We’re back! Did you miss us? We missed you! We have good reasons for being on hiatus, but have no fear, we’re getting back in full swing and looking forward to what’s in store for the remainder of the year.
First things first, we have some catching up to do. ‘Where have you been,’ you ask? Fortunately we have good news. We’ve both given birth! Literally in the sense that Stacey’s bouncing baby boy arrived on the scene earlier than expected, and figuratively in that Sam has been working to launch her nutrition consulting business.
We’re overdue posting about our quarterly progress on our New Year’s goals, and one month off schedule. This fits with our balance and moderation philosophy – you’ve got to be flexible! How are you doing with your 2011 goals? If they are long since forgotten, let us help you gear up to renew past ambitions, or reflect on the past 6 months and choose new directions. To catch up with our previous goal postings, the original can be found here, and the first quarterly update here.
Stacey:
– Eating well during pregnancy. I can confidently report that I did a great job on this front. I’d approximate that 80 percent of the time I ate fresh, healthy foods, most of them homemade and very little processed. The other 20 percent of the foods I ate consisted of “blue box” mac and cheese, Carvel soft serve and other pregnant (and non-pregnant) lady essentials. My new goal is to continue eating well post-pregnancy, and so far, my healthy eating habits continue to carry over. The challenge ahead is that there is little time to put delicious and healthy meals together with a wriggly, squiggly bundle of arms and legs to care for.
– Meet more chefs. Yeah, right. I have a newborn. Give me a few more months.
– Calories in, calories out. Does nursing count? Nursing mothers need approximately 500 calories more per day to feed her child. It’s not so much a matter of how many calories I take in, it’s making them count. Back to eating well, I think I am enjoying a nutrient-rich diet full of a variety of foods, but ‘calories out’ is the hard part. Lately I’ve been prioritizing showering over working out. The idea of going for a long walk in the humid summer heat in the morning with the baby and dog and then not being able to shower immediately upon returning home (should the kid get fussy) deters me from getting out there and exercising. As the baby settles into a more reliable schedule, I’ll feel more comfortable getting back to doing things I want to do. And one of the things I want to do is be able to button my pre-preggo pants by the fall!
Sam:
– Trialing more new-to-me recipes. It’s safe to say I’ve shown improvement here. My new weekly meal planning system pushes me towards finding new inspiration. So do my new cookbooks. I also streamlined my filing of recipes, including tearing pages out of magazines and moving them immediately to a folder (and then recycling the issue rather than allowing it to sit around – that’s another goal!), and categorizing my recipes saved on the computer.
– Reading, reading, and more reading. The answer here is yes and no. I’m starting to wonder if my goals to increase reading will ever be met. My high piles of articles and books have dwindled, in part due to completion, and in part due to the thrill I receive from increasing the paper recycling.
– Intentional family meal times. This remains a win. We’re certainly not perfect, but we improve regularly. I trust that the time spent at the table as a family will pay great dividends as the years pass.
– Being active with others. Also a win! I’ve stepped up my game in terms of making time to walk, run, or do yoga. The heat has kicked our butts, but motivates us to get out earlier and then feel the benefits the rest of the day.
We look forward to hearing from you, not only about your goals, but about topics you’d like to see covered in the coming weeks. Leave a comment or reach us at [email protected]
Congrats on the birth of your baby boy.
Thanks, Neil!