Do as I say, not as I do

So when it comes to being a health nut, I'll admit I'm far from it.

I love me some cheeseburgers, nachos and fries, and there's nothing better than a foot-long chili dog washed down with a throat-burning cold Coca Cola. Makes me hungry just thinking about it!

It's not that I don't also enjoy fruit and veggies and fish and all those "good for me" things, but I admit my servings of those are WAY under the recommended per week.

With that being said, it may be shocking to know that I'm a member of my work's Wellness Program. I was asked this week to fill out an online survey evaluating my health.

It really hit me how bad things were getting when I looked down, and the while I was answering questions online about my diet, I was drinking my afternoon Coke and finishing up a box of Reese's Pieces candies. As the survey informed me of my moderate health risks, I was slurping down the last drops of my high-calorie soda.

I went home feeling bad and realizing that even my own three kids have a healthier lifestyle than me. My girls never finish their Halloween candy, but guess who sneaks out all their peanut butter cups and snickers bars? Yep ... mom. My kids ask for milk, juice and lemonade at fast-food restaurants while dear ol' mom tags on the supersize Coke. When we go out to a sit down restaurant, my older girls will order a chef salad while I order a double cheeseburger and onion rings, maybe some mozzarella sticks for an appetizer.

They don't like chocolate milk, not much for Koolaid and for a bed time snack they ask for oranges or grapefruit. But as soon as they're all crashed out, I get me a big ol' bowl of Apple Jacks. I've never known any kids like them. They like their junk food sometimes but unfailingly, if I put a veggie tray on the table alongside a plate of chocolate chip cookies, they'll wolf down the veggies first. You should see their excitement when I splurge and bring home a premade fruit tray from the grocery store. It's like Christmas morning. I feel that same excitement when Hubby surprises me with a box of glazed donuts on Saturday morning.

It's ridiculous, I know. The first step is realization, right? So then there's the exercise factor. The 6-year-old doesn't really count, cause she's in Kindergarten continually is running and bouncing around till she drops. My older girls, though, are in sports and are super active. They try to complain to me that they had to run a mile or 3, and my unsympathetic response is always, "Oh, it's good for ya." Then I plop down and read the paper. What I should be saying is, "That's awesome! I should be running a mile with you!" I tell myself that my job keeps me running most days so that's good enough for exercise, however, one song on Wii Just Dance proves my theory is not correct, as I struggle to catch my breathe.

Well, I guess it's time to start Doing As I Do, Not as I Say before my kids realize I'm shamming them. Think I'll start by going for a walk tonight, maybe lower those health risks the survey claims I have!