The Gluttony Gut...

I will formally welcome myself back from the brief hiatus I took from the blog! For those of you who do not know, I took some ‘time-off’ from blogging so that I could get married-I guess I need to now update my tag line so I am no longer ‘freshly engaged’ but rather a ‘newlywed’ of 24 days and counting! J

I will post many pictures soon since they have been requested by many, but in the meantime I want to discuss the food related activities that surrounded the BIG DAY!

As someone who consistently battles the bulge and tries to keep that little (big is probably a better term) devil at bay, a wedding and honeymoon (especially when it is your OWN) is a time when one just has to let go and enjoy every second of their time…and that included indulging in anything and everything I wanted-more wedding cake? Yes please! Left over catering food? Sign me up! Carbs-galore in Punta Cana on our honeymoon? Is that even a question!?!?!

In an effort for full disclosure, I was SOOO EXCITED to not think or worry about anything I would be eating for a couple of weeks and was determined to just ‘live it up!’ (This I will discuss in a later post because it made me realize that I may be a bit too strict with myself on a daily basis because it caused me to be way too excited to go rough with my eating for a couple weeks...haha)

Now I certainly lived it up, about 10 lbs worth to be exact! Before you have a heart attack at the craziness that I allowed to happen let me tell you one thing…within 2 days of being home I was already down 5lbs!!…I’ll assume it’s water weight from traveling, or changes in diets, etc. - either way my actual post-wedding/honeymoon gain was about 5 lbs….and I’ll take it for what I allowed myself enjoyed!

In a future blog post I also want to discuss traveling internationally while trying to keep the bulge at bay, but for now I will just touch on it briefly. In a country where you are not supposed to eat a ton of fruit, meat, or raw vegetables due to what they feed/fertilize it with, what seems to essentially be left is carbs-and lots of them. As a self-admitted carb-a-holic, you will not hear me complain one bit, but within a couple of days of being away I started to feel gross-all I freaken wanted was a salad! My body craved something from my ‘normal’ day to day eating habits, and craved it more than Adam and Eve wanted to eat that gosh darn apple! I ordered a salad but within a couple of bites knew I shouldn't be eating it...carbs it was!

With this being said, I know my body inside and out and I KNEW the number wasn’t going to be good when I got back (insert my gluttony gut here). However, I accepted it and enjoyed myself in spite of it because I knew I would be back on track once I returned…now I’m climbing back on the healthy wagon and it certainly is a slippery, tall, ladder.

I find my mind/body craving those high sugar -high carb foods, and I find myself trying to rein it in. Imagine trying to pull the reins back on an out of control horse-you know you have the power to do it and can do it, but it doesn't make the horse not want to go crazy any less. I know I control what goes in my mouth and how much of it goes in there but that doesn't make my mind/body not want them any less right now.

From experience however, I know this feeling will go away-my body needs time to adjust back to what it is used to eating, and in a couple of weeks I’ll be back to that no problem. In the meantime, will power is always stronger than any craving and remembering that will get me through these pesky couple of pounds that need to go away…

How do you all handle times when you are fighting the uphill battle of the bulge? When you have set backs, how do you continue the determination to forge forward?

Until next time…NOT ONLY keeping the bulge at bay but getting some of the extra bulge to vacate the premises ;)

Prep-A-Plenty Potluck

Who doesn’t love a good ole potluck dinner? Well, I for one love them! My college friends and I try to have a potluck dinner at least once a month, and let me just say, they have made quite the upgrade from the college days of mismatched plates, no silverware, and practically using a tennis racket as a strainer (ok, maybe that's a bit of an exaggeration but let me tell you-desperate times called for desperate measures).

My fiancé and I hosted the most current potluck last Saturday and the food was beyond delectable…salad with candied pecans, homemade tomato bisque, hotdog and bean casserole, tomato and mozzarella pasta  salad, tons of bread (three different loaves-a carbaholic's dream), veggies and dip, and lasagna cups-not to mention the Budweiser, Sam Adams, Guinness, and wine that was flowing like a river!

