Welcome!

I’ve been wanting to start a blog for a while, but I couldn’t decide on a topic that I could write about on a regular basis and not lose interest.  The idea to start a blog about my husband’s and my journey toward a healthier lifestyle came to me after I polished off my last bite of a chili cheese dog and fries at The Main Street Festival.  Mike and were walking home and he said to me, “You know, we can’t keep doing this.  We need to eat healthier or we’re going to be in trouble when we get older.”  No argument ensued—I agreed wholeheartedly, as I had been feeling guilty about my own unhealthy habits for quite some time, or more precisely, my entire life.  I realized that Mike and I needed to motivate each other to make our health a bigger priority.  With that, my idea for this blog was born.  Not only can we use it to motivate each other and our friends, but hopefully it will keep us from relapsing back into our unhealthy ways.  I certainly don’t want to write that I ate Taco Bell at two a.m. followed by McDonald’s breakfast that same morning.  But I haven’t done that since college.

When Mike and I got married two years ago, I envisioned myself as being the perfect Suzy Homemaker wife (don’t laugh).  I saw myself cooking nutritious family meals in my Vogue-approved Jessie Steele aprons and tasteful pearl earrings.  Like many new wives, my ideals were out the window not too long after the honeymoon ended.  The aprons still come in handy when I have my girlfriends over for cocktails…

It’s hard to find time to shop for groceries and cook when you work 12-hour shifts as a nurse.  That’s never going to change, but the eating habits have to.  And yes, I said it—I’m a nurse.  I educate people about making healthy lifestyle choices every day as I dole out their statins and beta blockers.  Then I go home to a large sausage pizza and a couple of beers, hoping Mike didn’t accidentally delete The Jersey Shore from the DVR.  Ugh.  While I'm on the topic of careers, I should mention that Mike is a high school teacher and baseball coach.  He's got one up on me since he exercises a lot, but he can really put away potatoes!  He blames his Irish roots.

Like I mentioned, it’s hard to prepare healthy meals at home when both of us are working full-time.  But it’s not impossible.   Mike and I realized we just need to make a conscious effort to plan and prepare for meals at the beginning of each week.  We’ve decided to plan our meals for the entire week on Sunday night.  It starts by going online to find a couple of good recipes that will last us two days, printing them out, and sticking them on our refrigerator.  Then, we write out the grocery list and go shopping on Sunday.  It sounds easy, but if we don’t do it in advance, it’s impossible to keep up with the plan, and we’re back to eating carry-out and Chipotle.  Not to knock on Chipotle—it’s delicious, and it can be pretty healthy if you watch what you put on your burrito…or better yet, your Bol.

This blog isn’t all about healthy eating.  In fact, we’re not on a mission to cut all the fat and carbs (yum) out of our diet, or lose more than a couple of pounds.  We just want to be a healthier couple so that we can enjoy many decades together without being weighted down (pun intended) with health problems.  We also plan to find fun ways to exercise together on a regular basis (and not just when we feel fat in our favorite jeans) and take care of our mental and spiritual health as well.  When the time comes, we want to raise our children in a healthy home.  It’s all important.  

I hope you enjoy our blog and find inspiration to adopt a healthier lifestyle with your husband or wife as well.  Our goal is to have a healthy marriage, in more ways than one.

Cheers—

Mike and Lesley (yes, I suckered him into this)