Actual New Years Resolution follow ups and obviously.. some pictures :)

So remember approximately 4 months ago when I posted this post about some new ideas I wanted to implement in 2013?  Although I still need to work on a couple of those, one area that I have really been convicted of is my eating.  After Jake was born I was one of those fortunate people who lost the weight fairly quickly because of nursing.  In fact, I realized that I didn't need to run to maintain my weight anymore, and I could actually eat quite a bit without gaining any weight.  Now, talk to any doctor and they will tell you that this is a VERY important time for moms to eat well because you are giving your baby nutrients- not a time to splurge on eating candy and chocolate.  At the beginning I was pretty good at watching what I ate, but in the past couple months I have really started to neglect eating healthy foods.  I literally could go through half a bag of kit kats on my own throughout the day. Easily. Without Dan's help.

What started to bother me was my heart attitude toward food. I discovered that before Jake was born and I had to watch what I ate, I really only ran and counted calories to purely keep my "outward appearance" looking good. I wasn't doing it because my body was a temple and I am called to honor my body with what I eat.  I was simply watching what I ate and exercising because I wanted to maintain a specific weight/ size.  The only time I was really convicted to eat healthy was when my pants were too tight.  I was never convicted that I drank too much diet coke or ate too much processed food.  I simply cared about my outward appearance.

I have also discovered that there are times when I went aimlessly into the cabinet to search for something sweet because I felt like I deserved it.  I would put Jake down for a nap after a particularly fussy/ difficult hour and would go straight for the food, telling myself I deserved this because of all I just had to deal with (right. I am so entitled to that).

So, when I read Jami's post, "I'm over sugar," I found myself in agreement with practically EVERYTHING she said.  That was until the end, when she suggested that I tell someone about this change I wanted to make.  Ugh.  I cringed. I knew if I told Dan about this conviction he would hold me accountable to it (and gladly eat the chocolate I didn't eat :)  I had told Dan before I was eating too much sweets, but I would just joke that when I started gaining weight I would stop. (yep.. see two paragraphs above).  So, obviously when I told Dan he immediately helped me gather up all the sugary items we owned (mainly Easter candy) and put it in a separate location.  Then I told my friend Becca and she said she would do it if I would.  Before I knew it, I found myself giving up sugar.

I definitely still have a ways to go.   I've incorporated more smoothies into my diet and am trying to be aware of how many fruits and vegetables I'm eating.  Fruits are easy for me to eat.. it's the veggies I am trying to work on.  So, as I come up with new ideas I will keep you updated with how I am doing! And I would definitely encourage you to read Jami's post. :)

Annnd totally unrelated to food, here's a couple old pictures from Jake in the snow.  I was really trying to get him to smile and he wasn't really having it.  This little man is not a fan of the snow.  Maybe we should move down south?