Okay, odd title for a post, but in truth, I LOVE this recipe so much I could write a song in Italian about it. I am so excited to share it with you here.
The original recipe is perfect as it is and you can find that here. I was nervous at the beginning when I saw this recipe because I saw WW and immediately assumed some of those calorie-cutting corners were going to mean a whole lot of bad stuff. Wrong. This is actually a pretty clean recipe and it stands really well on its own two feet just as written.
However, I can't make any recipe without adding my own twists, so though I use the LaaLoosh recipe as a base, the end result is slightly different. Feel free to do the same (or do this with an eggplant for my veggiesaurus readers!) or to stick to the original recipe. Either way, you really can't go wrong.
Ingredients
2 large egg whites, lightly beaten
1 Tbsp of your favorite Italian seasoning for the breading and 2-3 additional Tbsps for the sauce
1 lb. of uncooked, boneless, skinless chicken breasts (thinly pounded)
1/2 tsp of kosher salt (or to taste)
1 tsp of extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup of dried Italian bread crumbs
2-15 oz cans of tomato sauce
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1 Tbsp shredded Parmesan cheese Directions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Spray an 8-inch square baking dish with your favorite cooking spray (I've seen some recipes on Pinterest for making your own!)
- Place the egg whites in a small, shallow bowl. In another shallow bowl, mix the bread crumbs and Italian seasoning. Yes, I realize that you're adding Italian seasoning to bread crumbs that already have Italian seasoning. Trust me. It makes the dish explode with flavor and I've never been disappointed by my decision to do this.
- Place the chicken in egg whites and coat each breast evenly. Then, put the chicken in the bread crumb mix and evenly coat. You won't use anywhere near all of the bread crumbs called for in the recipe. Just discard the extra when you're through.
Try to ignore that these pictures are out of order.
- Meanwhile, spritz a large skillet with cooking oil (skip this step if you'd like) and add the extra virgin olive oil. Heat over medium-high heat.
EVOO in a hot skillet? Best smell EVER.
- When heated, put the chicken in the skillet and cook until lightly browned and no longer pink in the center. The original recipe says that it will take about 4 minutes per side. It has always taken my chicken longer to cook. I don't know if it is the pan, or that I'm turning my chicken too often. Or, if I just don't pound the chicken thinly enough. Either way, just cook your chicken until it isn't pink.
However, if your chicken looks like the top one on the right, you may have overdone it a little. It will still taste great.
- While your chicken is cooking, its time to add a little NMTOB flair to this dish. You'll notice I have DOUBLED the amount of tomato sauce from the original recipe. That's because I love a nice, saucy chicken parm, but also because I like to spoon a little of the sauce over the pasta we always serve with this. If you think you'd like less sauce, just do one can. But still, don't skip this step (and just adjust the seasonings accordingly.)
- Pour both cans of tomato sauce into a bowl. Add 2-3 tbsps of Italian seasoning and 1/2 tsp of kosher salt (again, you can season all of this to taste, so just adjust according to how you like it.) Mix that stuff around. Pour approximately 1/2 cup of the sauce mixture into the bottom of your prepared square baking dish. (Usually I do a little bit more than 1/2 cup...just eyeball it.)
I could eat it with a spoon.
- Place cooked chicken breasts on top of the sauce and distribute some of the remaining sauce over the chicken. (You don't have to go nuts here. You won't use all of what you have left in the bowl. I just usually make sure each chicken breast is covered with a healthy dose of tomato sauce.)
Chicken before top sauce has been added.
- Cover with mozzarella, followed by a nice sprinkle of the Parmesan. (If I'm being honest, I do more like 3/4 cup of mozzarella over everything and then do a pinch of shredded Parmesan sprinkled over each chicken breast.)
Looking great and ready for the oven.
- Bake until chicken is cooked throughly and then cheese begins to bubble a bit (approximately 25 minutes.)
Yeah, buddy.
