The last 30.

I shielded my eyes from the scale through all my prenatal visits with baby #4. When I showed up to my 6wk check-up, though, I wanted to know if I'd actually made any progress with my blindfolded postpartum weight loss mission. So, I asked. 

"How much did I weigh at my last prenatal visit?" 

"222," The nurse replied. 

Insert, big sigh.

Thinking back to when I got pregnant with baby #3 just two years before, I weighed 144 and was still losing - nearly to my original pre-pregnancy weight. I wasn't doing anything special, but I was focused.

Big sigh. I'd made it down to 198 in six weeks after baby #4, but the amount I had left to lose was terribly daunting; my days were consumed with this number and how every bite of food, step taken or not, affected it. Every time I get dressed, I think about it. Every time I see my reflection, I think about it. It's strangely discouraging and encouraging all at the same time. If I'm honest, I'll tell you that this just made me want to eat more. 

In September of that year, two months after my baby girl was born, I started eating clean. This meant no refined carbs or added sugars. Basically no white stuff - bread, rice, potatoes, flour, etc. This worked really well for me. So well in fact that I was able to get back into the 150s. I have gained weight back here and there, but I've been able to keep weight off better than with any "diet" I've tried in the past - and I've tried them all. I've struggled with binge eating and sugar addiction for as long as I can remember, and ultimately that's stopped me from reaching my final goal. 

I can't even tell you how many weekends I've been overwhelmed with this journey and needed a break, which ultimately lead to me eating whatever I wanted with a Monday start-over date. Sometimes that Monday got pushed back a week or two, hindering my goals once again. I'm not talking about over eating a few meals; I'm talking about eating many times over my daily caloric intake - not because I'm hungry, just because. Binge eating is an eating disorder and if you're doing it, you need to be well-aware and learn how to stop it.  For me, it's accountability through MyFitnessPal and avoiding sugar. The moment I stop paying attention, is the very same moment I start making poor choices and get off track. 

I don't have that daunting number in front of me anymore, friends. I don't have 92 pounds to lose, but after re-connecting with my scale this morning, I see that I do have 30. I would like to finish this up so I can stop being discouraged by this bite-by-bite life and start living for real.

Here's to counting calories.

Here's to clean eating.

Here's to being active.

Here's to another Monday.

Here's to commitment. 

Here's to being aware.

Here's to accountability. 

Here's to the last 30 pounds.

Who's with me? 

Keep Calm and Eat Clean...

I've been a rather inconsistent blogger over the last few months; We've had so much
activity going on with our family, with our business, and with our kids that some things just have to take the back burner. It took me a long time to learn that, but priorities have to stay in place or else chaos ensues. Right? I know you know. :) I really, truly, feel that I'm called to minister to people who have had the same struggles that I've had with over-eating and sugar addiction. So, this blog carries on!

In the lull of what was quite possibly the LONGEST WINTER OF MY LIFE - having never ending snow and ice, a death in the family, sickness after sickness for each member of our family, and a miscarriage a couple months ago (I may post on that at a later date), I found myself back in a series of bad eating habits. I KNOW from experience that binge eating is not how I deal with these things (anymore), so I cut myself off at the pass and am now back to clean eating (down 10 lbs in about a month!). It feels SO good to make healthy decisions after experiencing so many repeated trials - or even one trial. Amen?

I wanted to tell you about a few yummy things I've been loving lately. If you're ready to get back to clean eating, here are a few ideas to get you started!

Zoats! Oh my word. You need to Google these! This is oatmeal + zucchini. I mix mine with 1TB pure maple syrup (maple syrup is considered clean) and top with sliced strawberries. It's true, zucchini doesn't have *much* nutritional value. It is a source of vitamins, but mostly importantly it's a Low-GI food that acts as a clean filler for your oats. If I eat a plain bowl of oatmeal for breakfast, I'm ready to start gnawing on my hand by mid-morning.

