Healthy Meatball Hoagies (a recipe worth repeating)

Some of you may remember how I recently lost 30 lbs!  Well, I've been reading a lot of blogs where people are aiming for a similar goal...so I thought I'd share this yummy, healthy recipe with you!

I've posted it here before, but figured it's worth repeating!!!

(It's a favorite of ours from The Biggest Loser Family Cookbook)

Healthy Meatball Hoagies:

-Olive oil spray

-2 egg whites

-1/2 cup quick-cooking oats

-1/4 cup fat-free milk

-1/2 cup parsley

-1 Tablespoon minced onion

-1/2 teaspoon oregano

-1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

-1/4 teaspoon salt

-1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

-1 pound lean ground beef (but we usually use ground turkey because it's cheaper!)

-1 jar of sphagetti sauce

(note: Biggest Loser has a marinera recipe, but when we compared nutritional value to pre-made products like "Ragu" we noticed very little difference, so now we just use a pre-made jar and save on time!)

Preheat oven to 400*.  Lightly coat a large non-stick baking sheet with olive oil spray.

In medium bowl, mix together egg white, oats and milk with fork until well combined.  Add the parsley, onion, oregano, garlic powder, salt and crushed red pepper flakes and mix until combined.  Mix in the beef or turkey until well combined.

Make about 32 uniform meatball (each about 1 1/4" diameter--a little bigger than a ping pong ball).  Roll the balls with your hands and arrange, not touching, on the prepared baking sheet.  

Bake for 8-12 minutes, or until no longer pink inside.

This makes 4 (8 meatball) servings.

Wanna know the good news?!

8 meatballs are only 194 calories!!!!!!!  With about 26 grams of protein, 5 grams of fat and 2 grams of fiber!!!

Once you have the meatballs made, we like to let them simmer in spaghetti sauce on the stove.

Then we take (healthy, wheat) hoagie bread, toast it open-faced for about 7 minutes in the 400* oven.

But you can also put the meatballs and sauce over a bed of Rozoni Healthy Harvest pasta.  Both are delicious choices!!!

This week, I'm linked up to these fabulous food meme's...

Losing 30 lbs--Part 5 (What God Did)

As I said, in "Part 2", I wish I could say this is where and how my journey began, but it didn't.  At the beginning of my journey, I had put (what I thought was) all the right things into place so that I could have the best chances of succeeding: accountability, a partner, even a Bible Study on weight loss... But I neglected to ask the Lord for his help and his blessing.

In other words, I had made it all about me...until I hit "the wall" (picture #2)

 (beginning)               (-20 lbs)                   (-30 lbs)

"The wall" I'm talking about came after I had steadily lost 20 lbs and then the weight loss just stopped.  At first I was encouraged by others who told me to keep going and after a week or two I'd notice a decline in my weight again...but after two months, there was still no change in my inches or my weight.  I was discouraged and didn't know what to do.

One Saturday, defeated, I went for a walk...alone.  I spent the time evaluating, criticizing myself and letting my thoughts get the best of me...

What was going on with my body?  Why wasn't my hard work paying off anymore?  How long was it going to take for me to lose this extra weight?  Was my willpower going to run out soon?  Did I need to start exercising harder and more frequently? How could I keep putting my family first, but still do what I needed to do to lose weight?

Then I heard the Lord speak to me!  I was so surprised to hear His voice I actually stopped walking.  I knew He wanted my attention so I just stood and listened.  He told me to "Seek first my kingdom and my righteousness and all these things would be added to you".  Really Lord?  Even something as trivial as weight loss?  You really care about that?

And He answered: Yes.  And in everything you do, do it for my glory...not your own.

Ouch.  I started walking again...thinking, pondering...hmmm...His glory.  THAT had been my missing "link".  All along, I had been doing it for me, for my "gain", for my glory, for my purposes.  I had left God out.

In that moment, I was feeling so foolish for all my selfish attempts to change me and bring myself "glory".  I was actually a little embarrassed too...God had caught me in the ugliness of my flesh.  He saw my yuck, my vanity, my pride.  He saw that I had forgotten Him...yet He came to me...but when He did, all I wanted to do was hide from Him.