We always serve this dish with a side of whole wheat penne and our favorite pesto sauce. Pesto sauce combined with marinara is one of my faves, so like I said, I always spoon some of the extra sauce over my pasta. It also tastes great with a nice green vegetable on the side (we did steamed broccoli this time, it's also great with peas, or a green salad.)
You will not believe the flavor and you will fight your spouse for the leftovers. (Okay, maybe that's just me.) It makes the best next-day meal. I also think this would be a great meal to serve to company to wow them with your cooking acumen. (Though, it truly couldn't be a simpler recipe!)
The LaaLoosh recipe says this is a 5 WW Point recipe per serving (I think that's old Points though) and I've calculated it at just over 300 calories per serving (with my changes). Not bad for how yummy it tastes and such low calories means you can have extra pasta...or seconds...
October is here! My favorite month of the year. Such a favorite that I chose it for my own wedding (FIVE years on Friday! Where does the time go?) This past weekend we were out of town for my husband's sister's wedding, so I had no time for grocery shopping or meal planning. And when I went to my "On Deck" list it only had one item on it. Whoops. So, needless to say, I had to spend several hours both on the drive back and once we got home building a list for this month's meals. I was feeling quite uninspired, to tell the truth. Maybe because I feel like every October meal must consist of some combination of pumpkin/apple/cinnamon with a side of chili?
You'll notice a few repeats from last month which is simply because we definitely did some switching around with the meal plan for September. That's okay. Flexibility is an important part of meal planning and I feel as though we did do a nice job of shifting when it became necessary. (There's also repeats because some of the recipes are just THAT good.)
So, here you go! And please, whether you do it here in the comment section, on Facebook, or on your own blog, PLEASE share recipes and meal plans with me! I am ALWAYS looking for suggestions and inspiration. And, remember to keep checking back as I will be reviewing new recipes we try throughout the month (the ones you see with a "*") and sharing some of our own NMOTB family favorites! You should also follow my boards on Pinterest. Just because.
{October 2013}
Tuesday, October 1 - Hamburger Casserole; (A simple family recipe that involves cream of celery soup, pasta, ground beef, and cheese - I'll share the recipe here later this month. It's really no big thing, but it is definitely go-to comfort food mostly because it reminds me of home); Bagged Salad
Wednesday, October 2 - Salsa Chicken; Cilantro Lime Brown Rice; Corn (I know there are a lot of similar recipes for this crock pot recipe floating around on Pinterest, but I promise, this is the good one! Our entire family loves this. We usually serve it in whole wheat tortillas.)
Chicken Parmigiana
Thursday, October 3 - Chicken Parmigiana; Pesto Penne; Peas (Okay, this is actually the best recipe on. the. planet. I do a few things differently and I'll be sharing them later on, so definitely check back. You will not believe how good this is.)
Friday, October 4 - Our FIFTH Anniversary. I don't know what the hubs has planned, but mama's not cooking!
Sunday, October 6 - Italian Roast; (This recipe will die with me. Seriously. I've had monetary offers for it. Nope. My mom shared it with one person one time and it practically went viral. The good news is, we are always happy to have guests over to enjoy it!) Fettucini Alfredo
Wednesday, October 9 - Crock Pot Chicken Stroganoff; (Trust me when I say that this recipe is delish even though it looks like it is gross and basically goes against every warning I've ever given about processed foods); Whole Wheat Noodles; Roasted Broccoli
Thursday, October 10 - Stuffed Peppers; Bread (I will be sharing my take on this popular recipe later on in the month. Definitely a favorite around here.)
Sunday, October 13 - Beef Vegetable Soup; (I think we are going to try out my husband's mom's recipe! It's one of his favorites and sounds perfect for a delicious fall meal.) Bread
Monday, October 14 - Lemon Chicken Cous Cous; (My own recipe. I'm so proud of it! Check back because I will definitely share it here!) Steamed Asparagus; Bagged Salad
Tuesday, October 15 - Chicken Crescents; Brown Rice; Steamed Broccoli
Friday, October 18 - Beef Tacos; Rice (Some day I plan to try making my own taco seasoning, so if I do that this month, I will try it out here. If I don't, no judgment please. I kind of sort of love that sodium-filled goodness.)
