The 12-week American Heart Association program, Better U, begins June 1, and I wanted to talk a bit about my pitfalls that I am going to try to avoid during the next 12 weeks. Half the battle is admitting you have a problem, right?

1. The Weekends– I tend to socialize a lot on the weekends. This usually means at least one (possibly two) dinners out, at least one breakfast out plus big breakfasts at home, alchohol (at 110 calories a bottle), and a tendency to not eat well in between meals out. The activities I engage in during the winter are also not good for exercising (mostly playing cards). In the summer, we are more active.

2. Choices — I don’t eat a lot of junk food. I don’t have cravings for chocolate or chips or sugary snacks. In fact, I usually don’t like things that are real sweet like fudge or cheesecake. My choices usually appear to be healthy — like nuts, trail mixes or dried fruit, but looks can be deceiving. There are a lot of calories in things like dried fruit. I need to make sure I am making smarter decisions about what I snack on.

3. Pop — I like the convience of pop. I like being able to reach into the fridge and pull out a cold drink. I don’t buy pop to keep in my fridge, but I do buy pop at gas stations and/or restaurants. Right now, I am choosing diet pop over regular, which is a plus, but I really need to eliminate pop all together. I like flavored water (the kind without calories) and sugar-free Powerade. I need to make these choices more often, and I need to make it more convenient for me to drink water at home without always resorting to water bottles.

4. Fried foods — I eat a lot of fried foods, and I really should limit this more.

5. Not sticking to exercising — I have in the past tried to start exercising, but I don’t stick with it in the long run. I am trying to change this. I have been actively exercising for the last month now, and I am adding to my abilities.

6. Eating — I don’t eat at regular intervals, and I frequently eat too late or there is too much time in between meals. I need to quit skipping breakfast, and I need to make sure my lunch is closer to lunch time. I need to eat all of my meals earlier in the day.

Things I do well:

1. No salt. I don’t use salt. I don’t add it to my food, and I rarely use it when I cook. I think I get enough salt through food without adding any extra.

I can’t think of anything else.