I had a little glimpse of what Adam and Eve felt in the garden.

Thankfully, the Lord saved me from that too.  In one instant I went from wanting to hide myself, to realizing how faithful it was of the Lord to show me my unfaithfulness to Him.  Whoa.

So for the first time I talked to Lord, at length, about my weight...and all my worries, hopes, sinful attitudes, selfish ambitions, vain conceits, confusion and self-pity.  I got very honest with the Lord.

After walking and talking with the Lord for about an hour, I walked home with a new hope.  And this time, my hope wasn't rooted in my great ideas or in my "fail-proof" plan...it was rooted in the Lord.

From then on, I did just as He told me...I changed my focus.  I started seeking first His Kingdom and His Righteousness (plus, just seeking out what this meant for me) and when He would add spare time to my day, I'd exercise.

I started eating healthy because it glorified Him when I took care of my temple...not because I feared the calories.

And honestly, I can't tell you exactly *how* I lost those last 10 lbs...because I was basically still eating the same and exercising the same ways.  But one thing I do know is that the Lord was faithful to what He said to me.  He helped me lose my extra weight.  It may sound corny, but it's true. 

  (beginning)               (-20 lbs)                   (-30 lbs)

The Lord came to my rescue.  He not only rescued me from myself, from my idolatry, and my own ambitions, but He also rescued me by coming as a Helper in my desire to honor Him with my temple.

I still have another 5-10 lbs that I would like to loose...that would put me back at my college/wedding day weight.

But, I'm still seeking Him first, and exercising when I can, so I trust that if He wants me to get there, I will.  And for now, I'll be content in knowing that He has me just where He wants me!

Also in this series:
Losing 30 lbs--Part 1 (My Story)
Losing 30 lbs--Part 2 (How I Did It)
Losing 30 lbs--Part 3 (How I Ate)
Losing 30 lbs--Part 4 (Exercising with 4 Little Kids at Home)

Losing 30 lbs--Part 4 (Exercising With 4 Little Kids)

You know the "easy button"?  Well, I wish I had an "easy button" for exercising, because this is where I am least motivated.  Finding time to exercise is so hard for me...especially with 4 kids and a house to keep up with!  But as we all know, there is no easy way-out of exercising (at least not if you want real results).  Exercising takes work and it takes discipline...

For me, my kids have always been my excuse for not exercising.  But they aren't what held me back...I was what held me back.  I willingly handicapped myself with "I can'ts"....

"I can't find time, my kids are with me all day..." 
"I can't because I don't have a car to transport all of us..." 
"I can't afford a membership anywhere..."
"I can't because I don't have enough hands to get out with all of them..."
"I can't do it in the evenings because it's family time..."

But thankfully, I snapped out of my 6 year "I can't" stupor and found myself motivated to give it a try regardless of all my excuses (and I had A LOT of excuses!).

Then, once I was willing to start looking outside of the box,  I discovered I had options!  I realized if I really wanted to exercise, I could find a way.  It may not be easy, it may not be the same thing every day, but I could and I would exercise!

Consistency
I made a commitment to exercise 5 times a week.  I usually took one day of the week "off" and made sure I exercised with my husband (and/or family) once on the weekend and then took Sunday to rest.

I did not do the same thing every day.  Some days I walked, some days I did a DVD workout, some days it was a bike ride, some days I swam laps (that's when my in-laws had a pool!).  It was unrealistic for me to think that "everyday at this time I will do this exercise routine", because as any mom knows, we never know what our day will hold!  Not to mention, I'd get bored with doing the same ol' thing everday (and my kids would too!)

So even though I couldn't be consistent with the time of day or a specific routine, I was consistent with a simple schedule.  Monday-Thursday and Saturday I exercised...and I kept myself on track!

Walking
I walked alot.  Sometimes I'd walk with the kids up to Ryan's work, just to pick up the van and then drive to the nature trail to really walk.  Or, we'd just walk to his work, stay for recess and walk home.

|I'll be honest though...walking is tricky with 4 kids!  BUT I was determined to not let it be my excuse anymore!

