foooooooood!

nature valley granola bars;

180 calories may seem like a lot for a snack, but its my replacement for having a chocolate bar. sometimes i eat a couple a day to eat between meals as my under 200 caorie snacks.

sugar free maple and brownsugar oatmeal packets.

instant is not overrated! i eat 3 of these 100 calorie packets for breakfast and its 300 calories. or i take 2 and mix it with small apple pieces for 300 calories. its so tasty and fills me up good : ]

black coffee.

did you know just drinking black coffee pretty much eliminates all the calories. most house blacks have less than 10 calories per 8 oz cup. add some Splenda no calorie sweetener.

veggies...i love all kinds cooked up. green beans and asparagus are especially a favorite. you can also get those "steamfresh" bags and its a quick treat. add some kosher salt and its super tasty and healthy for you.

easy on the salt tiger.

lean turkey slices are really low cal, add some lettuce and ripe tomatoes in a wheat low calorie tortilla for a snack or even have a couple of these for a meals. you'll get your bread servings and your veggies without added fat or calories. some tortillas have as low as 80 calories for a small.

mashed potatoes are a weakness. but you can swap the potatoes for cauliflower, seriously it doesnt taste much different. the smell is a bit different, but dont let that be off putting.

if i want potatoes i have them...but without ranch without butter without gravy. just a little salt can still make them flavorful, but again watching the sodium is key.

off to run some errands and get some things from the store more to come soon!

La Tortilla Factory's large wheat tortillas are 80 calories and pretty awesome. today i made 2 small turkey wraps and the total cals topped out under 250 calories. :]

it had iceburg lettuce (10 calories for 5 large leafs...yeah they are basically nothing). one small roma tomato cut and sliced into each one. and then turkey slices on top of that.

yum yum yum. they arent as natural tasting as some of the others, but for 50 calories less you can load up on lettuce and change the natural taste a bit.

and i just found out that skinny cow makes Chocolate peanut butter ice cream sandwiches!!!

ah!

some of my favorite tools...

Biggest Loser Calorie Counter

http://www.amazon.com/Biggest-Loser-Calorie-Counter-Restaurants-As/dp/1594865957

it has so much of everything. tips from previous contestants, dining out menu nutritional information to some popular restaurants (yeah i learned a footlong tuna at subway is the highest calorie and highest fat on the menu: 1060 calories and 61 grams of fat...NEVER doing that again).

yoga ball.

dude, i got one of the big ones, and i sit with the nanny and we balance and exercise and stretch while we watch our favorite shows. nanny is also a favorite tool to use. i need accountability.

gym:

we have a workout room at work, but its only available to employees. im going to 24 hour fitness to get a membership soon. that way if i need a partner in accountability i can call up A. or Brudder. and i can have someone push me. dont get me wrong, having the Biggest Loser trainers in my head when i need motivation works wonders so far...unfortunately, its easy to call them bad names and quit when they arent actually here.

fluffy friends:

gotta have accountability. having fat friends who are making good choices and losing weight is a great tool.

former fluffy friends;

those who have lost the weight and keep it off are my heroes.

my friends Megan and Stephanie have each lost 60 lbs or more and have kept it off.

i love seeing their old pictures.

food journal:

truth be told. sometimes it ends up getting written on 3x5 cards at work...but making sure im keeping a log of my food and calories is essential. you are MUCH more likely to succeed and also to hold yourself accountable for the foods you eat when you write them down.

i never eat fast food when i record my foods. i love that im back into it.

SPARKPEOPLE.com

this website is essential to me. when i lost 70 lbs...it was with this website.

its a FREE website.

register...try it DAILY for a MONTH. you WILL be impressed and feel so connected.

there are blogs and there are exercises and free food logs and calorie counters.

its fabulous.

