Baggage: My Postpartum Weight Loss Journey

In the seven months since Joshua Jr was born I have managed to slowly but surely drop my pregnancy weight with only 10 pounds left to lose. I gained almost 50 pounds during my pregnancy and I’m not gonna lie, I had moments of sheer panic that I’d never be able to lose it all. I had hoped to only gain 25-30 pounds like my mother during her pregnancies but found that just wasn’t possible for me. Despite starting my gestation out on a pregnancy friendly meal plan and hiking my butt off 5 days a week my weight kept creeping up. At a certain point, probably around 4 months I gave up the struggle and tried instead to respect my body’s needs and trust my instincts. About ten days after Joshua Jr’s birth I got back on the scale to see where I was at and how far I had to go.Continue Reading

Family Friendly Smoothies

To be totally honest I’ve had a love/hate relationship with smoothies for years now. I love the idea of them, but hate that an hour after I’ve downed one I’m starving again. Then there was the summer that I thought I would easily drop a few extra pounds by using my Ninja blender to whip up a smoothie every morning for breakfast, but I wasn’t following any particular recipe for low cal options and didn’t realize that adding a cup of cashews, almonds or walnuts was jacking up the calorie count on the smoothie to well over a thousand. Yeah, I actually put weight on that summer. But when the warm weather rolls around I find myself craving their cool, silky deliciousness, and so do my girls. With a determined heart I set about searching for a few satisfying, low cal, easy recipes and low and behold, I found em! So I guess smoothies and I are officially back together…for the summer at least.Continue Reading

Cheeseburger Casserole Reboot

I’m a huge fan of Gina Homolka and her blog Skinnytaste. My mother bought me her cookbook a while ago and it’s been an absolute lifesaver. She has so many wonderful family dinner recipes that taste amazing but cut back on the calories and fat. As a working actress I’ve always had to be mindful of my weight and staying trim but now that I’m pregnant, it’s become even more important to me to eat healthy nutritious foods that will nourish me and the baby. The beauty of Skinnytaste is that I get it all. Healthy family friendly meals that are delicious, nutritious and low in added fat and calories. One of the Kelley family favorites is her cheeseburger casserole. I’ve made it so many times that recently I decided to make a few changes to Gina’s recipe to shake things up. Continue Reading