At first, my oldest son would ride his bike, I'd push my two younger boys in the double stroller and I'd "wear" Liberty.  It was quite a workout just getting ourselves set up for our walk!

Then my middle son started learning how to ride his "real" bike...so I was able to push my youngest two in the double stroller while my older two rode their bikes.  Still, I felt like I was burning hundreds of calories just getting the stroller and two bikes loaded and unloaded every day!

So...we walked and walked and walked...and the other plus to this was that the boys would *ask* to take naps almost every day--so I got one too--and I needed that since I still had a newborn!

Walking is how I lost most of my weight...but not just walking...walking using my T-Tapp Tecniques!

T-Tapp
On rainy days, and occassionally at naptime, I would T-Tapp and sometimes my hubby would join me.  I heard about T-Tapp from the MOMYS and was curious enough to buy a clearanced DVD.

Upon my first trial of it, My hubby and I couldn't really "feel" it working, so we wondered if it was really worth it.  Then we woke up the next morning SORE and decided it was working more than we knew!

T-Tapp is a wellness workout.  Its special sequence of comprehensive, compound muscle movement helps establish better alignment as well as increased strength and flexibility of the spine, better neuro-kinetic flow, lymphatic function, and increased metabolic rate.

But don't be fooled...it's CHALLANGING and you will sweat!  Read more about what T-Tapp is and will do for you, on her site, HERE.

To me, the BEST thing about T-Tapp is that it only takes 10-15 minutes for the Basic Workout.  You *can* do more, but just that 10 minutes will be a full workout to engage and wake-up your muscles AND increase your metabolism, which helps with weight loss!

Within a few weeks, my hubby and I were standing straighter, feeling healthier and engaging more muscles in our everyday activities--thus burning more calories in our day and normal activities than ever!  And also within a few weeks, several friends of our were "hooked" on T-Tapp too because of the changes they saw in Ryan and I!

The T-Tapp tecniques also DOUBLED the affectiveness of my walking efforts.  If you're curious, we purchased and use The Basic Workout Plus and Walk Away the Inches.

Doing the T-Tapp DVD before tackling normal housework will even maximize your calorie burn!

To see some examples, scroll down THIS PAGE to the videos at the bottom, or search for T-Tapp on You Tube!

***(by the way, there is no actual "tapping" involved...the creator of this exercise tecnique just happens to have the last name Tapp!)

*MOMYS, feel free to leave a testimony in the comments on your experience with T-Tapp!

Lose Your Mummy Tummy
Again, I heard about this DVD from the MOMYS.  I was able to borrow a copy from one of them, which was even more wonderful!

I think I only watched it a total of two or three times, and then just applied the exercises to my everyday life (which is what she encourages you to do).  This didn't burn many calories, but it did help me tone and manage my extra belly fluff!  :)

Now, I've always prided myself in my flat belly despite my multiple pregnacies...even after the baby was born, my belly always went back to flat.  BUT as I started losing weight, I noticed a little tummy "buldge" I wanted to change.

So MOST importantly, for me, I learned certain movements that women who have beared children (and struggle with a "Mummy Tummy") should "never" do.  I realized that even the way I was getting in and out of bed was causing more damage to my "diastasis", (a separation of the outermost abdominal muscles caused during pregnancy) than I knew!

Family Time
We always loved family bike rides and we think this is the funnest way to exercise!  

In 2008, just after I had Samuel, I'd "wear" him (not too safe, I know) and Ryan would pull the boys in a trailor that some friends gave us...

The summer of 2009, we invested in some things that would make us more active as a family.  Ryan and I both got new bikes, we bought a "cocoon" seat so Trusten could ride on the back of Ryan's bike, and a friend gave us a "trailer" to pull the other kids in.

Then, this Spring, because of the added blessing to our family, we bought another trailer for Ryan's bike, so we all the kids could sit and enjoy the bike ride...and trust me, Ryan and I get a GOOD workout, pulling 2 kids each!!!
When the kids are older, and they bike farther distances and be a little more independent on the streets, I'm sure we'll enjoy having all of us out with our own bikes, but for now, this is what works best for us!






