Sunday Slim Down: Week 7

Lbs of baby weight lost this week: 3.7 (What?!)

Total weight loss: 8.1

Little Me being Olivia Newton John with my Grandma Maisy, proving I once had as much energy as Edward

What What?  I'm not sure what happened this week, but I'll take it! This is the biggest week I've had so far except for those two weeks after I left the hospital when I lost 12 lbs (I had a 7 lb baby and left the hospital only 5 lbs lighter, which was super annoying).  3.7 lbs in 7 days is a lot.  I feel like I'm on The Biggest Loser when they step on the scale and lose 32 lbs. 

Two things I did differently this week: I cut out the snacking and I tried to make healthy dinners.

Snacking
It's such a fine line when you're nursing because you have to eat when you feel hungry.  But sometimes I had to ask myself, am I hungry? or am I thirsty? or am I emotionally eating sea salt covered dark chocolate caramels because it's 10 o'clock in the morning and too early for wine? (Kidding! I never drink before noon).  I bought some blueberries and strawberries and used those for a sweet treat.  I still indulged in a chocolate or two, but I have to hide from Edward when I do that.  I also had to step away from the Goldfish.  When I wanted something salty I snacked on the SkinnyPop popcorn I told y'all about a couple of weeks ago, which is really good and satisfying.


Dinners
Dinners tend to be my biggest meal of the day, which goes against everything anyone tells you about dieting.  But, for me, it's the only time I get to actually sit down and eat a meal.  Moms out there know how it is, you eat as fast as you possibly can while someone holds the baby.  So I realized that if I'm going to eat a big dinner it better be healthy.

Here are some of the recipes from this week*

*I cannot verify whether or not these are kid-friendly because pretty much nothing is kid-friendly to Edward, except pizza and apples.  He is, what we like to call, an "Eat-To-Live" not a "Live-To-Eat," so clearly, not my child.  

Spinach & Kale Bites from Trader Joe's 

 

These were really good.  Kip even liked them!  I served them with Gwyneth Paltrow's Go-To Tomato Sauce, which I could eat with a spoon.  I also cooked spaghetti squash, but I wouldn't say they necessarily go great with the spaghetti squash.  Not horrible, just not a great culinary combination.  Overall, it was a super low-calorie/highly nutritious meal that I will definitely make again. 

Skinnytaste No Bean Turkey and Sweet Potato Chili

I'm so sad.  Through no fault of the recipe, it was awful.  I think my turkey was bad.  It tasted really gamey (is that the right word?) I normally love ground turkey! That being said, I think this could be really good on a better day, especially for people who don't like beans. I love beans so I missed those as well as the beef.  I did like the texture of the sweet potatoes mixed in so I may add them next time I make chili.

Skinnytaste Butternut Squash and Spinach Lasagna Rolls 

This was soo good and soo light!  The thing I love about Gina's Skinny Recipes is that she knows when to use full-fat ingredients and when to use light.  She does a really good job of keeping her recipes light without sacrificing taste.  That's why I hate to even report that a recipe didn't work because really, she does an amazing job.

This was one of those recipes that almost didn't get made.  We were having an overtired toddler episode ifyouknowwhatImean.  It took me 3 hours.  Poor Kip got one of those frantic, exasperated "when are you coming home the kids are going crazy" calls that prompted him to suggest we just go pick something up.  But I was determined to finish one thing I started.  Just one thing!  Again, not the recipe's fault. They should've taken about 30 minutes.  I will definitely make these again when I have more time.

Goals for Next Week:

• Keep up with the healthy dinners, but maybe find some one-pot or three-ingredient recipes, since that seems to be about all I can handle
• Exercise more (this week, I only made it to Bar Method once) 

 
Here are a few health-ish links if y'all are interested!

Let's not forget Ladies, pregnancy is a massive physical challenge 

My sister highly recommends this book: It Starts with Food: Discover the Whole30 and Change Your Life in Unexpected Ways

Blake Lively is annoying and a liar

Breastfeed-Weight Loss Myth?

MUST SEE: Model Photoshopped into a Different Person (I wish all young high school girls could see this)

I need to organize my pantry like this one

I'm doing this month of gratitude with my Awesome friend Tobe

You bet yer tushy I'm going to spend some part of nap time learning the choreography to Britney Spears' new music video.