An unoriginal New Year's resolution

I like to try to avoid the cliches when it comes to New Year's resolutions, but sometimes you've just got to admit that losing weigh and healthy eating is a popular resolution because it's one that most American's need. 

We are no exception.

DH weighed in at his all time highest weight ever a day or so before January 1st, and promptly resolved to do something about it.  I was totally on board as I am always looking for a workout partner and if DH isn't interested in eating healthy food then it's a waste of my time to cook it.

We both took some "before" pictures although I'm not going to post those here. But here's a nice picture of DH on his first workout of 2011.

The main focus of our resolution is actually NOT to lose weight (at least for me it's not.)  DH needs to lose weight, so that will be a definite perk, but our main resolution is to focus on healthy eating.  The past few weeks we were sooo far away from that, although ordering pizza or making french fries and buffalo chicken instead of something more nutritious. 

So on December 31st we went to Giant Eagle ready to make an enormous shopping purchase since we had 20% off Food Perks (by the way, I do NOT recommend doing a massive shopping trip on New Year's Eve day; it took nearly two hours and I was so exhausted I was ready to faint - seriously.)  We stocked up on healthy foods - fresh and frozen vegetables, whole grain breads, and lean meats.  We bought lots of legumes and I even bought some yogurt (which I hate) and almond milk, in an effort to try to get more calcium.  We are counting calories, yes, but as long as we're putting good foods into our bodies and getting exercise, we're not going to worry ourselves to death about going over our daily recommended calorie allowance.

I got a shiny new pair of running shoes for Christmas from DH's dad and stepmom, and I LOVE them.  This is my first pair of actual, real live running shoes. 

Ewww.. is my skin really that scaly and dry?

 
Before, I always opted for relatively cheap basic street sneakers that I would then use for running.  I had no idea what a difference a pair of real running shoes could make in terms of comfort on my feet, even when I'm just walking.  It took me a solid hour - my first full workout in them - to get used to the feeling, because they definitely feel different (not bad, just really really different.) They're far tight in the heels and roomier in the toys, and are made primarily of mesh so they're really flexible and pliable compared to other shoes.  I could go on and on but just know that I love them.

I also got a set of resistance bands that I intend to use for building some upper body strength, since I currently have none.  I learned some basic resistance band exercises during the CCAC fitness class I took last fall, and I hope to incorporate some of those exercises in my evening routine.

So, that's all I'm going to say about our New Year's resolution for now.  I'm not going to write about it every day.  I'm not going to "weigh in" on any sort of regular basis (although for the record, I'm currently right at 150).  If we missed a workout or have a bad snack I'm not going to harp on it.  We're going to do good things for us, and we're going to do those good things because we want to.

And hopefully, that will be a recipe for success.