Wii Fit Plus or Gym Membership?
Most people who know us, know that we are a semi-anti-video game family!  So a lot of people were surprised when we bought a Wii with our Christmas bonus.

Originally, I really wanted to buy a membership to our local gym here, but it's pretty expensive.  So, when we realized the savings we'd find if we would just buy a Wii and the Wii Fit Plus, we deiced that was the way to go!  Plus, unlike a gym membership, we'd have it for more than just a year...it was ours to own and use whenever in the future too.

So, my last 10 stubborn pounds came off by using the Wii Fit.  I really don't think the Wii was necessarily the answer...it was more about the fact that I was exercising more often because it was fun and I could target certain areas to work on.  Plus, a change in exercise intensity and variability is usually just what the doctor orders when you're stuck in your weight loss.

I Suggest...
-borrowing before you buy any DVD's (a lot of techniques can be learned and memorized).
-finding more than one exercise routine and switch it up often
-get your kids moving with you (Trusten used to T-Tapp with me and we had SO much fun!)
-"suck in your tummy" at all times, (no matter if you're exercising or not) and encourage those muscles to move from a TIGHT position, not a relaxed one (this works for men too!)
-maintain good posture throughout the day and that will help engage and tone your muscles!
.


 Also in this series:
Losing 30 lbs--Part 1 (My Story)
Losing 30 lbs--Part 2 (How I Did It)
Losing 30 lbs--Part 3 (How I Ate)
Losing 30 lbs--Part 5 (What God Did)

Losing 30 lbs--Part 3 (How I ate)

It may sound pitiful, but I really had no idea how to eat healthy... In high school I was captain of the cheerleading squad, skinny and carefree with my eating. So like I said in Part One, I had never had to diet...I ate whatever I wanted and kept my slim little figure...until baby world!

**Now let me just add here (because I did receive an e-mail from a reader about this), that as I mentioned before, I do not regret having baby after baby. Early in our marriage, we told the Lord that He is Lord over our entire life...including my womb. We told him we would trust HIM with all our hearts, and not lean on our own understanding or be wise in our own eyes (Proverbs 3:5,7). Each child has been nothing less than a blessing (Psalm 127:3-5) and has come in God's perfect timing (Job 1:27)...not our timing...which takes a lot of pressure off of us :). After having said that, I just want to clarify that the babies weren't really my issue. My issues were (and are) lack of self-control, and an over abundance of both selfishness and laziness.**

Now (back to what I eat) my husband and I spent about 2 hours at the grocery store on our first trip with the intention to eat healthy.  We looked at every label, compared each product...it was a bit exhausting!  But it also paid off because we knew the best choices and could make QUICK stops at the store and knew what we *could* eat and what we shouldn't!

Getting Real:
One of the first things I had to get real about was that there would be times I wouldn't be full...and that was okay.  Just because I didn't feel full didn't mean I should eat!  There would be times I'd be hungry and times I'd feel satisfied...I had to get used to not feeling FULL!


Drink of Choice: Water
Because I was nursing and because I knew it was good for me, I made a goal to drink 3 quarts of water a day. I bought a big jug at Wal-Mart that was 1 quart, so I just made myself fill it up and drink it empty 3 times a day!

Breakfast: Fiber!!!
I found out from MyFoodDiary (talked about this in Part 2) that fiber is the best way to start your day. Well as a junky eater, I probably don't need to tell you how much I hated this idea.

This was a HARD transition for me! I am all about the sweet kids cereals! Lucky Charms, Cocoa Puffs, Captain Crunch...I loved 'em all! I never ever thought I could choke down "healthy" cereal first thing in the morning. But I tried a few cereals out and realized I actually could handle plain Cheerios (I didn't have to *love* how it tasted...remember that post?).

I did find out that I loved Fiber One's Honey Clusters and Frosted Mini-Wheats (which I now eat every morning). I also found out I liked Kix...

