Balance

Now here's the tricky thing about trying to lose weight in this household: my family is not condusive to any kind of health kick!

Let's start with Rob. He is one of those really annoying people who can't put on weight to save their life! Rob ate just as much as me over Christmas and yet didn't put on an ounce. The thing is though he'd love to put on a few pounds and just can't. Couple this with the fact that medically he is supposed to have a high salt diet and I have to have a low salt one and you've got a bit of a challenge when it comes to meal planning!

Then there's the girl - the hormonal moody girl - who doesn't eat until teatime then empties the food cupboard. Plus any suggestion that she has fruit can lead to a full on 'I didn't ask to be born' strop!

And finally we have the boy who can be ridiculously rigid about what he eats and has such a fear of trying new food it's untrue. He will eat some veg (carrots, broccoli, sweet potatoes and corn on the cob (not sweetcorn, has to be on a cob!)) but try and get fruit near him and it can lead to a full blown meltdown.

So, a dilemma did ensue when I decided on this challenge. How to keep the kids happy but healthy, Rob healthy but fatter and me healthy but thinner. So, Ive decided on a full family clean living plan. Clean living is something I've  tried to incorporate for a while now but with the hormones, tears and tiredness flowing through this house lately, the processed crap has to go!

However, the whole point of this is finding a balance. I can't realistically put everyone on a 100% process food free diet and keep everyone happy. But what I can do is make as many changes as I can: making sure everyone has as much home cooked food as possible, lots of veg (even if it is limited to those on a cob!) and limiting the refined sugar intake. I can also give Rob larger portions than me, add salt after cooking etc. Yesterday seemedi to work ok. Kids ate veg, Rob had twice as much chicken as me with the skin left on. I'm even sat here watching Emily eat a banana before shes allowed anywhere near the lemonade! We'll see how it goes but hopefully I'll soon have a few less hormones and tantrums around here!