Omelets. After several attempts at making an omelet the way I thought one would make an omelet, I finally YouTubed some omelet tutorials (I know, I never would have survived at everyone's favorite Little House on the Prairie). My favorite (clean) way to make these (whilst conserving calories) is: 2 egg whites (get the liquid whites so you don't waste eggs), 1 whole egg, 1/4 cup feta cheese, 1oz of ham (I like Boar's Head because I think it has fewer preservatives than others, onion, garlic powder, sea salt and crushed red pepper. SO SO good.

Salad. With chopped red bell peppers. I don't know WHY I've never added these peppers to my salads before, but they add interest AND color. I do love color. I usually make a salad like this: living lettuce or romaine, english cucumber, bell peppers, thinly sliced white onion, and 1TB Bragg's organic vinaigrette. SO good!! Eat that along side your omelet and you'll be in for a tasty lunch.

Hot Tea.  For the most part, I try not to drink my calories (maybe an occasional coffee these days or a chai latte, but my calories are rarely consumed this way). Hot tea is a perfect morning or midday pick-me-up and if you detox from sugar, you can totally drink it straight with no sweetener. I love: TAZO zen and wild orange. Also, I love a good earl gray and sleepytime for evening.

Chicken Burgers. There's something about warm weather that makes me want a burger EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. I picked these up at Costco yesterday and I've had two since. They are AMAZING. Sometimes I think I could be a vegetarian, and then I find something like this. They are seriously so good - 150 calories and 19 grams of protein. How about that? Yum!!

Quinoa Cakes. I'm sure these could be made at home, but I found Cedarlane's Baked Spinach Quinoa Cakes at Costco yesterday and they are also - guess what - AMAZING. They are 50 calories each 3g of protein and 100% YUM. If you have a Costco nearby, you should totally run there and pick these up. I had them as a side dish (next to my chicken burger) for lunch today. Better than losing my mind to a bag of chips, right?!

Quest Bars. I'm going to leave you with my absolute FAVORITE treat. These little pieces of joy are pricey $2+ ea, but GNC usually has buy 3 get one free and they are TOTALLY worth it. If we're at a party and there's cake being served, a Quest bar is a direct substitution for me. Then, there's no chance I'm going to cut myself an extra big piece, go back for seconds, or eat ALL the icing that's left around the edge of the cake tray. (I have issues with cake). I also love these when I'm craving a cookie, chocolate or other baked good. They truly are delicious. Check out these flavors: Cookie Dough, Cookies & Cream, Lemon Pie, Cinnamon Roll, PB&J and Coconut Cashew. If you look at Quest Nutrition's page on FB or Instagram, you'll also see recipes you can make using these amazing treats.

What are some of your favorites lately? Let me know!

Let's talk about independence (from gluttony).

As you're all aware (hopefully), yesterday was a widely celebrated American holiday. We celebrated in all of the traditional ways, of course, and talked with our kids about the importance of Independence Day and what it means to our country.

As I was thinking on the topic of independence and holidays, though, I realized something. I've never had independence from bad eating habits on holidays. In fact, I usually use holidays as a reason to eat whatever and however much I want. I can remember doing this, always. Even as a little child, I can remember going back to the food table at my grandparents' house on Christmas Eve and Easter - filling my plate with cheese cubes, dinner rolls, and summer sausage three or four times, one (or maybe even two) of each dessert that was at the table, handfuls of chocolate from the candy dish all night, then grazing the table for the rest of the night. One time, years later, I had a gallbladder attack that left me in excruciating pain - all because I didn't want to miss a bite of the good Christmas food spread.

I've done this (though not as much and not to such a severe degree) even since I started clean eating last fall. Yesterday, though all of the red, white, and blue Pinterest treats looked super tempting, I decided to stick with the program. (I've decided they need a Pinterest Lite for those of us watching what we eat, no?) I weighed in yesterday morning and saw a loss of more than three pounds; I decided that having INDEPENDANCE from food addiction, from sugar, from associating food with happiness, was much more important than indulging in some unwise food choices for momentary happiness. Choices that would surely put me further from my goal.