Saturday, October 19 - Pork Tenderloin with Carrots & Potatoes (A long time ago we used to make something like this in the crock pot and it was perfect for taking to someone who had just had a baby or who needed a warm meal following a surgery/illness. Unfortunately, neither of us can remember exactly what we did. So, we're going to try to figure it out and if we do, I will definitely share it here!)
Sunday, October 20 - Braised Short Ribs; (We did not have these last month and it's one of my favorite things we have, so of course it went back on the menu!); Mashed Potatoes, Green Beans
Wednesday, October 23 - Chicken Caesar Salad; Bread
Thursday, October 24 - Shrimp Scampi with Linguine; Salad (Still scouting recipes for this one. Any ideas?)
Friday, October 25 - Homemade Pizza; Salad
Saturday, October 26 - Panko Parmesan Chicken*; Carrots (I got the recipe on the back of a box of Italian Panko, so I'll share how it goes on the blog later this month! I'll probably will do some cous cous, rice, or pasta of sorts with this, but I haven't really figured it out yet.) {Click here for recipe review.}
Sunday, October 27 - Spaghetti; Salad (This is my husband's grandmother's recipe and she passed it down to his mother, so he grew up having it about once a week. The way this sauce smells when you walk into a house is basically the reason I married my husband. When he finally taught me how to make it, I knew he wanted to marry me! But, obviously - we don't hand this recipe out. That's a big no no.)
Monday, October 28 - Easy Lemon Chicken* (Still trying to figure out some sides.)
Wednesday, October 30 - Pizzadillas (Didn't get to this one last month, so we stuck it back on there!)
Thursday, October 31 - Chili (This is a long standing tradition for our Halloween night meal. It's so easy to grab a bowl in between trick or treaters and taking out The Incredible Hulk to do his rounds. Finish it off with a pumpkin beer and you have yourself a Happy Halloween!)
Can anyone else believe it is September already? I thought my summer break just started!
The great thing about September is that you can serve up some delicious meals in the crock pot which give you a nice taste of fall, but it is still warm enough outside that you're able to cook on the grill. My husband is our grill chef, so I'm usually okay with sending him outside no matter what it is like outside, but you may not be so lucky! :)
I've been asked by countless friends to share my meal plans for every month. Please keep in mind that although I do attempt to make our meal lists balanced and budgeted, that there will always be tweaks along the way both for my family and for yours to make it successful. I'm sharing recipes (both old and new) that I'm using this month and I will make sure to do a round-up at the end of the month on how I felt some of the new recipes turned out. I'll also do at least one tutorial a month on a recipe that we've developed ourselves (or one that we have tweaked from a Pinterest recipe to fit our needs.)
Keep in mind that some days I won't be cooking, so there I've usually just listed "No meal plan." We end up eating leftovers, making sandwiches, grabbing a bite out to eat, or eating at someone else's house on those nights. If we bring a dish to someone's house, I will share that recipe as well. You can never have enough of those, can you?
So, here is September. Click on the links for recipes (or pictures where appropriate!) If a recipe isn't available, I will likely be sharing it on the blog soon. Please let me know if you see any broken/dead links. I will do my best to fix them ASAP. New recipes are denoted with a star (*)!
{September 2013}
Sunday, September 1 - Hamburger Soup; French Bread with Honey Butter
Tuesday, September 3 - Homemade Pizza (We just make crust using the recipe on the back of the pizza yeast package, throw together a quick marinara, and top it with our favorites. Don't be afraid to just go Boboli - love that stuff - or make one of those awesome looking Cauliflower Pizza Crusts. It's all yummy in the world of pizza.
