Have you ever heard that with each child you have the weight is harder to lose? I have and I never understood it. Well I'm here to tell you it's true. But it's not because your body can't lose weight. It's because you don't feel like doing anything about it. My day is split between making a toddler and newborn happy and any time left over is devoted to Real Housewives or some other junk TV that allows my brain to turn off.
I need to make some changes.
With my first baby, I gained A LOT of weight. Around 70 pounds. That's outrageous, I know. It wasn't all french fries and Coke, I had to stop taking some meds and that contributed to the gain. I lost all but 25 pounds of that weight. And then I got pregnant again and gained about 35 pounds. What did all that get me? Two healthy babies and this:
(Talk about putting it all out there... I can't believe I'm actually putting before pictures on the internet.)
I have 50 pounds to lose, 60 if I want to be back in my wedding dress. That's a lot. And I'm ready to do something about it. In the past I've lost weight following Weight Watchers and that's what I'll be doing this go round. I signed up today and weighed in. I'm interested to see how the weight loss goes this time because I'm nursing and Weight Watchers gives a million points to nursing moms. For exercise, I'm going to do my best to take the girls on a long walk every day. This may take a lot of bribery to get my toddler in the stroller, but I'm going to do my best.
This is going to be hard. My husband doesn't get home until October 29th, so I'm by myself. It's so easy to order pizza or hit the drive-thru and it's pretty difficult to go grocery shopping. That is one hefty double-edged sword. But on the flip side, when we do go grocery shopping I am definitely going to be counting that as activity points! =)
That brings me to this question... What are some of your healthy and quick dinner ideas that feed 1.5 people? I'm hoping that finding some new recipes will keep me excited and keep dinners interesting.
This is the start of quite the journey and I'm excited to share it with you! Wish me luck!
It would help if you would eat vegetables... Just sayin. Steamed veggies are really very tasty. And you can eat and eat them as much as you want!
ReplyDeleteGo to the grocery store instead of the drive-thru --- you can do it! One thing that helped me a LOT was a baby front pack (Snugli.) I'd put my newborn in it, belt my pre-schooler into the grocery cart (still had both hands free, thanks to the front pack) and away we'd go! The bonus: with that extra dozen or so pounds strapped to the front of my chest, just strolling the aisles of Publix, coupled with squatting to get products on lower shelves, doubled as a 'mini-workout'!!! Used it for trips to the park, or walks around the neighborhood, too. My older daughter wasn't fond of strollers, either -- so this allowed us to "hold hands" when we walked. Double bonding time, there! When the baby got a little older, my husband bought me a bicycle with a baby seat on the back and dual helmets. Probably one of the most thoughtful gifts he ever gave me. It's been 18 years, but I still use the bike! :)
ReplyDeleteHere's some ideas...
ReplyDelete5am - 4 scrambled egg whites (I use the liquid because its easy) with spinach in a Joseph's whole wheat & flax seed tortilla
8am - single serving of plain fat free greek yogurt w/ about 10 raspberries or maybe some blueberries
1:30pm - 6 ounces chicken breast & 1 minute cup brown rice
4:30pm - weight watchers low fat string cheese & apple w/ 2 tablespoons peanut butter
7:30pm - turkey meatloaf & spaghetti squash (but i use 99% fat free turkey. its wayyyyyy less fat!!)
5am - 4 scrambled egg whites (I use the liquid because its easy) with spinach in a Joseph's whole wheat & flax seed tortilla
8am - pure protein bar
11am - chocolate, peanut butter & banana smoothie (1 scoop chocolate protein powder, 2 tablespoons all natural pb, 1 banana, ice obviously, 1 cup + unsweetened almond milk)
2pm - 4 turkey breast slices, 1 tablespoon mustard, 1 tomato slice, 1 low fat provolone slice & 4 ounces sweet potato
5pm - 1/2 cup cottage cheese, 3 ounces or 1/2 cup pineapple
8pm - walnut & coconut encrusted chicken with steamed spinach
5am - 4 scrambled egg whites with spinach in a Joseph's whole wheat & flax seed tortilla
8am - single serving of plain fat free greek yogurt w/ about 10 raspberries or maybe some blueberries
11am - protein powder & milk
1:30pm - 6 ounces chicken breast & 4 ounces broccoli w/ black pepper sprinkled (NO SALT!)
4:30pm - mocha chocolate smoothie
7:30pm - fish tacos - 6 ounces mahi mahi, fresh salsa (chopped tomato, onion, cilantro & hint of garlic powder), 2 ounces-ish of black beans on joseph's whole wheat flax seed wraps (google them, they are life changing!!)
my website has a ton of those recipes
Oh. I forgot. My sweet tooth fixes when I was losing weight before: honey nut chex and rice cakes. You may scoff, but rice cakes are the BEST! They come in chocolate, caramel, vanilla creme brulee, blackberry pomegranate... Good stuff.
ReplyDeletehi ashlee. you were in college republicans with me. i wanted to chime in and say i lost 10 pounds eating like this:
ReplyDeleteBreakfast: Swiss Muslii (it's like a whole grain cereal) with 2% milk. For Drink: coffee!
Lunch: whole grain sandwhich with ham, cheese, lettuce
Snack: a kiwi, mango, and banana (makes me full)
Dinner: a salad or some popcorn
I think it's all the whole grains, but I get full quickly and loose weight without exercise:)
PS - the bread I use is Ezekial Bread, found in your publix freezer section.
ReplyDelete