Let me tell you, that kind of independence feels good. In no way was I deprived with our Fourth of July spread. I made DELICIOUS and responsible food choices. I may have gone over my target caloric intake a little, but it was very close and I felt totally under control, not letting food control me for once! Here's what went on:

For dinner:

• A bun-less cheeseburger made with lean beef.
• Sweet potato fries (just potatoes, oil and sea salt) that I counted out to ensure the proper serving size.
• Fruit salad. 
• Veggies, steamed with grape seed oil (which I measured) and sea salt.

I allowed myself a modest ice cream cone for dessert and planned my calories accordingly. This was an un-clean choice, but I felt it was okay because 99% of the day was CLEAN eating and I had one cone, not a humongous sundae with three scoops and twelve toppings.

Seems like a pretty delicious and celebratory feast, eh? So, now that we've celebrated the Independence of our country, here's to independence from food addiction as well. One meal at a time, we can break the cycle. 

Why My Fitness Pal really is your friend...

Tess didn't quite exercise today. So sad, too bad.

I really don't feel like keeping a food journal, you guys. I'd much rather cross my fingers day after day and hope that I'm not overeating. Sadly, as I told you yesterday, that hasn't been working out so well for me lately. I spent a little extra time with MFP tonight (just before starting this post), finishing my food diary for the day and adding some of my favorite recipes to the database so I won't have an excuse to eat with reckless abandon later.

This is what 1oz of hummus
(and 1 cup of cucumber) looks like.
I know you always wanted to know.

While doing so, I realized how important MFP really is, and here's why...

I made a scrumptious jar of overnight oats (complete with a delicious FRESH peach) that will be ready to eat when I wake up tomorrow. While my oats have all "clean" and healthy ingredients, I was kind of surprised when I did the math in MFP. That little jar = 400+ calories. What! I could almost have a McGriddle for that (I know, I know, I could also have clogged arteries, too). All of the little things really do add up and it's super important that we pay attention to them as not to over-eat.  I'm not going to drive myself nuts trying to eat exactly 1,200 calories a day, but I will certainly use that as a baseline and try not to go much over. Just knowing that I'm going to put down 400 calories at breakfast tomorrow morning will allow me to plan my meals accordingly for the rest of the day. Looks like more hummus, cucumber and a piece of fruit for lunch tomorrow. Speaking of that...I also measured out 1 oz of hummus today (as not to over eat there either); Let's just say, I probably usually eat 12 servings a day. MFP is really putting things in perspective for me, and it's only been one day! I'm hoping all this "homework" pays off quickly.

Also...

If you look at my little graphic, above, you'll see a big fat -0- under the exercise column. I know I said  that I was going to start Turbo Fire today. Well, you see, I also said I was going to quit coffee today. Guess which one I did? My word. No coffee = no energy. I had a unsweetened tea mid-day, but that basically just kept my eyes open enough to cook, serve, and clean up dinner and keep the children from tearing the house down for the remainder of the day. Tomorrow, I'm going to try Dandy Blend. It's supposed to be a seamless replacement for coffee. We'll see. I'll report back on how awesome (or not) it is after I try it out.

Cheers, y'all!

I really need to re-take Home Economics...

You guys, I almost had a baking emergency FOR REAL last night. About an hour before company showed up for our son's birthday, I decided to do a baking experiment (you know, what's one more last-minute kitchen mess?). I was trying to re-create this awesome sweet/salty chocolate chip cookie that I had at a coffee house a few nights ago and have been obsessing over since. After I scanned Google for a recipe I thought may work, I ran into my first problem.

I was out of this recipe's "secret" ingredient, corn starch. No worries, right? Tapioca starch has to be the same. Right?! (It's not 1:1, btw, I didn't take the time to read that on the package before using it...)

