The Power of Guilt

Ever since we found out that my kiddos' BMI is too high, we've been making some big changes in our house.

The kids' plates are filled 1/2 full with veggies. 1/4 with brown rice, or other starch. 1/4 with a lean meat. My plate looks exactly like theirs. That wasn't too big of a change. We just increased the amount of veggies, and decreased the amount of rice. So far, so good.

We've brought the kids' lunches/dinners/snacks when being babysat by family members, and have limited all artificially-flavored drinks and juices. Family members don't always get that, but so far, they've been respectful of our "water only" policy for the kids.

We have a few birthday events coming up, and even though they're not potlucks, we're still bringing our kids some veggies and fruit so they don't just eat pizza and junk. It may not be kosher to bring your own kids' food to a birthday party, but people are just going to have to be okay with it. I'm sure I'm more worried about hurting other people's feelings than they're concerned with us bringing in food.

I've been changing what I eat myself, too. It's so much a change in the WHAT, as it is in the HOW MUCH. Writing it all down, and logging it on my Weight Watchers tracker has really helped. I've lost 6.4 lbs. over the past 2 weeks.

I keep telling myself that I don't have the option anymore of not doing this the right way. I've given myself the option of quitting and giving up in the past, but now, it's just not even there as a choice. I HAVE to do this for my kids. I HAVE to do this for my girls' health. I HAVE to do this for our future. It's no longer an option to not try, or to be forgetful, or willfully inaccurate in my tracking. This is a MUST DO, and I don't get the option of allowing myself to fail anymore.