Knowing that the potluck was occurring that evening, I made sure to get a work out in during the day. Of course timing wise it occurred right when a few guys were arriving early to play cards… allow me to set the scene for you… envision me flat on my back in the living room, legs in a dreadful 90 degree angle with a stability ball in between going back and forth as fast as possible- all while three guys walk right in to begin playing setback with my fiancé …attractive thought right?...ooyvey!

My $9.99 version of P90X...I'm cheap, what can I say? (GREAT workouts though!)

Beyond working out, many of you have mentioned that if you don’t splurge once in a while, then it isn’t true maintenance and maintaining is going to be that much harder…and I absolutely agree! However, I have had a lot of ‘splurges’ lately (insert the three previous posts on coping with food coma from my sister’s wedding related festivities), therefore, this potluck was not the time to splurge. I will say however, I gave everything a try-and it was all devilishly good!

The key for me to eat healthy at what could be called a potluck ‘pound increaser,' is to ensure that there are things present that I can eat as much as I want of. To accomplish this feat I made sure there was a snack that I could munch on while preparing my main dish. This also is a little safety trick I have that keeps me from test-tasting everyone dishes before they hit the table (I mean, it’s someone’s job to make sure all the dishes are edible for human consumption, no?)

Here you can see the veggies and fat-free dip that I munched on while everyone was arriving (honestly, I started my veggie munch-o-mania long before people arrived but who needs to know that little detail...).

Now for my entrée, I found this recipe long ago and tried it for the first time at this gathering. Let me tell you, this recipe is going to be a staple in my weekly meals from now on-who doesn’t want lasagna that you can eat with your hands?!? And to make it even better,  I cut down the calories and fat even more than the recipe (fat free instead of reduced fat cheeses, extra lean ground turkey, and heart healthy low calorie pasta sauce).

Are you salivating yet?

I added a lot of veggies to the sauce to make it more ‘gusty’ and even that much more filling and healthy (two words that many dieters claim don’t coincide-FALSE!). This sauce, with all its gutsy splendor, is guaranteed to satisfy your stomach and your waist measurement!  (Add veggies to it that you like-the more you customize it to your taste, the more likely you are to stay on track.)

Two layers of  wontons, ricotta, sauce, and finally mozzarella cheese

I have learned recently that muffin and/or cupcake tins (I used cupcake tins) are really great ways to create innate PORTION CONTROL! You know exactly how much is in each cup (in my version of these lasagna cups there is about 120 calories per lasagna cup!!).

Final Product!!

They look good, taste good, and are good for you! -I know,  this sounds like an infomercial…and you, YES YOU-can make these amazing lasagna cups for a simple onetime payment of 9.95 ;)

Any who, after the potluck I took one to work with a side of yogurt to have as my lunch on Monday-it was fabulous and completely satisfying as a lunch too. However, my fiancé keeps referring to these as ‘amazing snacks’ (2 bites and one is gone)…trust me-he’s wrong (like all men are haha), but these are healthy enough that if you want more than one-you’re good to go…

Here is the link to the recipe I based my version off of: http://www.canyoustayfordinner.com/2010/11/04/petite-lasagnas/

Overall, just like in life, we must pick our battles. We all have battled our weight and are winning the war. However, there are daily battles we must choose to fight or to pass. Due to the mouth-watering indulgences I have allowed myself to have lately I decided the potluck was a time for me to fold the cards dealt to me rather then going all in. I filled my plate half with salad,  had very small portions of all the other delights that were present, and had two of my lasagna cups. Fill-up on what you know, and take small risks on what you are not sure about...this will undoubtedly lead to success.

Please share, what are some of your sure fire recipes that you lean on when you want to ‘be good’ at a meal or gathering? I have more recipes I will try to share with you all soon!

Until next time, keeping the bulge at bay…

Maintenance: The One Celebration That Doesn’t Include A Meal Selection…

Today is a classic day where I’m hopping back onto the ‘Healthy Wagon’ after enjoying the ‘fruits’ of my sister’s wedding (I swear, I did eat some fruit), while not regretting one crumb or calorie I happily consumed. However, enjoying a wedding to the fullest is an example of where the mental game that exists with maintenance will likely rears its ugly head (and, for me, its head is in the shape of a large platter of cheese, crackers, and any kind of hors d'oeuvre followed by a good ole helping of guilt!).

