A Hard Look

I admit it. I have a morbid fear of diabetes. My father -- and most of his side of the family -- are all diabetics, and I'd like to ward it off as long as I can. So I've been taking a good hard look at my diet and exercise habits as I'm getting ready to embark on my healthy lifestyle:

Exercise -- It's nonexistent. The starting goal is to get in a half hour of exercise three times a week.

Diet -- I was horrified to discover that when I make a meal, I often divide it between me and my boyfriend. As in half each. Since I require fewer calories than he does, he stays slim while I pack on the pounds. And of course, I love just about anything that's fried. I once (actually twice) ate fried Oreos. So my starting goals is to cut fried food to just once a week (Sunday is going to be my weekly cheat day) and cut my portions to something less than an amount required to feed a family of five.

My target start date is this Monday. This weekend I'm cleaning house and going shopping. I'm hoping to work on lifestyle changes that I'll be able to stick with rather than going on a diet, so don't be too disappointed if I don't lose 5 pounds by next week. I'm sort of a turtle in the get-healthy race.

And this is about being healthy. I'm not into negative body weight. Fittingly enough, I'm going to start my healthy lifestyle during healthy weight week.