But for me, Frosted Mini-Wheats and Fiber One cereals are the best choice for a breakfast rich in fiber!

Early Afternoon snack: Fruit

I am allergic to many citrus fruits, so that really limits my choices, but I would usually eat an apple, pear or banana inbetween breakfast and lunch. Fruit like grapes can be REALLY high in sugar, so just be careful how much sugar is in your fruit...because even though it's natural, it can still work against your weigh loss goals (I learned that from MyFoodDiary too! :) )

Lunch:

I'm not saying this is the best choice, but I always ate a healthy "frozen dinner" for lunch. I ate varietys of Lean Cuisine, Smart Ones, and Healthy Choice. These sometimes put me over in sodium, but kept me right where I needed to be for calorie intake, carbs and fats.

Cons:
-Usually high in sodium
-A little costly
-Hardly natural, it's completely processed (obviously)

Pros:
-Fast! (which I need with 4 kiddos to feed)
-They were already in the "My Food Diary" system (and in My Fitness Pal as well)
-Kept me satisfied until Late Afternoon snack

Late Afternoon Snack:I'm a carb lover, so I love plain pita bread.  It might not sound appealing, but by afternoon, I craved it!  So I often had a healthy choice of carbs like Joseph's Healthy Heart Pita Bread (high in protein, low in carbs and cholesterol).  I'd also have a yogurt, granola bar and/or fat-free pudding depending on how I was doing on Calories!

Big Salad for Dinner

I had a big ol' salad for most dinners (unless I had prepared a healthy dinner for the family). I changed it up alot and never got tired of eating salad every night...I really never did! Usually, it consisted of Romaine Lettuce, Mozzerella Cheese, Sunflower Seeds, Cucumbers, and a ton of dressing...

Now, most people will tell you that dressing is the unhealthy part of a salad and if you use a ton, you have probably blown your diet. I did use Ranch (low-fat, low calorie) from time to time, but what I heard was the best (Yes, from MyFoodDiary!) was Italian dressing...especially a low fat one.

I have NEVER liked Italian (I grew up on Ranch dressing) but I decided to give it a try since it was about 1/4 the calories of most Ranch's. That's when I discovered that Kraft has a line of Olive Oil Vinegarettes that I *love*!!!

And I even added some Bran to my salad by using Good Sense Semame Bran Sticks which are really good and a great "crouton" replacement!

After Dinner Snack:
I tried not to eat after dinner, but because my husband and I were used to eating a large bowl of ice cream or sugary cereal every night (Yep, that's true!) we would sometimes give ourselves a little allowance if our calories for the day were low.  We'd have a pudding, yogurt or granola bar...all were either rich in fiber, low in fat or high in protein!

Boundaries:
I gave myself a few, easy to follow boundaries such as (but not including my whole list)...

-Nothing to eat after dinner except either a yogurt (low-fat) or a piece of fruit (but be careful, some fruits are HIGH in sugar!)

-No pop or tea, at all.

-Desserts on weekends only

-No adding salt in my cooking or to prepared food. (A few recipes that called for it, I substituted with Sea Salt).

Really, the key is pinpointing your weaknesses and giving yourself boundaries where those things aren't necessarily cut out, but are given parameters.  Don't set yourself up for failure or guilt-filled pleasures.  (For me, I'm not a pop person, but would drink it just because...so it wasn't hard for me to cut it out completely.  However, I love chocolate, so I let myself have that on weekends!)

Planning Ahead

Once I had all this in place, I felt like I was chained to my house. How could I eat at a restaurant without knowing how many calories I was ordering? Was it possible to eat fast food without falling 10 steps back? So I learned to plan ahead...which takes discipline, but pays off!!!

I used First Place 4 Health's Food on the Go Guide, so I could know the best choices at most fast food place and restaurants. I also asked certain places to see their nutritional fact sheets and sometimes I (at places like Sonic) I even went on-line to see their nutritional guides so I knew the best choice to make! I told you...I was serious about my weight loss! :)The other key here was my accountablity (which I talked about it Part 2). I had told "key" people about my goals, so when I went to visit my parents, my sisters or went out to eat with my friends, they could support me.