Maintenance has a tendency to be a bit of a roller coaster for many people. For example, I went from weighing the least I have ever weighed, 149.8 lbs, (and buying the smallest sized dress I’ve ever bought) to eating to my heart’s content in just one week! The highs and lows from this can be tough to deal with, however, the key to maintenance is to always get back on track, no matter what!

If this means that you have to freeze all the left overs that your generous family sends home with you so that you will only have them accessible for when guests come over-then do it! (Insert my stuffed freezer full of leftover pastries from what seemed like a bakery shop's full week worth of sales just for my sister’s post wedding brunch). 

My Sister's Post-Wedding Brunch: Pastry Heaven!...(now deep in my freezer)

Do what you need to do to get back on track-freeze the food, throw it out, have your loved ones hide it from you, or even give it to your skinniest friends so that they can ‘fluffen’ up a bit haha-you must do what is right for you in order to get yourself back on track.

Depriving yourself during moments like a wedding where it (hopefully-haha) only happens once in your loved one’s life isn’t true maintenance (and I was so happy to see that a few of you commented on previous posts with this sentiment as well!).

You can’t get mad at yourself for allowing yourself to enjoy these moments! Yes, it may be frustrating that food is the centerpiece to every celebration that practically exists-but don’t allow it to surround the biggest celebration of all-your weight loss! Take moments to remember how far you’ve come and that a few meals, or even few days of just enjoying life and the treats that come along with it, (like the three day affair I just had with pastries, cheese, and buffets) won’t cause you to gain the weight back...

Here are two pictures that I took to show myself how far I’ve come-these serve as a reminder that a few unhealthy, or even ‘normal’ meals, will not send me back to that-I'm a new person now, and that old 260 LB-er is gone forever! This is the one constant celebration that doesn't come with a meal selection or congratulatory dessert!

The dress shown was my prom dress from senior year in high school in 2005. It was a size 22…the dress I bought for my sister's rehearsal dinner is a size 6! 

(Note, this dress is actually a wedding dress-they didn't have any prom dresses in my size so I actually had to buy a wedding dress...you never forget unsettling moments like these...)

As long as you don’t allow your few days of indulgence to turn into a few weeks-you will continue to maintain. Celebrate the accomplishments you have had in your weight loss-celebrating these will help you get back on track and will remind you that you are far from the person you used to be!

During maintenance you have to loosen up a bit, and enjoy a freaken slice of cake once in a while! One slice of cake won’t make you fluffy again, however, the entire cake in a whole other story...

What do you do to remind yourselves of how far you have come, and that you are allowed to enjoy treats sometimes?

Until next time, keeping the bulge at bay...

Foodie Festivities & Pastry Parties…

As a person who has continuously struggled with their weight, I’ve always wondered, why do celebrations have to surround around food?!? Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m Italian! I’ve been born and bred to genuinely believe the more food put on your plate by your family members is a physical manifestation of the amount they love you-and let me tell you, they love me A LOT!

But have you ever asked yourself, why do celebrations have to surround themselves around something that some of us struggle with daily? Trust me, I love traditions and festivities just the way they are-because honestly, who wants to celebrate Christmas by running a marathon instead of eating a nice ham-kudos to those of you who do (and no-not the chocolate kind of Kudos)! However, these celebrations can mentally be a very difficult struggle for people who toil with their weight.

With this being said, it can be hard to make people understand that ‘just having one cupcake’ or ‘just trying a couple appetizers’ is not the same for us fluffy (my favorite word instead of fat) fighters as it is for you ‘normal’ folk. Needing to tap into your will power to avoid consuming copious amounts of these celebratory delights is an understatement-it can nearly be impossible...

For example, this past weekend was my sister’s bachelorette party. As one of her maid of honors, it was our job to set it up and arrange everything. She wanted to go to a dueling piano restaurant/bar and have everyone stay over close by. This sounds like a really fun time, however anyone who struggles with their weight sees and hears a different description of the night’s festivities; here is the description that I hear: “OH $#!T, ok, so this means-pizza, cupcakes, champagne, cookies, chips, candy, booze at the bar, AKA a diet disaster!"

