Determined

I love to eat. I love to cook. I love to eat and cook healthily. I love to eat and cook healthily with local, natural products.

I haven't always been this way.  There was a time in the past when my diet consisted almost exclusively of food from Burger King and occasionally out of a box.  I still loved to eat. But I didn't cook.  And I didn't much care about what it was I was eating.

Over the years, I came around.  I started caring about the food I put in me.  I have a desire to be a healthy woman so I can be the wife and mom that God wants me to be.  I also have a desire to create healthy eating habits in my son.

In October of 2009, I joined Weight Watchers for the 3rd and final time.  I was determined to get my weight under control.  But in doing so, I didn't want to fall back on the frozen boxed meals and artificial sugars that plagued my last couple rounds.

I wanted to use WW as a way to stay accountable to the AMOUNT of food that I ate.  WW is also a wonderful tool for dealing with the emotional issues surrounding overeating.  The meetings are very encouraging and inspiring.

But so much of the food that is commonly eaten by people following WW is not really food.  It's a list of chemical additives and preservatives with a smidgen of real food thrown in.   I didn't want to eat that stuff!  The list of nasty ingredients are just as bad, if not worse, for me than being overweight!

So when I joined WW, I told myself I was going to not only follow the WW program - counting points, exercising, etc - but do so as naturally and as close to real food as possible. While still staying within my food budget at the grocery store!

I am learning about real food now.  I am still a baby in this real food life.  And I've been slow about embracing it.  But I'm determined.

I'm determined to continue eating right.  I'm determined to reach a healthy weight. I'm determined to be healthy. I'm determined to not blow my budget.  I'm determined to keep learning about food. I'm determined to buy local and natural foods when possible. I'm determined to be the wife and mom that God wants me to be.