I often took my own box of cereal when traveling out of town. My mom and sisters would cook "healthy" for me, which helped a ton! At one point, my brother-in-law decided the whole "Macias extended family" needed to start living healthier, so he initiated a lot of the healthy eating and active gatherings when we were all in town together!

Still, I let myself splurge from time to time for a special occasion or for "date night".  But I always tried to eat until satisfied, not until full, whenever I splurged.

Again, the key is thinking ahead and giving yourself a little help before you get bombarded with temptation!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Also in this series:
Losing 30 lbs--Part 1 (My Story)
Losing 30 lbs--Part 2 (How I Did It)
Losing 30 lbs--Part 4 (Exercising With 4 Littles Kids)
Losing 30 lbs--Part 5 (What God Did)

MckLinky Monday--Share A Favorite Healthy Recipe!

Last week, I started a new dealy bop called "MckLinky Monday" and did a "tell me about your Easter" post...since a few of you joined in, I'm gonna keep going with it!  Every week it'll be a random topic you can write about and come back and link us all to it!

So since I've been sharing how I lost 30 lbs of extra weight, I thought for this "MckLinky Monday" we could share some healthy recipes!

Here's a favorite of ours from The Biggest Loser Family Cookbook...

Meatball Hoagies:

-Olive oil spray

-2 egg whites

-1/2 cup quick-cooking oats

-1/4 cup fat-free milk

-1/2 cup parsley

-1 Tablespoon minced onion

-1/2 teaspoon oregano

-1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

-1/4 teaspoon salt

-1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

-1 pound lean ground beef (but we usually use ground turkey because it's cheaper!)

-1 jar of sphagetti sauce

(note: Biggest Loser has a marinera recipe, but when we compared nutritional value to pre-made products like "Ragu" we noticed very little difference, so now we just use a pre-made jar and save on time!)

Preheat oven to 400*.  Lightly coat a large non-stick baking sheet with olive oil spray.

In medium bowl, mix together egg white, oats and milk with fork until well combined.  Add the parsley, onion, oregano, garlic powder, salt and crushed red pepper flakes and mix until combined.  Mix in the beef or turkey until well combined.

Make about 32 uniform meatball (each about 1 1/4" diameter--a little bigger than a ping pong ball).  Roll the balls with your hands and arrange, not touching, on the prepared baking sheet.  

Bake for 8-12 minutes, or until no longer pink inside.

This makes 4 (8 meatball) servings.

Wanna know the good news?!

8 meatballs are only 194 calories!!!!!!!  With about 26 grams of protein, 5 grams of fat and 2 grams of fiber!!!

Once you have the meatballs made, we like to let them simmer in spaghetti sauce on the stove.

Then we take (healthy, wheat) hoagie bread, toast it open-faced for about 7 minutes in the 400* oven.

But you can also put the meatballs and sauce over a bed of Rozoni Healthy Harvest pasta.  Both are delicious choices!!!

So what about you?  What is a favorite healthy recipe that your family enjoys?

Link it up below!  And don't forget to also make sure you're entered for my 2 giveaways by Tuesday night!!!  Click here to do that!

Losing 30 lbs--Part 2 (How I Did It)

I almost lied.  I almost wrote "Part 5" of my journey but planned to tell you all it was my "Part 2". But since I said I would be honest, I'll give you the REAL "Part 2" and the real Part 5 will come later, just like it did in real life...even thought I wish it had come sooner!

So I told you how I gained the weight in Part 1, but now, how did I lose 30 lbs?  Well, this is how I lost the first 20lbs...

I was excited in the beginning, but wanted to be realistic about my goals and my willpower.  I kept fearing the day when I would want to quit and eat everything in sight.  I feared not seeing quick results and losing hope.  So in order to avoid giving up, I put alot of things in place to keep myself encouraged and accountable, because I wanted to make sure I tried and persevered, regardless if my fears coming true.