Next problem, this recipe requires 30 minutes of refrigeration. Usually, ain't nobody (ME) got time for that. I decided to try to do the right thing here and went along with the refrigeration.

Annnnd, then I heard some clanking. From our Kitchen Aid mixer. Maybe I didn't lock the bowl down before turning it on? Oh no, it's better.

A steak knife that I laid atop the bowl fell in, sharp side up, after I turned the mixer on high speed. I see this knife being tossed around the bowl - threatening to fly across the kitchen at every spin of the beater. I get that prickly-heat nervous feeling through my body and the kids start screaming in horror. I was trying to decide how best to quickly intervene while being barrier between the knife and the children and trying not to end up with an ER trip myself. I was scarrrred, you guys.

The knife was removed safely and we went on with life.

I get the cookies in all their un-clean, refrigerated dough glory into the oven and - eight minutes later - they look like COOKIE SOUP on the stinking pan.

WHAT?

I walked away and came back five minutes later. Still soupy. After texting my frustrations to a friend, I notice the oven ISN'T ON, but is still warm from the cake I just took out. Sweet.

I turn the oven on. Ten minutes pass. Now the cookies are (as my dad said), cookie brittle. Ok, ok, I'll write those off to a baking error, let's try the next batch. I phone Willing Cook for sympathy.

You guys. I don't know. They baked, but they also got glued to the pan and a little bit darker than the dark chocolate GHIRADELLI chips I used in them. Yeah, I wasted good chocolate on these suckers.

No less, I scraped what I could off the pan and (using an old trick) consoled myself with the super dark, ugly, chocolate-y, cookie brittle. Sigh.

While my cookie recipe was a total bust, at least no one was injured and the party went on. Maybe that will teach me to make non-clean cookies. Now, about scrubbing those cookie sheets...

But, what about birthday cake?

I was counseling a friend on clean eating yesterday when two very important questions came up.

1. So, can I have birthday cake?
2. What about my family's pasta sauce recipe?

To which, I gave two very important answers. Listen up.

If you choose the clean eating way of life, I think it should be an every day, all day, deal. If you don't commit, you won't see results. You have to be dedicated and driven in order to make consistently good choices. If you half do it, you will probably talk yourself into a vicious cycle of "eating really bad" because you eat really well most of the time. TRUST ME. Because of what I've mentioned above, I allow treat meals; and, I think you should, too.

Here's why.

If you are a hardcore clean eater like myself, at some point you're going to find yourself in a social situation where there's fill in the blank with your guilty food pleasure. For me, that's cake. I have a really hard time passing up a piece of white birthday cake with buttercream frosting. To tell you how much I love cake, I'm the one that asks for the corner piece of a sheet cake (because it has the most icing); or, on a round cake, I request the piece with the biggest icing flower on top - you know, the one that looks like it would make your teeth fall out of your head due to sugar content? Can we say sugar addict? Yes, yes we can. If I skip the cake, I start feeling a little resentful about my "diet." If I feel resentful, I'm likely to feel the need to binge out on other things to make up for it. If I binge out on other things, that doesn't fix the problem and I may just go eat the dang cake anyway. And, if it comes to that, you can bet it will be a generous serving. 

So, just eat the cake. Eat it, enjoy it, only have one piece. Make sense? Okay, let's move on.

My friend's next question was about her family's pasta sauce recipe. Generally speaking, in our house anyway, family recipes are reserved for special occasions. If this is the case in your house, I suggest you leave it alone. No need to have grandma rolling over in her grave, right? If you start wrecking the family recipes, it does something to the nostalgia. I don't know. It may just be me, but I like traditional recipes to stay the way I remember. 

Now, this doesn't give you a license to make your Aunt Trudy's fatty chicken fried steak, taters and gravy, and biscuits every day - or every month even. Save these things for special occasions, friends.  You will enjoy them more this way. Your morale will stay up, and your weight will stay down. 

