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 ;)

Loved Ones...Whom Love Food...

There have been several times I have discussed how to handle parties and events filled with delectable delights that make you salivate from the second you enter the room; however, there is a whole other side to being around food that doesn’t always coincide with our healthy intensions. No I am not referring to restaurants, vacations (this will be my next post after I return from the Dominican Republic-leaving on Tuesday!), or even the small temptations that can exist at work. Rather, I am speaking of a situation we cannot escape from and are seemingly surrounded around constantly…the eating habits of our loved ones!

My fiancé and I live together and some of his eating habits/preferences can be drastically different than mine. Now you’re probably wondering, if he doesn't always eat healthy then maybe he has a bit of bulge to contend with…this could not be more incorrect! My fiancé, at his 6’4’’ handsomeness (I’m bias tho haha), currently holds a position that encompasses a great amount of physical labor so he could essentially eat an  elephant and not gain a god damn ounce-I’ll try to keep my jealousy to a minimum… ;)

Anywho, many times when we go grocery shopping I make sure that I get everything I need to continue on the healthy train but ensure that we get him his ‘treats’ as well. Now, his treats tend to include Cape Cod Chips (kill me now they’re so good), a gallon of the ice cream on sale (my poor sweet tooth is dying), pretzels (a salt lovers drug), Cheetos (cheesy yumminess ahhhh), etc.  Basically, take all of the things that I would love to have on a daily basis but can’t have daily because of maintenance and you have the 'treats' that he loves. Sure, an occasional splurge here or there isn’t going to harm me, but generally speaking, these foods can’t be eaten everyday (insert more jealousy here).

I know many of you can relate to this sentiment. We have to watch what we eat around people who don’t have the same problem-how can we effectively handle this? Well, there is not magic potion to solve this dilemma (otherwise I would weigh 125 and be eating chips like it was my job) but there are helpful tricks that can keep us on the right track without leaving our loved feeling like they're on a ‘diet’ or are being ‘deprived of the food they want’, yadda, yadda, yadda –he gets no sympathy from me haha!

People and the way they eat can be very different, but making sure you have support from your loved one is a necessary component to long term success! I'm very lucky, my fiancé is the most supportive person I could have ever asked for. When I tell him not to eat those crispy, kettle cooked, salt and vinegar chips in front of me (because I know I’ll want the entire bag if I even smell them), he always obliges my requests with a smile on his face. Also, if I want it, he will always give me a bite of anything he is eating so that I won’t feel like I’m depriving myself, but he doesn't always do this with a smile on his face haha! (a bite is enough to make me not feel deprived many times). Basically, if you don’t have the support, than maintaining or losing is going to be much more difficult-but not impossible!

Now, support is crucial, but I would say the two things that are most practical and helpful are… (drum roll please)…what he buys, and where he keeps it.

First, what he buys is key to both my success and his happiness, because lets be frank, all guys must have their beer, chips, and ice cream! When he gets ice cream, we make sure it is the kind I despise more than satan-chocolate! I HATE chocolate (but do love Oreos, Butterfingers, and Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough ---insert the drool on my keyboard at these thoughts). Also, when he buys chips we buy him kinds like unsalted (gross!) so even if I have a bite of it, it won’t trigger me to want a whole bag (please look at the post called “Tantilizing Triggers” for more thoughts on trigger foods). It’s easy for us to do this because my fiancé will eat anything, but it’s also easy because he is so supportive that he is willing to help me anyway possible.

Second, we have arranged our pantry in a fashion where his food goes into three certain spots. When I look for snacks I don’t even think about taking my snacks from those ‘sections.’ Having them placed in certain areas helps me from thinking they are free and available for me to consume at my pleasure. It’s as if I mentally place those items in jail. Yes, I may occasionally take the effort to go through security to visit them once in a while-but generally speaking, the effort isn’t worth the pay off because whatever is behind there isn't good for you!

There are a million different ways we can solidly build our environments to make our lifestyle easier for us; but, we need to remember the people we live with don’t always share the same lifestyle. Adapting what you both need to assist one one another is the key for everyone to be happy and healthy!

Me and My Supportive (& Handsome) Hubby-To-Be! :)

What are some tips you use in order to ensure that everyone is happy and healthy under one roof?

Until next time, keeping the bulge at bay!

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…

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!

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…