Epic Fail, Big Triumph

Hi Everyone!!!

We are still eating way less and I'm hoping to report big progress in health land soon in the form of looser clothes!! This however, will not be that week.  We had a bit of an epic fail.  Forgive me Father for I have been to the drive thru.

We were on the road, we were sleep deprived, I was stressed, Ellie was in the back, we drove separately, and I didn't want to get out to go in an actual store.  It happened.  It seems as if every week I uncover a different challenge that requires a small or large (depends on the week) lifestyle change.  Two weeks ago it was modifying portions that we fixed, then it was the
acknowledgement that we can't use our kids and other stuff as excuses and we should keep the junk out of the house, this week it was keeping the junk out of the travel.

Last week's problem and this week's have the same solution:  BETTER PLANNING!

I need to think before we travel and pack snacks!!! Good ones!! So I can't use being tired and not wanting to get out with Ellie as an excuse.  We also need to plan meals and snacks at home ahead of schedule.  That way we can't use being tired and not wanting a long trip to the store to interfere with Ellie as an excuse. (See the pattern there?) For the solution see the Big Triumph section in a couple of paragraphs.  :)

The thing is, I said from the beginning this isn't about getting skinny quick, it's about a life overhaul.  This is not a sprint, it's a marathon.  I want SO BADLY to be like some of my friends and post that we lost 5-10 pounds this week or that we have found a magic diet plan that is peeling off the weight but I can't.  It would solve nothing for us because we are creatures of habit. I'm also not using a scale so I can't give you pounds.  I would get frustrated by the slow progress.  I can't do that to myself.  I've lost a lot of weight quickly a hundred times and it always comes back because I go back to old me.  NOT THIS TIME!!! We are living in the land of see a small problem and fix it and move on to the next small problem.  It's kind of like Dave Ramsey's debt snowball for getting healthy.  Small changes lead to big results OVER TIME!  I just wish I was more patient.  Weight loss surgery and all of the diets out there are so tempting, because my brain sees those as easy fixes (even though I know they aren't... especially surgery... not even close in fact).  But our numbers from our bloodwork are pretty decent and any that are high are fixable through diet.  Those perceived 'quick fixes' are not necessary and would lead to a much different kind of life change than I want to make.  We have a LONG way to go.  I just hope you'll keep reading so I'll stay honest with myself because I'm putting our progress out there!  :) So tell me if I'm boring and I'll tell knock knocks or something! :)

So what's the Big Triumph? Planning on a budget, baby!
If you shop at Kroger and you have not downloaded the Kroger app... DO IT!!! So awesome!! While Mark is job hunting (thanks for all the prayers - keep em coming!!), we are on a STRICT budget.  I used the Dave Ramsey technique and got cash from the bank for this month's groceries.  Once it's gone, we are done.  So how do we stretch it?  First we used the Kroger app to download some KILLER coupons!  Do you know every few days they offer something totally free??? It's awesome!!! And I don't have to carry or clip.  I have no excuse not to save.  The coupons are loaded on my card and are used automatically!  Then there's the weekly ad.  You can go through the ad and add stuff to your grocery list with one touch.  So we marked stuff on our phones that we knew we could use to build multiple meals.  Then we went to the store and went department by department looking at what we marked as on sale on our list.  Coffee creamer, a butternut squash to make Ellie's baby food, and two diet cokes were all we bought that wasn't on sale!!! Woot!! We stayed well under budget and only spent about 15 extra minutes in the store!  We have meals for weeks in the freezer and fridge and spent 100 dollars and NONE of it was quick fix, junk food crap!  I'm super siked!!!

So that's it happy campers.  Tune in next time for more info on how our budget and careful planning for food is going!  While we are not perfect we are making progress!!!!  Wish us luck as we plow on!