As far as regular general "treat" meals go, I have one once a week. I don't go nuts; I don't go back for seconds or thirds or fourths; I also *try* to minimize the amount of unclean food I eat. Here's an example, if we have chicken, veggies, and egg noodles - I try to eat a BUNCH of veggies, some chicken, and a modest portion of noodles (knowing those are the most unclean). I also allow myself a soda on those days. I have one, no refills.  So, treat meals are OK, but in moderation! I DO NOT RECOMMEND treating yourself for an entire day, week or month. You will easily slip back in to old habits and become discouraged very quickly. Oh, yeah, and you'll be pulling out your fat jeans again in no time.

So, there's my two cents for the day. Enjoy your cake and meatballs.

I've been spared!

You guys. Even the cleanest of eaters and the most reformed sugar addicts have trouble with Christmasy goodies, right?! Please tell me yes. So far, I've made it through Halloween, Thanksgiving, and the following weeks without gaining weight (and continuing to lose). However, I've been baking for Christmas parties/gifts lately and somewhat losing my mind in the process. Allow me to elaborate.

On Sunday, my mom made some darling sugar cut-out cookies. Of course, I'm lost in the nostalgia - remembering how those were my favorite as a little child. I can remember picking out all of the star cookies, iced in yellow and blue, made by my Uncle Tony and Aunt Diane. They were always my favorite cookie. Fast-forward to Monday. I really wanted some buckeyes - another family favorite. However...the bowl to my stand-mixer was in the dishwasher and I didn't feel like washing it. So, I make no-bakes. I ate four....and ate the remnants stuck to the side of the mixing bowl. Sigh. The next day, I decided to make chocolate dipped pretzel rods as part of my daughter's teacher gift. I've blogged before about what crappy baker I am. So, let's just say there were about half a dozen "test pretzels." What do you do with ugly baked goods, you ask? You eat them before anyone else sees them, OF COURSE! So, after I mindlessly ate the pretzel rods (then ran one of the no-bakes through the melted white chocolate AND ate an additional no-bake AND about four spoonfuls of melted chocolate and a handful of sprinkles), I felt really bad. I immediately tattled on myself to my husband, who hugged me and said I'd be ok. I told you I was a binge-eater, right?! Apparently, old habits die hard. Not that it's a game-changer, but to add to my downward spiral, I ate white rice, (oh, the horror), two days in a row.

I felt sick to my stomach. Pretty defeated. Pretty irritated for eating all that. I really wanted to avoid the scale this morning. I didn't want to see that nasty higher number staring back at me. However, I remembered that that's how I got into this predicament in the first place. So, I stepped on the scale.

-.6. I'm at my lowest weight yet on this journey - down a total of 31ish pounds. 

Seriously? I lost weight after a few days of destructive eating? THANK YOU, LORD!!!! I'm taking this as a second-chance. I've been spared. I'm committing to NO MORE BAKED GOODS until we're actually at a Christmas event. That means so test-bites, no licking beaters, no eating random sprinkles off the counter. After-all, I think holiday weight-gain really comes from leftovers anyway. No one gains 12lbs in a day, but eating that delicious crap day-after-day will certainly do it to you (as it's done to me year after year).

So, I will continue to avoid leftovers and will boycott the baked goods for now. Who's with me?

Fail to plan, plan to...

PS. I didn't make the the dinner above, my mom did.
It's not health food, but It's too pretty not to show.

