It's on like Donkey Kong

OK, done with moping and feeling stressed. Now that Evan sleeps and has a consistent schedule, it's time that I work on mine. I have no more excuses for stagnating here. It's time to get back on the horse. And I have a plan.

First, I've gone back to putting on my workout clothes first thing in the morning. My son has become quite the mama's boy and has a lot of separation anxiety, so even if he's happily playing, when he catches sight of me he whines and scurries on over and starts climbing me until he has my full attention. I'm working on easing that, but until then, if we're in the same room and I'm not occupied, I'm going to be doing strength training exercises. That way, at the very least he'll get the message that he can't climb on me and expect the desired result, and if it works, I'll be motivated to keep it up.

Now, on with the healthy eating. My dear friend Melanie messaged me a while ago about juicing. Since it's essentially the same thing as my green smoothies and she has a structured daily meal plan that I desperately need, I'm going to give it a whirl. Here's her basic daily rundown:

• 7:30 a.m. - Cooked oatmeal and fresh fruit: As much fruit as you want, like grapefruit, apples, berries, oranges, etc. Oatmeal must be the kind you cook, not instant.
• 9 a.m. - Water (always 8 oz.)
• 10 a.m. - Juice (always 8 oz.)
• 11 a.m. - Water
• 12 p.m. - Veggie wrap: Fill with spinach, cilantro, fresh basil, tomatoes, cucumbers or anything else that's fresh and tasy. You can also add brown rice or beans in the wrap, but no meat or dairy.
• 1 p.m. - Water
• 2 p.m. - Juice
• 3 p.m. - Water
• 4 p.m. - Juice
• 5 p.m. - Dinner: Eat small portions of the family meal, which should be light and healthy with plenty of steamed veggies, good carbs and other wholesome foods.
• 6:30 - 7:30 p.m. - Juice

This isn't too far off from what I already do, except for two notable differences: No meat at lunch, when I usually eat dinner leftovers, and I'm substituting my smoothies for the juice and will split it into four servings instead of two.

For those of you who want to try juicing, here's her basic recipe for an 8 oz. juice:

• 7-10 carrots
• 1 apple
• 1 lemon wedge
• 1 beet wedge
• 2 leaves of greens
• 1 orange
• A few berries

My fridge is all but empty right now, which is good. I've purged the junk (and the moldy leftovers of dinners gone by) and I can start over with just the good stuff. Tomorrow I'm hitting up the farmers market, and starting Monday this meal plan IS ON.

If you have been reading my blog for a while, you'll know that I'm the queen of big motivated starts and slow fizzling out. I hope this time is different. Maybe it will be because of Melanie. She's one of the most driven people I know, and it's contagious. Not only that, but she used to be my running partner years ago and she had me awake and jogging faithfully at 6 a.m. every day, even though I didn't have to be awake for hours. That is an enormous accomplishment! So Melanie, if you're reading this, keep pushing me!

And that goes for all of you, especially if I see you in real life (or if we're friends on Facebook). Please PLEASE push me to keep it up! If not this specifically, help me stay on the wagon in general. That's why I started this blog after all, so don't be shy. I can do this, but I need help.

And here I go...