As the sun beats down onto the shadowless country road, the dust clouds the view in front of me.
A wagon is ahead, barely visible through the haze old dirt roads often conjure.
There are daisies, milkweed and long, scratchy grasses in the ditches off to either side.
It's sunny. And hot.
I'm dressed in a long flowered dress - little house on the praire style - and running, with a look of what some might interpret as pain.
I'm trying to catch the others. The ones on the wagon. The ones who haven't fallen off.
I'm close, but not quite there yet. It's hard not to just stop. To give up.
This week, I fell off the wagon. I haven't had a week this busy in...well, weeks.
I haven't had time to wash a single stitch of laundry, or wash more than the one cup I had to wash so my son would have something out of which to drink. I haven't had time to wash may hair, let alone take time to focus on my heart.
Last week's focus of the Go Red BetterU program was about strengthening your support system. I think I've failed miserably at this. I really haven't made sure to surround myself with people who can help hold me on the wagon.
I've written "check the Flourish blogs" on my ever-growing to-do list so I can try and find a few stories to read that might be the hands that pull me into the wagon.
Next week, for week 5, the focus is fixing your risk. Specifically, weight loss.
Whether you're trying to lose 5 pounds or 105, the idea is to start today making small changes that will get you going. Getting active is one way to do this, adjusting recipes is another.
Personally, since I'm six months pregnant, my focus is on adjusting recipes - rather than on weight loss; that comes after pregnancy.
I talked with a dietitian from Lee's Summit Medical Center yesterday,
Nancy Mah-Riley, about how to recognize when a recipe is healthy. And how to make substitutions to make recipes that aren't so healthy, more so.
Here's what she had to say:
Canola oil and flaxseed oil are usually a good sign you're looking at a healthier recipe.
Signs a recipe could be healthier, butter and whole eggs.
Substitutions
The obvious:
For whole milk, substitute nonfat, skim
For cream cheese, fat-free cream cheese
For eggs, egg substitute
The not-so-obvious:
Canola oil for butter (1 stick = half a cup of oil)
For oil, you can substitute applesauce or fruit juice, same measurements
For white flour, substitute a bit of whole wheat. If recipe calls for 1 cup white flour, substitue half of it with whole wheat.
Nancy says to elimintate salt completely. Even seasalt, which some think to be healthier. She says it's not. It's still sodium.
"Any recipe can be converted if you know what to look for", she says.
Nancy suggests eatright.org for more information.
Thanks, Nancy, for being one of those hands reaching out from the wagon.
It's never too late to sign up for the Go Red BetterU program. To sign up today, click here.
