A New Take On Life

We're all signed up for our membership at the YMCA now. Those lovely people were able to give us a fantastic scholarship, and we feel very humbled and blessed to receive it. We're going to go this morning for some time on the cardio equipment while the kids enjoy the mini-care.

As I was driving home from my IUD appointment yesterday, I went past Pizza Hut, advertising their latest deal. I thought about how I would feel to eat the pizza and knew I'd probably get sick from all the grease. My only regret was that I didn't indulge in a big deep dish pizza last week before I started my new life.

Then, something important happened. My mind jumped to ways I could enjoy pizza while still maintaining my healthy eating lifestyle. I thought of whole grain pizza crusts with diced veggies and low-fat mozzarella cheese. I started salivating at the thought. That's an important step for me in my re-prioritizing of life and food.

So my weight loss mantra today is: Re-imagine the foods you crave. Don't feel like a prisoner to your diet. Use it to your advantage and find compromises, or this new life won't be maintainable for long.

In other news, Ben had a blast on our Y tour yesterday. He loved climbing up and down all the stairs, and goodness knows there were a lot of them. He had a few moments where he didn't want to leave a certain area, but promising him more stairs did the trick to refocus his attention. I think he's lovely in this regard. It wouldn't have worked for me, that's for sure.

My Mirena IUD appointment was interesting. It didn't take long, but I was supremely uncomfortable since I have very sensitive innards. The cramping started almost immediately, and by dinnertime, I was crying so much I figured I'd have to go to the emergency room and make them rip it out. I sat with a heating pad on my back for a couple of hours, and that helped. As of this morning, I don't feel any pain. Hopefully, it won't return, and the trauma of yesterday afternoon would have been worth it.

We are definitely taking our before pictures today... and my weirdo husband actually wants me to post his before pictures as well. I thought he was crazy, since he doesn't even read this blog, but he says he wants the accountability, so I guess you all will get to hear more about his weight loss efforts, too.