change the way you eat

this blog has been all about changes in my (our) lives.  the biggest being our sweet baby boy.  in honor of my 30th birthday i want to devote this week to the changes that we have made for the better.  most of these changes directly correlate in some way with my 30 before thirty.

i wish i had gotten a little more serious about my weight loss goal (see the list) sooner.  no, i will not have lost all my baby weight plus 10 by the time i turn 30 this thursday.  i won't have even lost all the baby weight.  so here i am nearly 17 months postpartum, and i still have 7-12 lbs to go before i reach what i was when i got pregnant (i am not exactly sure what i weighed).  it's really sad to think about- because now that i'm doing it- it's so easy.  i could have lost this weight months ago and saved myself the sadness of feeling fat most days. 

how am i finally doing it- it's all so simple.  1.  we have cut down on the amount of eating out that we do.  we have dinner out w\ dave's mom every tuesday night.  on thursday's if i'm at mom's group we do lunch @ panera afterwards.  that's usually it for most weeks.  dave & i do have our monthly out date (but even that doesn't always involve dinner) and we will occasionally pick something up if we're in a pinch- but it's not our fallback plan.  eating in not only saves money (more on that later this week) but it saves tons of calories.  we're not just eating frozen pizzas and junk like that either (although we do a frozen pizza (no greasy meats) 2x a week on the nights i work).  i plan 5-7 meals to get us through a 2 week period.  i either plan these meals from family favorites, blogs/online recipes or i flip through my collection.  by eating at home we get to eat together in a quiet environment with a well-balanced meal that ian can enjoy with us. 

2.  i am actually working out.  i hate working out.  i am lazy.  dragging myself to the gym 6 days a week is no fun.  some days it sucks (okay, most days), but i really can tell a difference in how i feel!

3.  i am tracking my calories.  this is where it all came together.  the 2 above items weren't good enough on their own.  i downloaded the myfitnesspal app on my phone (the info from your phone is also shared to an account that you can manage online).  the app is incredible- you can add the recipes that you cook and find meals from most national restaurants.  you can track all your nutrional intake + add in all your exercise.  everything that goes in gets tracked- that way i know if i have room for extra at the end of the night, or whether i am better without it!  when you can see everything you're eating in one place it really does make a huge difference. 

4.  i'm eating better foods- more veggies, more protein, less sugar.  i'm reading labels closely.  having ian makes this easier to do- i don't want him eating junk!  it really does make a difference!  sugar is my weakness- so now treats are extra special!

in a month i have lost around 7 lbs- which isn't half bad, but there's more work yet to be done.


i'm linking up with Blair for McFatty Monday over @ Heir to Blair