Me, my sister Becky, and other Maid of Honor (also named) Rachel!

Armed and ready for battle, I brought a 100 Calorie Mini Muffin pack to try to avoid eating the cupcakes, not to mention everything else! Well guess what was the only thing left the next morning, my 100 Calories Mini Muffins...why I thought little coffee cake mini muffins would have an armor of steel, I may never know…

(Other) Rachel's Amazing Cupcakes!

Thank god, no pictures were taken of all the other food haha!

Celebrations of all sorts including holidays, birthdays, weddings, nights out, anniversaries, etc. all tend to surround around food which can be more frustrating than a skinny girl calling herself fat! There is no one magical solution for everyone that has to tackle the food frenzy at celebrations. However, I tend to feel that planning ahead and being conscious of your choices is the best preparation one can have. For example, yes I splurged and ate a good amount at my sister’s bachelorette, but I was good every other day that week and only drank water at the bar (I don’t drink alcohol anymore because I am a true foodie at heart and would rather chew my calories then drink them hehe). I also made sure there were healthy options for me to indulge on at the party as well…veggies with fat-free dip-when in doubt, dip away!

Now with her wedding a week from today, I am already mentally gearing up for the rehearsal dinner, day of festivities, AND, the morning after brunch. This all equals-food, food, and MORE FOOD! All I can expect from myself is to try my hardest to not over indulge,  while allowing myself to enjoy the true celebrations occurring: the marriage of my sister to her soon to be husband, and that the type of cake they chose I don’t like!

You see how I TRY to handle this...how do you all realistically tackle food centered celebrations?!? :)

Until next time, keeping the bulge at bay!

Maneuvering through Motivations…

Everything in life is made easier with motivations…why else would a pot of gold be at the end of that gosh darn rainbow, right? Everyone knows that weight loss should be its own reward, but wouldn’t it be nicer if there was a pot of gold (and, no, I’m not referring to gold chocolate coins) when you reached and maintained goal weight?

Staying motivated constantly is a very hard thing to do in any aspect of life, especially when it comes to your weight. One can constantly remind themselves that being healthy is a gift that is immeasurable in any other form, however, add years upon years of losing weight or maintaining weight loss to the picture, and those original motivation factors may begin to wane.

What keeps people motivated is different for everyone. For example, I am getting married in September and I want to ensure that I am the skinniest I have ever been on that day (shocker right! Like I’m the only bride-to-be that has salivated over this pipe-dream!  haha). This is a great motivating factor to stay healthy between now and then, but what about after I’m married? I am the type of person that always needs a goal to work towards. Yes, health is the ultimate goal, but fitting into a size 4 wouldn’t hurt either!

There was one key moment I remember during my weight loss. When I was in the 211-217 lb range (a tough range for me to conquer), I remember thinking, ‘if I get to 180 I will look like a bombshell and I’ll start maintaining!’ However, of course, when I finally got to 180 I didn’t look at all like what I thought I was going to. Now I’m around 150 and am just beginning to look the way I thought I was going to at 180 (and no, I am not calling myself a bombshell by any means haha). I still want to lose a couple more L-B’s, but the visual thought of what I wanted to look like motivated me through the difficult times, the hard times, and frankly, the times that were more frustrating than squeezing into a pair of spanx that are two sizes too small!

However, now that I’ve been solidified in the maintaining stage for over two years, I find myself still having to find motivation in the craziest places to keep this voyage trucking along. For example, every time I notice that a part of my body looks ‘skinny’ it is a great motivating factor to, even if for only one day, keep me on track and eating healthy (adversely, noticing this has occasionally dragged me to the dark side where I have Satan saying-see, you’re healthy-have a cupcake…or four…). Either way, noticing these accomplishments have generally been the small daily motivators that keep me driving on the veggie and fruit highway without taking the exit to ‘Sugar Land’ (sometimes the car takes the exit itself, I swear it’s not my fault!).

