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

Pregnancy Favorites…Thus Far

As I write this I am 19 weeks pregnant and now believe myself to be an expert on all things pregnancy. Therefore, I thought it only right that I share my hard gained wisdom with all of you presently, and planning to be, gestating ladies out there. I’m joking, I basically know nothing, but there are a few things that I have discovered during the last 19 weeks that have vastly improved my pregnancy experience. I thought that even if only a few of my discoveries were helpful to another pregnant gal I should for sure share them. Just like so many wonderful women have shared with me their tips, tricks and advice for getting through this experience with grace and good humor.Continue Reading