Big changes don’t happen overnight. Well, they can, but usually they never end well or don’t last. Hubs and I are going to do things right with our healthy revamp so we’ve already start talking about some of the things we will or will not do as we begin to stock the pantry of our new home (we’re starting to move things in next week, by the way!)

Now, we all know deprivation just doesn’t do anything positive for anyone. Hubs and I will still definitely enjoy life and not go to extremes (although I am transitioning us to more plant based than meat and potatoes), but we’re just going to put some reasonable safety nets for ourselves. Here are some of the things we’re going to be doing.

1) We won’t allow unnecessary food/drink items in the house
This one may be easier to do considering how tight our budget will be when we first start off. But basically, we’re not going to waste our money on junk. Oreos are  huge vice of mine so I don’t even want them in the house. Chips, candy, soda, etc– if it won’t help us, why should we spend the money on it? Now of course, if we’re having some kind of party and decide chips may be appropriate for our guests, we’re not going to be health Nazis. We’re just not going to waste our money on things that will potentially be stumbling blocks. We may change our minds about having certain drinks in the house (it depends on the quality of our well water), but I think we could both stand to nix soda and sweet tea out of our lives. Besides, if we’re going to eat yummy things like cookies and cakes, etc, I’d rather make them homemade myself.

2) We will have fruit and vegetables readily available
I’ve always envisioned my future kitchen to have a nice fruit bowl on the table so people could just grab bananas and apples at will. If you have it available, then you’ll definitely eat it (kind of goes with why we won’t have the junk in our house. If we don’t have it, we won’t eat it). I know this to be fact considering I’ve thrown multiple types of gatherings with different guests. One time a boy sat down at the table closest to the pizza rolls. He hate HALF of the bowl which was filled with TWO packages of pizza rolls. One man. Lots of pizza rolls. It was crazy. On the contrary, I threw a wine tasting party with some girlfriends. We all sat around a table with our wine and some grapes. I also had chocolate, that was a little farther out of reach so everyone had to get up or ask someone to pass it. My entire grape supply was gone…simply because it was in front of them. Long story short, Hubs and I will have fruit and vegetables in front of us so we’ll eat it. Period.

3) We will eat organized meals
Hubs comes from a background where as long as he ate one HUGE meal that day, he was good. However, this meant that his meal was ginormous and usually high in calorie dense foods. I too have had an issue with skipping breakfast before, but have gotten better at it recently. But in our new life, we will have all three meals (and healthy snacks) everyday. I’ve already told Hubs that I will try to help him pack lunches to bring with him to campus if he needs it. Seriously, some lean turkey sandwiches can go a long way. Not only will it keep us from overeating later, but it’ll hopefully boost our somewhat sleepy metabolisms. Besides, it’ll be great to spend some quality time together over a meal rather than rush rush rush all the time.

4) Eat out less
Again, this healthy step in the right direction is also inspired by our desire to take control of our budget. When I was still in college, I tended to eat out a lot with my man because… well…fast food is cheap and it was a nice change of atmosphere from the school cafeteria. My senior year I finally had a kitchen so  I cooked for the future Hubs more than not, but still, the college lifestyle leans more toward $5 Hot n’ Readys and Cookout trays (Hub’s personal favorites). But despite moving back to our college town, Hubs and I will resist the urge to have Taco Bell’s fourth meal. Besides, it’s much cheaper to cook your own meals than to succumb to the grossness of fatty fried foods.

What small changes are you making to your lifestyle to have a happier and healthier you?