As stated above, a wedding in September (and oh ya, being in three weddings before that!) is an easy and obvious motivator; but I wonder what motivator will keep me propelling forward 25 years from now…maybe that pot of gold that I’m sure will appear on my doorstep when I turn 50 and am still in a healthy weight range?!?

What motivates you to maintain or lose today, tomorrow, and ten years from now?

Until next time, keeping the bulge at bay…

Tantalizing Triggers

Imagine… You’re on a desert island and you can only have one food for the rest of your life (as if you’ve never heard this scenario before…), what would that enchanting treat be? Chances are, whatever you chose to solely eat for the rest of your days is not only one of your favorite foods, but it is also probably one of your trigger foods! For me, cheese and crackers (HANDS DOWN) is what I would have all day, every day, if I could!

Many of you may be saying, “Why are cheese and crackers bad? They aren’t an unhealthy thing to eat if you eat small amounts of it;” this I concede is true. However for me, because it is one of my favorites, it is also a ‘trigger’ food for me. This means, generally speaking, eating small amounts of them MAY NOT be that possible…

For those who are not familiar with the term, trigger foods are foods that once you have some-you not only start eating more and more of them, they also trigger you to eat more and more of anything and EVERYTHING else in sight! To (not so proudly) exemplify this scenario, I will share with you a little occurrence from this past weekend. My sister was having her Bridal Shower (she is getting married in March, I am getting married in September), and I was assisting my mom in setting everything up. One of my jobs was to put the crackers on a beautiful platter. As I was delicately arranging them I was popping a cracker here, a cracker there, into my exceptionally happy mouth! It was after those crackers that I started to have ‘samples’ of all the other appetizers. I did rein it in and didn’t go too crazy later on (I filled up on tons of fruit salad to avoid eating copious amounts of chicken piccata) but the crackers did trigger my little taste buds to want to try a smidgen of everything.

Though I would like to blame the crackers for being my kryptonite and sending me into a tornado-like frenzy of sampling; I cannot blame those helpless bagel crisps (seriously though, how good are Bagel Crisps?!?)! One has to recognize that trigger foods relate directly self-control. With cheese and crackers, sometimes my self-control is on point and I can have one or two,  be totally satisfied, and not go back for more. Other times however, they ignite a fire in me to chomp, chomp, CHOMP (PS-I was curious to see how Encarta Dictionary would define chomp…and I love their definition chomp- verb, to take big bites of food and chew steadily, noisily, and with obvious satisfaction-love it!)!

There is a healthy balance between depriving yourself entirely of these scrumptious delights and indulging until you have to unbutton your pants (don’t lie, you all have done it). I struggle with this balance every time I am faced with a platter of cheese and crackers. Consciously being aware of the foods I don’t have control over is one step forward-but gaining control of them, and more importantly myself, is a goal I have not yet mastered. I am human, and hope that the next time I’m faced with arranging those devilish crispy bites of splendor on a plate, I will know if I have the control to just have two or three, or know if I need to take a step back because I won’t be able to control myself.

Maintaining weight is about having your mind and body in sync. Some days you will succeed, some days you will fail. But we have to learn from those past failures to make better decisions in the future. If we don’t learn from our mistakes, we will be 260lbs again laying on the couch having an entire block of cheese and box of crackers while waiting for dinner to be ready!

Until next time, keeping the bulge at bay…

Weight Loss Throughout The Years...

I decided recently that if I am sharing this journey of weight loss with everyone, then I need to be entirely transparent and show what the evolution of weight loss (and maintaining) actually looks like. I have always despised showing these pictures to anyone (including myself), but I feel as though it is important for everyone to see them so that they can fully comprehend what a life changing transformation weight loss can be.

When someone is maintaining or trying to loose weight, people can see every set back, every 'Yo-Yo', and every diet hiccup they may have in their photos (and Facebook makes this even more evident these days)! Someone who loses weight remembers exactly how much they weighed, and how they truly felt about their body, health, and life when they look at themselves in each, and every, picture...

