I started the year ready to be healthy, fit, thin, beautiful (ok, that's pushing it)!

New Years Day I went snowshoeing in Zion with three other women and had a blast. Hiking in snowshoes is hard. But the scenery was wonderful so I didn't really notice my burning quads until later that evening.


I'm often very hungry after strenuous exercise... and since I hadn't taken anything out for dinner, my feeling of famished-ness led me to the poor dinner choice of a Red Robin bacon cheeseburger and fries. Hmmm... So much for all the calories I burned in the snow. I made those up, and then some.

As if one day of snowshoeing weren't enough, on January 2nd we trekked out to Pine Valley for more fun in the snow. And yes, another calorie-fest to follow, this time at Cafe Rio. Two tacos, rice and beans. YUM.

But that's okay. It was the weekend. And I'm never good about starting something new on the weekend; so as I'd already told myself, Monday is IT. The start of the new, better, me.

So now it's MONDAY.

I had NO SWEETS today. Not a one. I did make a strong effort to convince myself that eating a pear is the same as eating sweets. But it's not. It tastes nice. But it's FRUIT. Yummy, healthy, delicious fruit - which under no circumstances will I ever consider dessert.

Fruit just isn't dessert. Unless it's pie. Or a cherry turnover. Or a banana boat. But plain fruit? No way.

It's okay though. I'm feeling pretty good about today's food choices. I started out with a nice breakfast of hot cereal with half a banana and a few blueberries and raspberries. For lunch I had a half turkey sandwich with one bit of cheese. And for dinner I made stuffed manicotti and salad. It was delicious, and I wanted a second helping. But I was good. I ate the reasonable serving that was on my plate, and no more. I was satisfied physically. The mental part is the challenge. Portion control. Portion control. That will be my 2011 mantra.

Pretty healthy, huh? I'm feeling a little hungry now, at 8:50pm; but I think it's good to go to sleep on an empty stomach. So I'm staying out of the kitchen.

I weighed myself today as promised. The result pretty much sucked. But it is what it is and I am what I am - and all I can do is face each day and not think about banana boats too much.