...drive yourself nuts at dinner time. I know, it's not how the saying usually goes; but, it's the truth, isn't it? Monday comes around every week, there's no getting around it. If I don't have our weekly dinners planned out by the time I go to the grocery on Sunday or Monday, I'm hosed. Here's the deal. When you take three or four small children to the supermarket with you, you lose all ability to think and comprehend information. There's a whole lot of, "mommy, can we get this?" from the kids and plenty of, "what are we here for again?" from me. I end up leaving with enough good food to make one dinner, bananas, and eleventybillion dollars worth of cookies and juice boxes. It never fails. Never. The problems don't stop at the checkout, though. Once dinner time hits on those six nights that I'm now unprepared for, we usually end up eating something quickly with whatever is in the house or we go out. This failure to plan usually also means I'm going to blow my diet (because by the time we all agree on where we're going I'm STARVING). It's kind of like buying something and unnecessarily spending a bunch of money because you haven't done your research to find the best deal.

One way to combat grocery store grief is to make a meal plan ahead of your shopping trip. Now, I'm not the most organized mama on the block, and sometimes I put things away in super unconventional spots, but I know where everything is (except my oldest child's class shirt that went missing the day she needed it, less than a week after we had it; but, that's another blog post all together), but I can make a meal plan! I know some mamas have best-loved recipes that they rotate in throughout the month and then there are some that make something different all the time. I do a little of both. I like to pick a few good standby recipes and then hang out on Pinterest to gather up the rest. I love culinary experiments. Since I get a lot of recipe requests from folks looking to update their menu options, I thought I'd start sharing our weekly meal plan each week like some other bloggers do. If you like it, let me know! I'll keep posting it. It will give me accountability to get this plan done in a timely manner and will hopefully give you some new dinner ideas as well.

Check out this week's!

Monday - Taco Bake
Tuesday - Dinner Out with Family
Wednesday - Chicken Cacciatore
Thursday - Pasta with Meat Sauce
Friday - Dinner Out
Saturday - Crockpot BBQ Chicken and Carrot Chips
Sunday - Dinner Out with Family

Hope this post gave you some grocery run relief this week! :)

It's that time again...

To get serious about losing baby weight. I say "baby weight" like my little babies (who averaged about 7.5 lbs each) caused me to gain 40-60lbs a pop. They totally didn't. My over-indulgent, "I'm pregnant, I eat what I want" attitude did it. My anxiety, that also added a pound or fifty. And, while all those cupcakes, milkshakes, french fries, candy bars, potpies, and cans of ravioli were the best thing ever while I was preggo, now I have to work it off. The truth is, I lost the weight that came with all my babies, now I just have to work on that extra donut and milkshake weight and some pre-baby junk food weight. I know you know what I'm talking about.

So, I know you want to know the damage. I have 50lbs (or so) to lose. Now, the thought of losing that much weight (with four kids) was a little overwhelming to me at first, too. I mean, our schedule here changes every day (which means I can't really have a workout schedule either). I also haven't left the baby yet, and I don't want to. SO, that means I can't go to the gym. It's has also been hot outside for the last couple months in addition to the fact that I'm not a huge fan of outside; so, it's not like I'm super motivated to go walking/running and I can't do that in my house. I spent the last few weeks stacking up all of these can't statements and they started turning ugly; they started turning into a big fat don't want to.

I devised an alternative plan (that should work for anyone should you be in the same situation) and I started it. Because others have told me it's been helpful in the past, I'm going to be blogging my journey to be fit, not fat. It will also give me some check-in accountability to keep going. I have worked off all my baby weight in the past, so I *think* I know what I'm doing. If you have tips though, tell me! I love new ideas.

