Family makeover diary: Month 9

George

Here I am in month nine and my struggle with food continues. The struggle is not that I am eating poorly but that I am not eating what I am craving! I'll give you an example: every Saturday and Sunday we ski as a family. And every time we go into the chalet for a break, all I smell is the aroma of poutine. The smell of the fries, gravy and cheese combo drives me crazy! It seems the cafeteria can't keep up with the demand! So far, I have done a pretty good job of avoiding the poutine and instead munch on my low-fat sandwich of whole grain bread and turkey with lettuce, no mayo, and just a little mustard. Somehow it doesn't quite measure up!

I describe this situation because after nine months of food journals, preparing meals and ongoing life changes, I still have cravings for that "other" food. But I am definitely controlling the cravings better than I used to.

And interestingly enough, I have now become a food "critic". It's incredible how aware I have become of other peoples' food choices. I can't help but notice what people order in a restaurant and what others have in a grocery cart. It seems odd but when you spend so much time thinking about food, these are the kinds of things you notice.

As for makeover life, everything seems to be falling into place. My routine is well organized and not as tedious and the food journals, strength training, running and life coach sessions have become part of my life.

I can see a big difference in my confidence and how I feel about myself, my clothes fit looser and everyone has noticed my weight loss. Everything is going smoothly.

Ria

I love winter! Mainly I love it because I can snowboard every weekend and sometimes we even go on a weeknight. This year I love it even more because it is fun to see my mom out skiing with us. She is still a little nervous but I remember I was nervous too when I first started snowboarding. I remember Mom telling me to keep practicing because the more comfortable I got on the snowboard the better I would feel and the easier it would be. It was my turn to tell her this and she smiled at me. She is doing really well now. It will be fun to have her skiing instead of sitting in the chalet waiting for us to come in.

Grade 9 is really busy. I have exams this month and I want to do well on them. I have set up a schedule to study and I'm trying to stick to it. I haven't gone to the gym because I'm so busy right now. But I'm happy I can snowboard as much as I can.

Stefi

January is a fun month for me because I am learning to ski with my mom. The last two years I was snowboarding with Ria but I decided to learn to ski this year so my mom and I are taking lessons. I started in level one but my instructor moved me to level three the next week. He said I wasn't a beginner because I was very comfortable on the skis and could do more than a beginner. I think I like it better than snowboarding.

Gymnastics is fun for me now too. I start my competitions in March so we are working hard at the gym to get ready for them. I have to do conditioning exercises at home so I can get stronger. And I am trying to eat the right food so I can do the hard work to get stronger.