Senior Year of High School and Senior Year of College

Early in High School & The Day I Received My Master's Degree

Red and Black Outfits...One From Then and Two From Now

Weight loss can change not only how you physically look but can (and usually does) change who you are through and through! In the slideshow below, you will see the evolution of weight loss in picture form rather than merely just the timeline I stated in my first post. I believe an important factor of maintaining is occasionally reflecting on where you came from and how your weight loss has potentially changed every aspect of your life. I like to keep a few 'fluffy' pictures of myself handy so I can always keep myself inspired on the journey that I have forged down...one of health, happiness, and (most of the time) positivity. Seeing how much I have accomplished helps me to maintain my loss...

Until next time, keeping the bulge at bay! :)

DO Make a Mountain out of a Mole Hill!

For those of you who have shrunken your muffin tops to the size of a ‘mini-muffin’ as if it were a scene out of ‘Honey I Shrunk the Kids’, it is very likely you have noticed changes in your everyday life since losing the weight. Having your jeans feel looser, or friends/relatives noticing your weight loss is an obvious change and should give you a jolt of self-confidence (which usually lasts about 1 minute due to your skinnier, taller, and prettier friend having walked in the room)! However, these are merely the obvious changes that folks think about.

People who have never had to struggle with their weight don’t entirely understand that there are things that happen in people’s daily routines that ‘fluffy people’ (my favorite term for people fighting the battle of the bulge) can’t do or struggle with doing. Noticing and consciously recognizing these changes, as minute as they may be, is an integral part of embracing and celebrating maintenance.

For example, when I go to the doctor’s office these days I find my own small jolt of self-confidence in the visit. No, I am not referring to seeing the number on the scale being in a range I never thought it would be, and I also am not referring to my doctor saying that I am in a perfectly healthy BMI (body max index) range for my height.  These are definitely wonderful feats and trust me, I celebrate them often! However, I am referring to the self-confidence I attain from getting my blood pressure taken! Again, I am not referring to the medical results of the doctor squeezing my arm so tight that it feels as though it may just POP off my shoulder! Instead, I am speaking to the small victory that I no longer need the doctor to try to fit the “normal” person’s blood pressure cuff onto my arm out of politeness then say, “Oh, let me just try one a bit bigger…” A BIT BIGGER? Really? I wonder which chip gets bequeathed the honor of being the defining one to send me from a ‘normal’ cuff to the “bit bigger” cuff-the FLUFFY person’s cuff?!?

These small, every day, experiences stay with you long after the weight is gone-and then some…

Now, I go into the doctor’s office and sometimes the “normal” cuff is too BIG and I need the small one! In fact, it is the feeling of having the doctor put the normal cuff around my arm recently that made me decide I HAD to write this blog! Little incidents like these are a DAILY occurrence for someone who is trying to maintain their weight and these occurrences should be valued and celebrated. You SHOULD make a mountain out of these small mole hills! These mole hills should be given recognition in a new positive light because if they aren’t; the old memories will remain sedentary in the negative shadows in your mind.

Another example is that I used to own tons of earrings.  The reason I had an addiction to earrings is because they were, as I always joked, “one size fits all!” (which is a term that people who struggle with their weight know is the biggest lie since Bill Clinton said he ‘did not have relations with that woman’).  Now, when I borrow a friend’s bracelet or ring it is a mole hill that I consider a mountain! To go from being anxious to even try on a bracelet around my friends because I knew it wouldn’t fit-to trying any and all jewelry on is something I am proud to celebrate!

Weight loss and maintenance is not easy, and no one ever said it would be. Whether it is wearing jewelry, having a smaller blood pressure ‘cuff of death’ at the doctor’s, buying a size smaller shoe (yes, your feet lose weight too!), or simply being able to see your toes again while standing straight up-these are milestones that MUST be celebrated (and no, do NOT celebrate them by eating a piece of cake haha!). Every time I experience a little flash back to the chubby days and see how my life has changed today I just take a moment to bask in it. I think about where I’ve come from and how hard I worked for it; and I will be damned if I don’t take a second to reflect upon my accomplishments! But please note, I reflect these accomplishments many times internally-I’m not sure people would entirely comprehend my love/hate relationship with a blood pressure cuff while sitting in an emotionally sterile doctor’s office! ;)

Remember, celebrate we will-because life is short but sweet for certain…

Until next time, trying to keep the bulge at bay!