Addicted to Veggies

I'm an afternoon snacker. It's my vice.
Lately, given the whole diet/lifestyle change thing, I've been aiming to improve my snacking habits. This afternoon, when the 2 o'clock hunger pangs rolled around, I headed to the cafeteria and was pretty proud of myself when I skipped the vending machine and hit the salad bar instead. I loaded up on veggies -- celery sticks, baby carrots, cauliflower, and cherry tomatoes, with a light drizzle of balsamic vinaigrette.

At the checkout, the elderly cashier gazed up at me from her chair and said, "You must really be hungry for veggies today, huh?" Now, really -- commentary? On a healthy snack, no less?

There's definitely something "off" when it's perfectly acceptable to binge on large amounts of junk food each afternoon, but the purchase of vegetables raises an eyebrow.

Regardless, tiny successes like this are what keeps me going. (Another small win -- yesterday at the grocery store I bought myself Women's Health magazine instead of chocolate!)

As you will find out, I am a 23-year-old gal on a mission. To lose weight. Edit: A substantial amount of weight. I want to drop somewhere in the neighborhood of 50 pounds, and I want to look and feel better on the way.

Sure, I've been down this path before -- many times, actually. My biggest hiccup has been the detours of Mommyhood. It's hard enough to keep a sense-of-self when you're married and have a child, but have you ever tried losing weight while catering to a three-year-old's diet of macaroni and cheese, chicken nuggets, french fries, and ketchup? It hasn't worked so well for me.

However, it's time to start making my lifestyle work for me. That's why I've started The Mama Diet -- which isn't actually a diet, but rather a series of healthy choices that will add up to a major lifestyle change. I'm not letting work, school, or parenthood be my excuses anymore.

I'm not in this alone. I have built myself a network of supports, which includes my amazing husband, some groovy workout buddies, the Calorie King system, and the Healthy You Challenge!

Let's do this.