Family;

you have to tell them.

i ask Js daddy to make healthy food. and make it not taste healthy. he does a wonderful job. he loves to cook and it really helps to try and and challenge him to make good things. recently i challenged him to make low fat low cal sweet onion chicken teriyaki like at subway...but just as chicken breasts so i could avoid the bread and calories. he made triple servings so i had lunch for 2 days after : ].

good running shoes.

i dont run.

i hate to run.

but having the nikes that i have (got them for 50 bucks on clearance) are essential to a good workout.

thats all for now. :]

a little backstory about my big backside.

I am almost 23.

i've worked at a desk job for almost 5 years.

and I just had a baby 10 months ago.

I have a family history of Diabetes and Thyroid problems.

this is not a great equation.

I, like most fluffy adults, had a problem from adolescence.

i was a leaner kid, but enter middle school and high school and it got the best of me.

i had some self esteem issues, and ill be honest, ended up with some bad eating habits...and disorders.

i cleaned up though and entered age 18 at a new job working for a wireless company call center.

i was 5 ft9'' and about 175 lbs...165 if you look at my license. this was June of 2005.

i wasnt rail thin but i wasnt very fluffy. i was healthy.

by January 2008 i was 235 lbs, and started to exercise and eat healthy to lose weight so my love and i could try for a baby. i got down to 220 by April when i found out i was pregnant.

Exercised moderately for 7 months...until i started to feel HORRIBLE. i hardly gained at all until then, but then this raging appetite and lbs of water weight packed on. i was gaining at one point 12 lbs between 2 week appointments. doctor said it was water weight but as my pregnancy gain reached 60 lbs i was so disheartened.

When i went in for labor and delivery after my water broke in December 2008 i was 281 lbs. another 9 lbs of weight from swelling and water weight and IV drips brought me to 290 before i had him.

i weighted almost 300 lbs at 5'10'' and 22 years old!

shortly after j was born i experienced the tragic loss of a friend of mine, the third friend in 3 years.

i started to eat healthy and exercise to drop the weight, and miraculously i dropped 70 lbs by April 2009! it was cake! i had energy up the wazoo.

i kept up the healthy lifestyle, but plateaued.

then gained 13 lbs in 2 weeks.

started experiencing muscle pain and incredible fatigue and i couldnt figure it out. neither could the doctors. my thyroid levels were up...then down...the rheumatologist showed no rheumatoid arthritis. they were stumped.

for 3 months i felt this way every waking moment. but in July, i met a wonderful doctor who figured it out. my endocrinologist explained i had Postpartum thyroiditis. a skyrocket in thyroid hormones and then a plummet shortly after. it explained everything, and explained why i kept gaining. some days were horrible. id feel so bad that i was eatign right and exercising, and still gaining that some days i would binge. one day i was so pissed i ate 5 donuts on top of my normal food.

the thing about PPT is after a year it typically goes away...but for some, especially women who have family history...it might stay and you end with hypothyroidism forever. we started hormone thyroid medication. and now its a waiting game. to get my levels retested after J is a year old.

Biggest loser is my favorite show.

i watch it every week and sit on my yoga ball watching in awe...wishing i could quit my job and exercise. i recently learned their intake is 1200 in 6000 out per day in calories or something like that. not so sure i could do that.

but i recently started working out.

and it really helps to hear Jillian Michaels and Bob Harpers voices ring in my head....

this is my blog.

this is me trying to overcome this plateau and get the right motions happening.

i am currently yo yoing between 215 and 225

and i want back that 175.

i dont need 130 lbs.

i dont need a size 2.

i dont WANT that either.

those doctors may say my healthy weight is 135 lbs...i say screw it. i never appreciated 175 as much as i do now. i looked good. lean. firm.

to be honest, i dont care what the weight is if i could get into a size 10, i'd be a happy camper.

this is all about things i learn...mistakes i make and successes i achieve.

feel free to give me advice...

this is a topic i dont mind uncolicited advice about ; ]

but im only doing this the healthy way.

calorie counting, exercising. making smart choices...

im gonna do it.