Thursday, September 5 - Broccoli Cheddar Soup*, Fresh Bread (probably grab some from Bread Co.), Bagged Salad (So easy, our favorite brand is the Marketside from Walmart - what's yours?) {Click here for recipe review.}
Friday, September 6 - Cilantro Lime Pasta Salad with Chicken* (The key to this being a "Friday meal" is that it's one simple dish. You don't want a meal with a ton of components to make clean up in the kitchen easy so you can start the weekend out right! We also love to utilize our grill as much as possible to relegate the mess to out of the house!) {Click here for recipe review.}
Saturday, September 7 - Bruschetta Chicken Bake, Bagged Salad (Not going to lie, there is a lot of processed food in this recipe, but it is a family favorite and is SO easy. We only have this a few times a year to avoid the high sodium. Then again, I did just wax poetic on the concept of Tator Tots.)
Sunday, September 8 - Braised Short Ribs, Mashed Potatoes, Roasted Broccoli (The short ribs recipe is actually my husband's and even I don't know how to make it entirely. I asked him to share it with me and he literally said, "Wait, why?" I said, "Oh, I want to post the recipe for my blog readers" and he said, "Ohhhh, no no no no. No. Way." So, I linked to one I found on Pinterest and hope that some day I will be lucky enough to know how to make the blessed recipe. Good thing he still lets me eat it! It really is the best thing ever.)
Friday, September 13 - Sloppy Joes, Chips, Cole Slaw (Our Sloppy Joes are a family recipe, so we do not make them from a can. I'll share it here if I can get permission. You can make your family's favorite recipe.)
Saturday, September 14 - Game Night (No meal plan.)
Tuesday, September 17 - Chicken Quesadillas, Amanda's Famous Guacamole (I couldn't share this recipe even if I wanted to. I know it like the back of my hand and base my measurements on a feeling more than an actual recipe. It's intense.), Cilantro Lime Brown Rice
Thursday, September 19 - Shake N Bake Pork Chops, Roasted Acorn Squash (Recipe to come!), Bagged Salad
Friday, September 20 - Hamburgers (In order to share this recipe, I would have to also share my husband who is a wizard on the grill and you can't have him because he makes the best hamburgers. in. the. world!) Potato Wedges, Cole Slaw
When we moved here, I started planning out a monthly menu for our dinners. Everyone who has ever attempted to do this knows that it must be done with a modicum of flexibility as you never know when you won't feel like cooking, or you'll forget a vital ingredient, or when you'll be invited over for dinner instead. But, having a plan helps.
You can look on Pinterest for lots of ideas for meal plans and budget friendly ideas. For me, having a plan to begin with can (and will) shrink your grocery bill and help you utilize the items sitting around in your cabinet more than ever.
I'll be sharing my meal plans starting in September, take what you need from it. Leave the rest. Your family not big on pork? Don't eat it. Need to make something low carb, gluten free, or vegetarian? Go for it. (Unfortunately, you can't ask my advice on any of that - I like my meat mostly wrapped in carbs and gluten.) Have an even better recipe that you want to swap in there? Please do...and share! Happy to hear your meal and recipe ideas.
Here's what I do.
1. I always start with a list of meals that we enjoy or haven't had in awhile. I call this our "On Deck" list and it sits in a central place on the counter for anyone to add to as necessary.
2. When I'm ready to make my initial plan, I grab a sheet of paper and write out all of the days that we will need dinners for the month. Given travel schedules, social engagements, and get togethers we are invited to, I usually don't have to plan dinner for every single night of the month. When I share my meal plans, you'll notice some holes. That's because we aren't eating dinner at home. (We also plan on eating out at least once a month - we are trying to eat at a different restaurant in town every time so that we get to know our favorite local spots - but I don't always list a specific night that this will happen.)
3. I also take note of the specific day of the week some meals are being planned. On Wednesdays, I try to do something in the crock pot because I have choir practice. On Fridays, we try to make meals with little to no clean up in the kitchen so we can enjoy our night. (This is a popular take out night for us. I'm still learning what exactly constitutes a "Friday Night Meal" - I'm sure I'll get it.) Sundays we eat a bit of a heavier meal because we usually have more time for cooking and clean up - so a meal with more components is always possible.