1. I put my maternity clothes away. You know; If I can't reach for my clothes that expand at the waist, I have a little more motivation to lose weight. No one likes ill fitting clothes. No one.
2. I hooked up my HR Monitor/Calorie Counter. By tracking my calories burned, I can regulate the intensity of my workout based on how many calories I want to be burning. It makes for a  much more effective workout. Everyone has questions about this super awesome device. Here's a whole blog post about it to answer your questions. If you have more, just ask!
3. I dusted off some DVDs. Just because I can't go to the gym, that's not an excuse to skip working out. It's ALSO not an excuse to do workouts that I hate (like sit-ups and crunches, etc). I LOVE the Beach Body DVDs (Turbo Fire and Turbo Jam). They are just like the classes I'd do at the gym, if I were there. My best advice to you, find what you like. If you love kickboxing, yoga, pilates, zumba or anything else, there's likely a DVD for it. Or, if you like running the track, go run outside! The weather is great most places this time of year. Check your local library, too. I hear they usually have lots of great fitness DVDs.
4. Finding a workout buddy. Ok, I know what you're thinking. "If I can't find time, myself, to workout, how will I ever sync up with someone else's schedule, too?" You don't have to workout together, just exchange texts, emails, Facebook wall posts, tweets, or whatever to stay motivated and accountable. I know you can do that! I have a couple of these peeps to keep me in line and I'm SUPER thankful. 
5. Taking some before photos. I don't go through the trouble of measuring myself and stepping on the scale at every second because, quite frankly, I don't care about numbers. I want my clothes to fit and I want to move comfortably. I want to see the difference. So, I take before and after photos (one of my favorite Pinterest searches, too, btw). I'll post them here, on a new page within the blog, once I've made some progress.
6. Changing my diet...I was looking through the 2,800 photos on my phone earlier today. I would say a good 2,600 of those are of food. Cake, cookies, snacks, drinks, fries, candy, etc. I'm hoping that the upcoming food pics will be of things like: fresh fruit and veggies, peanut butter, small pieces of dark chocolate, bubbly seltzer water, chicken, salad, eggs, and other delicious good-for-you treats. Now, don't do anything extreme. Don't pickup a yo-yo diet. Figure out how many calories you need to safely lose weight, and eat that many each day (by way of healthy foods that you enjoy).
7. You know that ________ (treadmill, elliptical, bike, weight set, etc.) that you had to have? Go use it. It's not doing you any good just collecting dust. Make time to go use it. That's what I'm doing with the elliptical machine. Find about 30 minutes of your favorite music and make a playlist; once you listen to all of it one time through, your workout will be over. You're welcome.
8. Be as consistent as possible. Maybe, like me, you can't workout at exactly 7am everyday and you can't eat like a bunny everyday either (because sometimes, picking up a bucket of chicken is just what happens to busy families). Don't sweat the minor misses, focus on the big picture. Keep  your focus every day; make goals and try your best to keep them. Don't be hard on yourself, but don't let one day off your diet turn into weeks, either. 

That's all I have for right now! I promise this blog isn't turning into a a sob-fest about all the weight I have to lose, but I'm hoping that these weight-loss journey stories will be helpful to you. My posts about faith, family, and other stuff will all still be here. After-all, this blog isn't about me. It's about everything in this precious world and how it all works together, by grace. Fatness and fitness included. God has a reason for all of it. :)

For once, I went on vacation and did not come back fatter. Sweet!

When I think of vacation, the first thing that comes to mind is "what are we going to eat when we get there?" "...and on the way...and on the way back..." I just love trying restaurants and food that we aren't accustomed to here at home. And, because I have convinced myself that calories don't count while you're on vacation...or something like that, I might take that as an opportunity binge eat (a little).

So, when we packed up an drove to the Sunshine State a week or so ago, I couldn't help thinking about what kind of fatty delicious carb-loaded things I could scarf down while we were there. And, guess what happened?! One night during the trip we stopped for ice cream. Yeah. That was it. That topped our bad food-ness for the trip. We loved everything we had to eat while we were away - it was fresh, healthy, and delicious and I didn't miss the fatty fatness of what I'd usually pick one iota. Best yet - it inspired us to buy much better-for-you things at the grocery this week. Now, if you need a little healthy eating inspiration of your own, I'll share some of my favorites with you ~

