Exercise, eating habits, physical and emotional well-being

Well yesterday went pretty smoothly. Today was okay. A little less enthusiasm from Alex about the morning chores than he had yesterday, but Ashley was still excited.

I went to the YMCA monday and yesterday. I think I'm going to take a rest day today and then go again tomorrow and friday. I do every other day for the weights, but am trying to work myself up to every day on the cardio machines (elliptical or treadmill). I've stalled out at 160 pounds and just can't seem to loose the rest of my weight. I'd love to loose 20 pounds and get down to 140, but if I could even just loose 10 pounds and stay around 150 I'd be satisfied.

I have grown up in such a comfort food culture, that it is hard for me to change my dietary habits and move towards more healthy choices all of the time. I really don't eat extremely badly- I cook a lot of things from scratch and we use whole grains and healthy foods- but I still do use lots of butter and I use sugar in things that I probably should find alternative recipe's that aren't as sweet. The thing is intellectually I can look at food choices and see what it healthier and the reasons they are healthier, but emotionally the pull to make the foods that I enjoy cooking is stronger than the intellectual side. I've tried explaining this to Rich and he just doesn't seem to understand. For him cooking seems to be just a means of preparing food- I don't think he has an emotional connection to cooking that I do. Cooking things that I know how to do and cook without a recipe is part of who I am and it's a part of me that I don't want to give up. I've tried finding healthier recipes to exchange and cook instead, but they don't taste as good and I don't get the satisfaction out of them that I get out of making my families favorite foods. I know I just need to experiment more and find more new favorites.

I also have decided that I will just have to be more active to counteract the calories I consume by making my favorite meals. Cutting out those foods completely may be healthier for my body physically, but emotionally it isn't- so I'll find a middle point and mix the healthy foods with my favorite recipes and exercise more to try to stay healthy that way.