suggested that maybe we would cut out chips, or limit it to one bag in the pantry at a time and only eating a serving at a time with a meal, not as snacks. My girls pipe up with, "We don't need chips." and my son is not paying attention.

I reassured them I'd still put candy in their stockings because they were only a little concerned about that. :) I also said that we would bake, but limit how much we ate.

The kids are totally into this, well, the girls are. My son hasn't commented much and I think he'll have the hardest time with the snacks. I know he'll get used to it, because I've never really allowed him to eat as much as he wants anyway.

These changes sound more drastic than they really are, but they are the ones we are committing to starting this week.

My epiphany in all of this?

I realized tonight these changes are going to require some responsibility on my part. I'm going to have to make sure there is fresh produce around for snacking all the time and not get lazy about cooking healthier meals.

And I can no longer hide behind my family as an excuse for not losing weight. If they are fine with no chips, crackers and soda in the house, then there will be no reason for it to be there. If my husband is willing to eat a little healthier, then I can no longer say that I will cook certain ways simply to please him.

Folks, this scares me. It scares me to think I have to come out of hiding and rise to the challenge that leading a good example will be at times. I can't expect them to stay away from junk if I'm dipping into it in secret.

It also scares me to think that now I need to learn how to be the "healthier mom". I believe all things in moderation are okay (read: I'm not cutting out desserts, but saving them for special time), but I'm wishing tonight I could have a cook here for a month to show me how to do this.

There's more to our healthiness conversations, but this is all I have time to share for now. It's a huge deal for me and I am going to face it and come out the victor. The first step is acknowledging it and realizing it's something I need to learn how to deal with.

Thanks for reading. :) G'nite all!