4. Once I have a good list of meals, I just start filling in the blanks. I try to make one day a week meat free. This is new to us so a lot of times we do end up having fish instead of being totally vegetarian. I don't really have any reason for doing this other than that it makes me think of new meals, come up with creative ideas to balance our nutrition, and increase our produce intake. We're Catholic so this is a practice that isn't necessarily new to us. Take it or leave it.
5. I put all of this on a dry erase calendar (ultimate flexibility!) and try plan things in such a way that we end up with a nice variety. Not too many Italian meals at once or too much red meat in one week. I also try to spread out meals cooked in the slow cooker so that I have time to let it soak after we use it. (Anyone else HATE cleaning their crock pot? I need to invest in those liners!)
6. I make my grocery lists one week at a time and usually do all of my shopping on Saturday mornings. If I need some meat from the butcher or fresh produce, I will sometimes purchase things on my way home from work to cook them the evening of the meal. Otherwise it is always my goal to not have to go back to the store more than once. (Every time I enter the grocery store, you can almost always guarantee I will buy more than what is on my list. Better to keep it to just one day.)
7. I also make my grocery list while looking at all of the things I have in my pantry/refrigerator/spice cabinet. Eventually I'd also love to plan stuff around what we have in a produce delivery, what we find at the farmer's market, or what we grow in our own garden. (This will likely happen next year when I actually have time to plan a garden.) All of this helps keep me under budget so I don't overbuy things.
8. We all eat lunches on our own. TIH eats at school and both my husband and I eat at work. I can usually be counted on for bringing some sort of leftovers at least once a week, but for the most part I basically brown bag it. I do not plan those meals.
9. The same goes for breakfast. Sometimes on weekends, my husband will cook up a big breakfast and we'll talk about that ahead of time so that I can get the necessary accouterments, otherwise we are all pretty content with bowls of cereal, breakfast smoothies, or oatmeal. And coffee. Of course, coffee.
10. I do not coupon. When I tried to do it, I spent way more money than I ever saved by buying things we didn't need, didn't use, or already had. (The exception is for toiletries. I don't have to worry about those going bad before we need them.) If you have the patience for couponing - go you. This will make meal planning a little bit less flexible, but will work all the same. In case you were wondering, I say "koo-pon" rather than "q-pon." Both pronunciations are listed in the dictionary - so we all win. If you're good at looking for meat/produce sales at your local grocer that will work wonders for you as well. Fortunately, everyone says "sale" the same way.
Finally, be flexible. I planned a full meal around some stuff I saw in the store only to find they discontinued one of the key components. Because I wasn't flexible, I literally stood in the store for 15 minutes until I finally picked up a frozen pizza. Have a back up plan or two in place. You can also move meals around in the month if necessary. When we have to cancel a meal because we get invited out last minute, I'll use those ingredients for a similar meal later in the week or in place of another meal. More flexibility. Stay tuned in September when I share our meal plan as well as some new recipes I plan to try. I promise to come back with full reviews on how they worked out for us. I'd love to hear what you're all doing for your meals and meal planning. I would love to recipe swap!
This post, like many recently, has very little to do with being a New Mom as far as parenting goes, but has a whole lot to do with something that many New Moms struggle with - in fact it's something that I've been dealing with since long before I found out I was pregnant, but definitely had to come to terms with it in the two years following my son's birth.
I'm talking about weight loss.
I've written about my struggles with weight here a lot. Often with a humorous, que sera, sera attitude. However, it was in my most popular post to date in which I finally divulged my battle with losing baby weight (plus the extra weight I've carried pretty much since my senior year of high school.) I'm really excited to reveal something I've been working pretty hard on for a little over a year.