Goals

First, I wrote down every goal and every part of my plan to reach that goal. I included all the things that follow...

A Partner:

I think losing weight would have been really hard to do without my Hubby doing it right along side me.  He didn't need to lose as much as me, but he decided to join in with my plan 100%.  This helped so much because when you have to prepare two separate meals (1 healthy for you, 1 normal for others) or when the other spouse is eating a late night bowl of ice cream every night, it's just really easy to throw in the towel.  We did it together and we both did it 100%. 

Accountability:

I decide to involve a lot of people in my journey.  I told my parents, my sisters and a couple of my very best friends about my goal.  It was humbling to share with so many, but I knew I needed *all* their support (more on that in Part 3).

First Place 4 Health Bible Study:

One of my friends was kind enough to join me in a Bible Study on weight loss.  It's a series called "First Place 4 Health" and we did the first book in the series, but looking back, I wish I would have done the one specifically on Self-Control (but it hadn't been released yet anyways).  Each Bible Study is a 12 week study on losing weight and getting your heart right with God in the process.  It was really good. In the back of the study is 12 weeks of meal plans and menus as well as an exercise log...very helpful!

www.FoodDiary.com:

My husband and I joined http://www.myfooddiary.com/ for $9 a month.  It was MY FAVORITE resource in weight loss journey!  A lot of food (and restaurants) are already in their data base, but the ones that aren't you can enter manually.  So if the bread in your house isn't in their system you enter the info on the nutrition label and can save it to use again at any time!  You can also save entire recipes in your database!

It starts with a series of questions which helps you determine how many calories you should be getting a day and how many calories you should aim to burn.  And for me, as a nursing mom, it "required" me to take in no less than a certain amount of calories for Liberty's sake.  I really liked that feature!

There were SO many beneficial things to using MyFoodDiary.  First, at any point in your day, you can check to see where you're at on calories allowed and all nutrients.  Also, it teaches you about why you need certain nutrients, like iron and vitamin A.  It gives you a smiley face for every good choice.  When you go over your sodium or saturated fats, it gives you a little frown face and tells you the risks involved with overdoing it on those items.

At the end of the day, once all your foods are entered, each nutrient will either be red (danger zone), light green (pretty good) or green (perfect) so that you can aim to eat a healthy, well-balanced diet!

All this was again, helpful to have a partner for because Ryan and I would compete for who had the most smiley faces at the end of the day and who had more green bars than red.

The food diary also tracks your water, since I tried to drink 3 quarts of water a day, I could enter in every time I had a glass of water and that added to my goal!

One last thing I love about the food diary (there are more reasons than I'm writing about!) is that it tracked your exercise!  You could enter in that you walked for 20 minutes or played basketball for 10 minutes...and even grocery shopping, vacuuming and cooking has a calorie burn amount based on the time you spent doing it!!!

(Sidenote: Alternative to MyFoodDiary)

If your budget is tight and you can't afford MyFoodDiary, another good option is http://www.myfitnesspal.com/ which is a FREE food and exercise diary service.  I used MyFoodDiary for two months, then switched to MyFitnessPal.  I thought that My Fitness Pal had more food items in their database, but that is really the only thing I liked better about it.  Overall, MyFoodDiary is better laid out and easier to read and follow.  The other reason why I went with MyFoodDiary first, is because I was nursing and needed a certain number of calories...MyFitnessPal did not give me the "nursing mom" option, so it suggested I eat fewer calories than I really needed.

Probiotic:

I had heard that a really good pro-biotic helps you to loose weight, so I gave it a try!  For me it was double bonus because my babies also have issues with thrush, so it was beneficial to Liberty too!  I picked up a supplement at Wal-Mart and took 3 pills twice a day.  Wal-Mart isn't the best choice of where to purchase your pro-biotic, but in a small town, my choices are limited!  I've often heard people say a good pro-biotic will require refrigeration (and mine didn't) so you may want to keep that in mind while shopping around.  My Wal-Mart pills worked well for me, but there may be better choices out there!

My food and exercise info is SO important that I wanted to include it all in this post.  But since I can tell this already getting to be long, I'm going to make those separate posts!  So please stay tuned!

