Starting fresh

I'm hoping posting here will mean I'll hold myself more accountable for getting healthy and staying that way.  I've lost and gained and lost and gained and lost and gained for the past 30 years to the point that one would think I was just completely unconscious of how to maintain a healthy lifestyle.  On the contrary, I have a pretty good understanding of how to lose and maintain weight, but what I lack is the willpower.  I love to eat.  I was raised to clean my plate and praised when I ate seconds.  I love cheese and butter and white bread and would LOVE to eat out every day.  I also love to cook, but generally lack the time and finances to cook the things I want to.  I am a teacher and I have three little girls, so that takes most of my time.  I went to a gym for a while, but I've had to cancel the membership because of cutting back on expenses.  I never really went that regularly and when I did go, I saw very little progress.

To lose weight, I must burn more calories than I eat.  That means I need to cut back on the foods that are bad for me and the volume of food I eat, but also exercise daily.  Again, that willpower thing comes into play.  I'm so tired/busy/stressed/insert cliched excuse here, that I usually put off what I should be doing.  Eight weeks ago, though, I gave birth to my third little girl.  She is absolutely precious and amazing and just as wonderful as her big sisters.  She also deserves a mom who takes care of herself.  I may have great blood pressure and cholesterol with no history of any diseases or disorders, but my weight means I probably won't live as long as I could if I would just do something about it.  If I can maybe see her grandchildren one day by just putting to use knowledge I already have, then what is my problem?!?

So here's my plan - I will give up one thing each month that I both love and which causes me to continue to be fat.  When the month is up, I will get that thing back, but will still limit myself somehow that I feel I can live with.  I will also exercise daily and keep a journal/blog of what goes on throughout this year.  I have brainstormed some of the things I could give up:
eating out
white bread
butter
sweets
cheese
red meat
processed foods
late night snacks
I have decided to start with eating out.  NO EATING out in January!  I even got the family to agree to it, although I don't think the 4 year old really grasped the lack of chicken nuggets and fries the coming month would bring and the baby is really not giving much up!  Anyway, we'll see where this journey takes us....