These pants were the first pair of pants I bought where "my size" had completely stopped fitting and I needed to go up to the next size - one I had never worn before. Though I don't know my weight at the time, I am sure it was the heaviest I had ever been.
That's the after. I don't have a whole lot of "Before" photos. That's mostly because I was (wisely) avoiding cameras for a good portion of time. However, here's a smattering of pictures I am not proud to say are pretty accurate representations of what I looked like before. I've even seen some pictures which were taken around the beginning of my attempt to lose weight and those photos are pretty shameful as well.
Top row: April 2011 & June 2011
Bottom row: October 2011 & Easter 2012 (40 days after I started trying to lose weight)
In February of 2012, I stood on my scale and saw a number I thought had to be a mistake. It was actually only 24 pounds less than what I weighed the day I gave birth to TIH (and I gained 50 pounds with that pregnancy and got pregnant when I was already 15-20 pounds overweight.)
Today, I stood on the scale and have lost 50 pounds since that day in February.
I am happier than I have ever been in my life with how I look and actually am wearing sizes in clothes I'm not even positive I fit in when I was in high school.
At the beginning of this year, I joined a group of women for a Biggest Loser competition organized by a good friend on Facebook. I knew I couldn't win the competition because I didn't have much to lose. However, this competition was largely part of the reason I finally reached my goal. Those women kept me motivated, had some great ideas, encouraged me when I had set backs and...well, I'll let the results speak for themselves:
I lost 11 pounds during this competition which I was actually a little disappointed by. However, after seeing these pictures I realized what a difference that little bit of weight made.
Whenever I tell people about my weight loss, they inevitably want to know every detail of how I was able to lose weight and keep it off. I wish that was an easy answer. Unfortunately, I can't say for certain why it worked this time. Plus, I'm not a doctor, dietician, or personal trainer so it's pretty much any advice I'd give you based on my experience has no real backing other than pure dumb luck. I would love to open up this blog to people (especially mothers) out there that are struggling with losing some extra pounds and let you know how or why I've been successful, but frankly I haven't the faintest idea where to begin. If you have questions for me, please feel free to leave comments or send me an email, but I'll try to start somewhere.
So, here's my top 5 pieces of advice for weight loss:
1. Download the Lose It! App for your smartphone. It's free. Free is the first thing I needed for weight loss this time around because I started this journey while we were trying to sell our house and had no idea what kind of financial situation it would leave for us to deal with. On the app, you can track calories, nutrients, and exercise. You can even connect with your friends or a trainer if you need someone to help keep you accountable. I know for some people having a financial investment in it helps to keep them accountable, but for me that wasn't really an option. You have to weigh yourself every day so sometimes you see numbers that are really discouraging, but at the end of your journey, you'll get to see this lovely downward-trending line on a graph that will make your heart explode with happiness. (Also, Lose It! isn't paying me for this blog, but it sure would be nice if they did. I need new clothes. Seriously.)
2. Instead of counting your calories, make your calories count. I've realized I like to spend my calories the same way I like to spend my money. Sure, I'm thrifty and I know a great way to make a dollar stretch. You'll always find me checking out the clearance racks at any store. However, I'd much rather spend the extra dough on a pair of pants that will last me through a few seasons over a pair that's not going to last through one wash cycle. The same goes for my diet. In years past, I was an avid user of the 100-calorie snack packs and a glutton for any sort of diet food. And yet, 30 minutes after I'd indulged in those things, I'd feel ravenous again. Remember that a calorie is a unit for measuring ENERGY which means you have to choose foods packed with the sort of calories that won't allow you to burn all of that energy too quickly. This time around I learned to snack on foods that would last me until the next meal. Even if it meant an extra 30-50 calories in my snacks. It's also a really great way to teach yourself portion control. There were days where I went over my recommended daily calorie intake by a little bit. And I noticed that if I did that by consuming foods that were actually nutritious, I usually noticed my weight going down, not up.
