Doing my best.

This morning the alarm went off at 4:45 am. I crawled out of bed at just before 5am. Got on my workout gear, popped in the P90X chest and arms and went to work. I finished that and then on to the AbRipper X. When it says "ripper" it means it. Ugh. Luckily it was better today and I got through more reps. I still can't do them all like the model-types on the DVD, but I did more than the last time and that's good enough for me. 486 Calories later and I was sweaty and my arms were tired.

I drove the boy to band, got the girls breakfast and then settled in to read my blogs and finish work from last night. Apparently a blogger that reads my blog, that I read also and do respect was very unhappy that I let my kids have skinny cow ice cream and posted all about it. I was pretty upset. I mean this is one of the reasons I am careful about what I blog. My first instinct was to just quit blogging. To be honest I don't have a lot of time and I don't need this extra stress. I take my kids and their nutrition very seriously.  I stewed about this all day long. I'm kinda embarrassed to admit how much it bothered me. Then I thought, I blog for me, right?  That's what I've always said. It's nice to look back and see where I've been and progress and see when I haven't been doing what I should be doing better. So I read it again.

I get it. But let me say, there are way worse things I could feed my kids. I do not fool myself into thinking this is healthy. I know it is junk and so do my kids. My kids know that even the skinny cow are treats and not to be had daily or even weekly. I get the idea that there are better choices but the whole point  I was making in the post was that my kids did make a better choice. Of course I didn't make my own yogurt, it was store bought so I suppose it has some bad stuff in there also. Anyway, it is best to stick with "real food" but we all know there will be occasional treats.  My kids eat a very healthy diet for the most part. Is it perfect? NO. But I do my very best to see they get fresh fruits and veggies and healthy grains. I've had people criticize me for giving them pork, which we had for dinner last night, AND even 1% milk. Each of us has to make our own choices. They don't get soda, except VERY rarely. They don't get juice all day. We don't do fruit roll ups or fruit chews or snacks. I hate those. With kids, it is a constant battle to do the right thing. I try.  I'm pretty sure no one is perfect. No one.

I will point out that I did not say I had either the skinny cow OR the extra yogurt because I didn't.  I'm restricting calories and monitoring my intake. I need to lose weight. They do not.  I agree that when you're dieting you don't need snacks or fake food. Very rarely I like a Skinny Cow. It doesn't give me diarrhea. I personally don't like the 150 calories for one of them. I'd rather have fruit most of the time. Now no matter what your opinion is of me or my diet, it's your opinion. Obviously this blogger knows about losing weight. I think she's great. She's lost weight and kept it off. I can learn from her. But everyone is allowed their opinion. Someone who is going through training to help others get in shape needs to get used to people not always agreeing with her. As mad as it might make you, you can't just yell at someone and expect them to respond or change their opinion. And you especially can't expect them to respond to that and then expect them to want to improve themselves. Not everyone is motivated that way.  I've learned that after 13 years of medical practice.

 I've also learned that what some people call obvious science and solid truth isn't always right.  Even scientists have differing opinions concerning the best kinds of diets and supplements and approaches to nutrition. Remember that you're right to want to know what's in your food. But at least Skinny Cow has to tell us exactly what's in there and then make sure what it says is actually in there.  Supplements like vitamins and protein powders and all that stuff we add to our food and diet are not regulated by the FDA. Just because they say it's "all natural" doesn't mean it is. They can put what they want on the label and what's in the jar may not be what it says.

I guess I'm saying we need to pay attention to what we put in our body. I agree that "fake foods" like diet ice creams and sugar free cookies and bars and whatnot are not the healthiest of choices. We shouldn't fool ourselves into believing they are healthy.  I totally agree that it's best to eat real food and healthy stuff. I'm glad that's exactly what my kids got last night for their snack.