On The Way To Healthy

I don't care how much I weigh. I don't care what clothes size I am and I really never have. I am fairly active, or at least I think so and for the most part I am pretty happy and content with my life.

The Hubs loves me no matter what size I am, and his only complaint about my drinking soda is how expensive my habit really was. (Make no doubts about it, it is a very expensive habit, at a buck seventy for each 20 ounce bottle and 4-6 bottles a day, I was looking at a $6-$10 a day habit.)

But in the last few years, as my health has spiraled out of control, as my chronic illness has become more and more of a burden, as I was starting to consider placing myself on disability, I have come to the realization that there is little that I can control in my life. There is actually very little that anyone with a four year old can control about the world it seems.

At any rate, I can control what goes into my body. I can control the amount of activity (or inactivity) that I participate in. I deserve more than what I have been giving myself in the last few years and it is time that I take back control.

Yesterday, I began the Atkins Diet, although I do not like calling it a diet. I am changing the way I eat and my goal is to make this a lifestyle change, not just a temporary thing that lasts until the first cold, or first day without sleep, or the first bad day.

I did well yesterday, followed the guidelines and stuck to the plan. I did have a slight nagging headache by the end of the day, but it was nothing that couldn't be cured by a couple of ibuprofen and a good night's sleep. I also noticed that there was some pretty intense cravings for an after dinner snack last night and while I did not have anything in the house that I could snack on, I was left feeling a bit unsatisfied when I went to bed.

I don't think I was really all that hungry though, I think that it may have been boredom snacking as it was getting late, I was getting sleepy, and I was trying to stay awake.

I am not doing this to lose weight, although at 231 pounds, it is a nice side effect. I am doing this so that I can feel healthy again, so that I can not be so tired when I get home from work, so that I have energy to play with my kid and do the chores. I am doing this so that I will be around for her as she gets older.

What habits have you changed since becoming a parent? Do you feel that you are living the best life that you can?