Not Just a Mom...

Lately my posts have been all about the kids! Having a new baby does become all consuming, but, I do have other goals and interests and living healthy is one of my passions. Now that Elle is 6 weeks old I can get back into shape and start feeling healthy again!
I love to cook and I'm actually writing a healthy cookbook that I hope to have published one day. It will probably be a few years before I'm on my book tour so right now I'm just trying new things and enjoying the creativity.
For me losing weight isn't about dieting it's about changing your life style. So if you're wanting to get healthy and even lose some weight here's what I do to take off my baby weight and keep it off! 1. No fast food! Not even the salads (who are they kidding putting bacon, chicken, salad dressing and tons of other stuff on iceberg lettuce and calling it healthy???)
2. Eat a healthy meal before you go to a BBQ. And then only choose a couple things to eat at the BBQ. I did this last night. For dinner we had veggie stir fry, rice, and grilled shrimp. Then at the BBQ I had a SMALL portion of ribs and a small cup of ice cream. That's it!
3. Cut out the "mormon mom casseroles" and boxed dinners. We only have roast with mashed potatoes and gravy or chicken and rice casserole for Sunday dinner. During the week I choose lean meats like fish, pork, or ground turkey and pair it with a couple sides of veggies for dinner.
Yes, you will feel hungry and your husband might complain about the lack of comfort food that he's used to. (Steve calls it man food.) But after two weeks or so you'll feel so much better and even satisfied buy a lighter dinner.
4. Limit the snacks. I have to have a little indulgence sometimes. Chocolate is one of my favorite things! So, I have a bag of dove chocolates and I allow myself just one or two a day. I also love the 100 calorie pudding cups. The fat free (not sugar free) kind. I also love 100 calorie bags of popcorn or some chips and salsa when I crave chips. The key to snacking is self control! It doesn't do any good to buy the 100 calorie portions and eat 5 in a day. The best way to stop unhealthy snacking is to not buy it in the first place. And trust me your kids don't need them either!
My new favorite snack: Oats and Chocolate Fiber One Bars. So Good!

5. You have to exercise. This was a hard thing for me to finally realize. But my motto is 20 minutes a day is better than nothing! Even if all I do is some stretching, sit-ups, and leg lifts for 20 min I consider it a success. I don't have the time (or money) to go to the gym for an hour, so I do a work-out to the Wiggles a couple times a week to get my heart rate up and the rest of the week I do yoga. Sometimes I just put on some music a dance with Jaxson. If the weather is nice I go running. I hate running but it's the best way to get burn calories quickly.

If you have some great tips or healthy recipes, please share them!
Happy Healthy Living!