1. This tops the list - Irish Cheddar Cheese. If I had to pick one thing and one thing only I could eat for the rest of my life, this very well may be it. It's a super sharp cheese that tastes like a really good Romano or Parmesan. 
2. Turkey Salad - I bought a whole turkey roasted breast this week instead of lunch meat. We cut it up and used it for sandwiches and a little turkey salad. I put the turkey salad and some raisins on a bed of spinach one day for lunch - add in a few cucumber slices on the side, lite raspberry vinaigrette and it was amazing!!
3. Tabbouleh - Yes. I love this stuff! I have loved it for a while, I just forget about it. I had turkey, tabbouleh on half a pita for lunch a couple days this week. A side of fresh strawberries and a slice of Irish Cheddar completed the meal for fine lunching at home.
4. Pork Roast and Green Beans - I love a good seasoned pork roast. It's so easy to prepare in the crock-pot, but I made mine in the oven this time. We had lemon pepper green beans and rice on the side. The rice *should* have been brown rice, but white rice was the first one I saw in the pantry so that's what we had. 
5. Spinach Berry Salad - This is by far my favorite salad. Baby Spinach, Sliced and Peeled Cucumber, Feta (or another allowable cheese if you're expecting), Dried Cranberries, and Raspberry Vinaigrette make an AWESOME salad. Add some ham or turkey on top for added protein and substance. Walnuts are good to add, too, if you don't care about adding a few more calories.
6. Hardboiled Eggs - Forgot about this delicious snack! Lots of protein and they fill you up much better than a sugary granola bar (my other go-to snack)
7. Sprouted Grain Toast (available in a variety of varieties) with coconut oil. Good breakfast starter. Follow it with some eggs and you'll be good to go!
8. Almonds - Great snack, many varieties, lots of protein.
9. Chicken Stir-fry - For convenience you can buy stir-fry veggies frozen and sauté them with your cooking oil of choice and soy sauce. The veggies shown above were fresh and packaged together at my grocery - I found it cheaper than buying each thing individually. Wok up your favorite stir fry meat and then toss it all together once it's well cooked. Delicious! Serve with rice on the side if you choose. 
10. Roasted Veggies - Toss with olive oil, salt, season, throw in a baking dish and cook at 425 for about 20 minutes. Try carrots, zucchini, mushrooms, onion, and red potato together. Delicious combo!

I think that's it for now. It feels so great to eat healthy! Let me know about your favorite yummy finds from this week. I'd love to try some new recipes. :) 

Up 10lbs!

I'm one of those people that hops on the scale at the doctors office and closes her eyes before the number pops up. I've been dieting since I was a young teenager and to see my weight go up - often times by drastic amounts - makes me cringe. So, I take the "if I don't see it, it's not really happening" approach. I realized, though, at my last Dr. appointment that that's one of the ways food/weight loss has been a stronghold in my life. When I weighed-in at my last appointment, I was happy to see I've only gained 10lbs so far this pregnancy. I'm the lady that's gained 10lbs or more in a month in past pregnancies. My goal, this time, is to gain a normal amount of weight (25-30lbs) not the 60-70 I usually gain.

Any guesses why I would gain that much? Noooooo...not because of a medical condition. Not because I was "eating for two." It was because I was feeding my mis-trusting heart - nothing to do with the baby or my own nutritional needs.  I used my 300 extra pregnancy calories a day as an excuse to feed my anxiety about all of the "what ifs" in pregnancy. Obviously, this isn't a very effective anti-anxiety tool because my 300 calories turned into 900, 1,200, I don't know, 5,000 or more a day? I really needed to try something else. 

This time, I am trying something else. I'm spending a lot more time with my Bible and in prayer than with my favorite flavor of ice cream or brand of cookies. I have to say, it's working. 10lbs at nearly halfway through my pregnancy is pretty big for me. I still weigh way more than I need to due to past anxiety eating, but we'll deal with that after the baby is born. I'm just thankful to be able to trust in the Lord and not in my 44oz cup of pop.

Thank you, Lord, for getting me through every single day!