 Don't forget to enter my giveaway for two great items!!!  Click here!!!

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Also in this series:
Losing 30 lbs--Part 1 (My Story)
Losing 30 lbs--Part 3 (How I Ate)
Losing 30 lbs--Part 4 (Exercising With 4 Littles Kids)
Losing 30 lbs--Part 5 (What God Did)

Losing 30 lbs--Part 1 (My Story)

Alright. I'm just gonna go ahead and risk my pride here. I've been wanting to blog about this for a while, but was a little shy. However, now, in hopes that I can encourage someone, here's my story...the truth about my weight...

For the past 6 years I have either been nursing or pregnant. That's not a funny exaggeration...it's the truth. The last 6 years has been non-stop, constant cycle of pregnant, nursing, pregnant, nursing, pregnant...you get the point.
And I have loved every minute of it! The problem is I have also loved every minute of excuses like "I'm eating for two" or "The baby wants another large chocolate chip cookie dough blizzard made with the chocolate ice cream...and a side of french fries".

So as a result of my "excuses" to eat, overeat and eat unhealthily, I started gaining with my first baby and kept on gaining with each pregnancy. What's worse, is after my pregnancies, I never attempted to loose the weight...although I did have some high hopes that breastfeeding would be a good, natural way to loose some weight.
Wrong. For some reason I was not (and still am not) one of those blessed women who looses their baby weight while nursing. I'm the opposite. I usually lose weight during my pregnancies (just a little--thanks to vomiting from morning sickness--yuckola!) and I gain while breastfeeding.

So with each pregnancy, I would lose a little at first, gain a lot by the end of my pregnancy, but gain more during the babies first 9 months...then I'd get pregnant again, lose a little at first, but gain more by the end of the pregnancy, but gain alot after the baby...and there's the cycle again!

I have never been someone overly concerned with my weight. In fact, (I told you I'd be honest) with my baby weight, I took the lazy way out and told myself that I was doing a "noble thing" by not stressing over the vanity of my weight and continuing to have babies...and that I was a better person for doing so.

"Do nothing out of...vain conceit", right?

Well, I had twisted that Truth to support my laziness, when in reality, I was being a horrible steward of my temple...my body that was bought at a price, because it wasn't just sheer "baby weight" that had caused me to gain so much. It was really, really poor eating habits.

(Our family at the Tulsa Zoo)

(May 2008)

(April 2010)

Remember when I said I've never been overly concerned with my weight? Well, I've also never been a healthy eater. Those are a bad combination!!!

So what was the result of 4 back-to-back pregnancies with never even an attempt to lose weight? Well, after my Liberty Joy arrived, I was 45 lbs heavier than I was when my husband and I first got married.

That might not be so bad to some, but for me, it meant my blood pressure was out.of.control. When I was active, I would feel dizzy and weak. I'd get blurry vision and I felt slow and heavy. I knew I needed to change something...but I didn't have any motivation or will-power.

I had never in my life tried to lose weight. How could I just all of a sudden learn to do it now? I had somewhere in the past convinced myself I *could*not* lose weight...otherwise wouldn't it have come plummeting down by chasing my boys around all day? So I was sure that even if I tried, I wouldn't be able to do it.

Then came my "appointed kick-in-the-pants". My amazing and caring midwife gently told me that before I get pregnant again, I should really try to lose some weight--mainly due to my blood pressure issues. It was hard to hear, but I *needed* her to say that to me. I needed a reality check. I needed to stop being SO selfish about my body.
I knew the answer wasn't to stop having babies...or stop trusting God. But instead the answer was seeking the Lord's will in what I eat, how often I eat and why I eat.

So I started to make a plan...and guess what? With the Lord's help...it worked!


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Also in this series:
Losing 30 lbs--Part 2 (How I Did It)
Losing 30 lbs--Part 3 (How I Ate)
Losing 30 lbs--Part 4 (Exercising With 4 Littles Kids)
Losing 30 lbs--Part 5 (What God Did)