Sweet Potato with Black Bean Salad

This was my dinner tonight. It was inspired by the recipe I found here. I didn't think of it until just now because it was so different, but I suppose this is the healthier answer to a baked potato with chili. I liked this way better. I don't really like the texture of regular baked potatoes. That texture is only improved by massive amounts of butter. But I like sweet potatoes all by themselves. I'm not great at writing recipes so bear with me. Here's what I did...

Cook 4 medium sweet potatoes in the microwave for 12 minutes (it would probably be even better to cook them in the oven for an hour, but I didn't feel like waiting tonight)
Add 1/2 green bell pepper, chopped, and 1/4 c chopped onion to a little olive oil in a saucepan. Simmer on medium heat until veggies are soft. Add one or two medium tomatoes(depending on how much you like tomatoes) and 1 can black beans, rinsed. Add 1 tbsp taco seasoning (or whatever seasoning you feel like using). Heat through. Serve on potatoes and garnish with shredded Mexican blend cheese and a little sour cream.

My husband liked it ok. He thought the combination of sweet and savory was a little strange, and would have rather eaten a regular potato. It wasn't his favorite, but he admitted that he would eat it again. I call that a success.

Curves

Why Curves? Why spend $36/mo on a gym membership for just me, when I could join the local rec center (which is awesome, by the way) for $30/mo for my whole family? Or Gold's Gym, which is only $10? There are any number of other gyms that would make more sense for a family on a student budget. Here is what it comes down to: I know Curves. I love Curves. I don't feel like an idiot working out at Curves, so I know that I will actually do it. Curves in an all women's gym, and there are literally women of all shapes and sizes and ages who both work, and work out there. I am totally comfortable, and that's the only way I can work out.

This wasn't always the case. I first signed up at Curves with my mom in 2006. We went a few times, but she wasn't comfortable with the workout so she stopped going. I went a few times on my own that summer, but I stopped when I went back to school.

The next time I signed up was about six months after I got married. I had been walking, but it was getting hot and I knew I needed to find an indoor workout. Curves was not far from my apartment, so I decided to give it another try. I loved it immediately. I had been bored and a little lonely during the day, in my 5th month of searching for a job. I was in a town where I had never lived before, and I needed to join some sort of community. Curves turned out to be exactly what I needed physically and socially. I found a real support group in the ladies who worked out there every day, and especially in the coaches. I actually looked forward to working out for the first time in my life. And by the time I moved a year later, I weighed 180, which was less than I weighed in high school. I had lost 40 lbs, and I had a pair of size 12 skinny jeans that looked fabulous on me.

When we moved, I fully intended to continue going to Curves regularly, but life threw me a little curve-ball. I started well, but then I visited my family for a few weeks, and shortly after I came back I found out that I was pregnant, and also got a full time job. I put my membership on hold, intending to return after my daughter was born. By the time I had finally geared up to go back, and found someone willing to watch the baby while I worked out, I was pregnant again, and my baby was six months old. So I gave up on the idea of going back at that time.

But now it's time again! Tuesday when I went to sign up, I felt the same comfort that I had before. My husband takes care of the babies from 7-8 every morning, and I take that time for myself to work out and shower. It makes all the difference in my energy level every day. I feel more motivated to eat healthy, and to be active with my kids, and even to do the dishes. This might be my favorite part of the one year challenge.

Begin Again

I've been here before. Ready and determined to change my life by getting healthy. Healthy - not skinny. I've never been skinny and I can't imagine I ever will be by the world's standards. I don't think I would want to live that way. I'm not going to go on some crazy diet to lose weight as fast as I can so that I can quit when I reach my goal and go back to my old habits. I'm not going to spend hours working out every day. That's great for a lot of people, but it's just not me.

What I am going to do is make real lifestyle changes that will last forever. Changes that are not just for me, but for my entire family. I am going to replace white bread, white flour, and white rice with whole grains. I am going to use more vegetables in my cooking. I am going to eat 2 warm fresh chocolate chip cookies when I bake them for an occasional treat instead of 5 or 6. I don't think I'll ever be able to just eat one. I am going to walk to church, to school, to the playground, etc as long as I live in a place where it's possible.

Those changes are going to be great for helping me to maintain a healthy lifestyle. But my one year challenge isn't about maintaining - it's about getting to a level of fitness that I feel good about maintaining. I need to challenge myself in the frequency and intensity of my workouts. I need to learn to cook and eat healthy meals and snacks that are also delicious. I need to plan my meals every day and stick to my plan.

I have a lot of goals for this one year challenge, and I have a feeling I'll add more as the year goes on. Here are a few:

• Work out at Curves every day M-F
• Lose 72 lbs by August 27, 2014 (that would take me down to 150, and I haven't been there since before high school)
• Drink only water or skim milk for the entire year
• Drink at least 64 oz of water every single day
• Follow the Curves "higher protein" diet
• Learn to cook 30+ healthy dinners that my family will love
• Keep this blog faithfully - I would say daily but this mom of 2 girls under 18 months can't make that promise.
• Don't feel guilty about the expense of new jeans when the time comes. It's a reward, not a punishment.

So today I made a beginning. I signed up at Curves for the third time in my life. I am excited to use that membership to the fullest. I've been mostly following the diet for the last two weeks, and I'm going to keep getting better. I am committed, and I am accountable. Here's to the first day of my one year challenge.