3. Avoid artificial sweeteners. I know. You want to punch me. And trust me when I say my Diet Coke-loving self couldn't agree with you more. Two years ago, I gave up artificial sweeteners for Lent. And on Ash Wednesday, I saw the cold hard reality of how much I had been consuming. It was in practically EVERYTHING I was eating and yet, I was still carrying AT LEAST an extra 20 pounds of weight. Since this time last year, I've gone from having drinking Diet Coke at least once a day to having it 2 times a week (or less.) I've also stopped buying the diet yogurts, diet ice cream, and anything else that has an artificial sweeteners. And you know what? This time, by avoiding the "diet foods," my "diet"actually worked. Interesting, no? (Also, I feel better than I've ever felt in my life. I know not carrying around the extra weight has something to do with that, but I also know that I was slowly poisoning myself with that stuff.) And before you totally want to smack me, please know that I used to think the only way I would give up Diet Coke was for someone to wrestle it out of my hands. I still indulge myself every once in awhile. I just drink it less often now.
4. Exercise. I will admit it. I am not there yet. I did most of this without a whole lot of physical activity. (Unless you count chasing around a toddler - I do.) Fluctuations in the weather do a lot to my respiratory system and as someone whose vocal health is pretty much her liveliness, I have to play it really safe. This means there's only about a 4-month period where I can run outside without getting sick. And, due to the aforementioned financial strain, I couldn't really afford a gym membership. However, if you have the means, please please please exercise. I sure hope I'm not introducing anyone to a new concept when I tell you that exercise has more benefits than just weight loss. So you should do it. And while you're at it, eat foods that nourish your body enough to energize you for a work out. The Lose It! app will help keep you on target with that.
5. Be realistic. This is BY FAR my most important piece of advice. Start by setting a realistic goal for weight loss. If you reach it and decide you still could stand to lose more, you can always do that, but setting smaller goals will make for less opportunities for discouragement if you realize you're still 30 pounds away from where you want to be even after losing a significant amount of weight. Also, realize that weight loss does and SHOULD take time. Run screaming away from any diet that promises that you will lose weight fast. It took me over a year to achieve my goal. It was a long uphill battle, but that also means I won't be putting it all back on overnight either. I know a lot of New Moms set their sights on losing extra baby weight within the first year of their baby's life. I know now that setting those standards for myself was extremely unrealistic. Additionally, I think you've always got to give yourself a break. If you don't allow yourself a little bit of "cheating" here and there what is the freaking point? You should still get to enjoy the things you love even if it's a smaller portion or enjoyed less often. I allowed myself a little bit of wiggle room every. single. day. and that helped not only to keep me motivated, but also for me to keep the weight off. I wouldn't recommend ANY sort of diet that cuts out any food group or genre in its entirety in order to lose weight. That just means that reintroducing those foods into your diet (ever) is a surefire way to gain everything back. I think the best diets are the ones that allow you to walk into any restaurant and still be able to find something that you can eat that won't totally set you back. Anything else is not sustainable. Because eventually you're going to get invited out for pizza and what is life without pizza?
My final piece of advice actually comes from this video. Weight loss can be done in a healthy way and can lead to a more healthy lifestyle for you. However, part of being successful at anything in life requires you to respect and love yourself just the way (or, "weigh") you are. We have got to stop evaluating ourselves and others based solely on appearance. We need to redefine the healthy ideal. It is time to love you for you and to realize that every person's weight loss journey is very individualized and personal. I think my biggest pet peeve is the word "healthy" and our understanding of what it means. In truth, the word "healthy" can mean a lot of different things, and so very few of them have anything to do with the numbers on a scale. In my wildest dreams I can't and won't fit into a size 2. I find there to be nothing wrong with that at all. This body gave me a beautiful child and I'm always going to have a little extra weight around to show it. And that? Is fine by me.
I'm a 20-something new member of that elite society known as Motherhood. I can't promise that you'll agree with everything I say on here. Shoot, I might even OFFEND some people with the things I have to say. And that's okay. Start a blog about how much you disagree with me. I'll probably read it.
