Better Breakfast, Better you and a $100 Visa Card Giveaway from Jimmy Dean

This is a compensated review from BlogHer and Jimmy Dean, however the opinions and feelings expressed here are my own.

We’re just a few days from the start of the new year, and I already have my list of New Year’s resolutions. This year I will be making better choices for myself and my family. I am going to try always offer the most nutritious selections in food for my family and make sure we get in all the protein, fruits and veggies that we may lack some days now. I also want us to get lots of physical activity in our lives, by visiting our gym regularly and participating in more outdoor activities. And lastly, I am going to incorporate strategies to help family happiness by trying maintain a balance between all these activities and balancing the household chores and work. I know it’s alot to try to accomplish, but there’s no time like the new year to try to incorporate better choices.

First and foremost, I want to get a handle on the amount I eat. The hardest choice I make in my day to day life what to eat and when to stop eating. Portion control is so hard for me. If you haven’t noticed, I seem to have a love affair with food, and all types. I love healthy food, full fat foods, sweet things, salty things, and the list goes on and on. Even foods that I though I didn’t like years ago, like casseroles, I’ve learned to create them into dishes that I crave.

And all this food indulgence has lead to a problem, a little extra weight around my stomach, hips and thighs. Right now I’m about 15 pounds overweight, all of which I gained after weaning my son. Fortunately, I was able to lose all my baby weight pretty fast and kept it off as long as I was nursing, but started gaining weight slowly as he started eating more and more solid foods, and then continued to gain after he had been completely weaned, until I finally leveled off over the summer. Several months ago, we started a gym, but have yet to see any changes because we haven’t made any dietary changes and haven’t been going as much as I think we should be.

Starting this new year, things are going to change though, we are going to make better choices in our diet. Next week, we are off to the mountains of West Virginia for a ski vacation. We wanted to start the year off with a really fun activity. During this time, we’ll also be starting our new diet choices. We’re going to enforce our portion control and make sure we eat a protein packed breakfast every morning. The last time I had to lose weight several years ago, I did it pretty easily by having a high protein breakfast and incorporating lots of exercise. By making sure I added protein at breakfast, it kept me fuller longer.

Having adequate amounts of protein in your diet is essential. An average amount of protein I try to achieve each day is 50 grams.The last time I was on a diet and incorporating more protein, I was adding protein shakes and bars to my diet, which of all the countless ones I’ve tried, taste terrible. Thankfully, there are better options to easily incorporate high protein foods in our diet, besides those tasteless supplements. Jimmy Dean’s new line of tasty D-Lights Breakfast sandwiches and breakfast bowls have less than 12 grams of fat and up to 23 grams of protein. They are the perfect, easy way to start your day. You can find more about them at Jimmy Dean’s Official site, and you can find out more about the benefits of protein at breakfast here.

The last time I was on a diet and incorporating more protein, I was adding protein shakes and bars to my diet, which of all the countless ones I’ve tried, taste terrible. Thankfully, there are better options to easily incorporate high protein foods in our diet, besides those tasteless supplements. Jimmy Dean’s new line of tasty D-Lights breakfast sandwiches and breakfast bowls have 300 calories or less and between 15 and 23 grams of protein per serving. They are the perfect, easy way to start your day. You can find more about them at Jimmy Dean’s Official site.

We also want to add a few more days to our gym schedule to help kick start our weight loss. We already go 3 times a week, sometimes 2, if something comes up. We want to do 5 times a  week at least for January and February. On two of the days, we do weight lifting and cardio. One day is for upper body, and the other day is for the lower body. We change up our routine continuously by doing different free weight exercises, machines, and and group muscle exercises. On a third day we add core and ab exercises. We do different basic ab exercises, as well as Swiss ball, Pilates and yoga exercises. On the two days I want to add to our schedule we’ll either be doing cardio in a spin class or just on one of the machines.
Another important change I want to make in the new year is keeping my home tidy and organized. I am the world’s worst about procrastinating until the house is a mess, and then spending all day, sometimes two, doing a massive cleaning. I want to take a few minutes each day and clean. I know having a clean and uncluttered house is the first step in keeping your mind clear so you can focus on the things you love to do, and spend less time cleaning.

So now for the fun part! Tell me in the comment section below what better choices you would like to make this year for yourself and you’ll be entered to win a $100 V1sa card from Jimmy Dean.

Rules:
No duplicate comments.
You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods:
a) Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post

b) Tweet about this promotion and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post

c) Blog about this promotion and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this post

d) Read the official rules for alternate form of entry.

Sweepstakes ends 5 PM PST on January 30, 2010.
This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older.
Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail.
You have 72 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected.
Visit the Official Rules.

Please also visit the Visit the Exclusive Offers section where you can visit and see the round-up page where other bloggers are sharing their stories and giving gift cards away.

Fireworks photo credit: flickr.com/petervanlancker/