Creating Weight Loss Goals + Update on My Success

Before committing my time, my money, my mind and my full SELF to losing weight, I talked with my health coach to see if this was the right program for me. During our conversation she asked me a few very simple questions, “How much weight do you want to lose, what is your ideal weight?” These were actually hard questions to answer! I had to really think about what I wanted versus what I thought was actually possible. What I thought was possible was losing a total of 30 pounds and I really thought it was going to take me a year or more to accomplish this given my history with Weight Watchers and counting calories. When I told my health coach, Lisa, that my ideal weight would be 150 pounds, she actually laughed and said something like “30 pounds ? That will be easy to accomplish, what if you could be 125 pounds?” It was MY turn to laugh because that is about how much I weighed when George and I got married and I was really thinking, YEA RIGHT how am I going to lose 55 pounds?

As of 4/23/13 (I weigh in on Tuesdays) I’m officially down 20 pounds in 6 weeks so Lisa was right (shhhhhh….we won’t tell her that, haha) and I’m feeling amazing!

 6 weeks and down 20 pounds

Pic on left is the night before I started my weight loss at 180 lbs, top right is 4 weeks – down 14 pounds and  bottom right is 6 weeks – down 20 lbs

My overall health has changed so much from the weight (obviously), to what I eat, and how I feel. Not only do I do a double take in the mirror sometimes when I see myself, but I actually enjoy putting clothes on that I haven’t been able to wear in a long time and then feeling GREAT when I leave the house. Even as a family we are doing more “healthy” activities together and Abbey is loving “poppers” a.k.a. peppers that I sauteed for dinner regularly. I mostly shop the perimeter of the grocery store and don’t dive into the center aisles much if I can avoid it.

What I’m really trying to say is that I’m creating new healthy habits for myself and my family and couldn’t be more happy about the results thus far! My next goal is to be at 31 pounds lost by my 31st birthday, I am now super confident that by May 25th I will have reached that goal. 

Walking 2.62 miles in honor and memory of those injured in the Boston Marathon, Monday night.

Walking 2.62 miles in honor and memory of those injured in the Boston Marathon, Monday night. Gearing up for my FIRST Flying Pig 1/2 Marathon in Cincinnati May 5th!

Toddler Food Ideas

Let me preface this post with a huge disclaimer stating that I am not a doctor nor a nutritionist, I am a mom. I’m a mom trying to make the best decisions for my toddler and family. So please don’t take any of the food ideas I give to you as gospel for what your toddler should be eating/doing but as a guide to help spark ideas for you and your family. Now that is settled, here we go!

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I’ve been asked by some friends and other moms about the foods that I feed Abbey. As mom’s, we like to know what the other is doing to get ideas from each other. See my list below categorized by meal along with a few resources for further ideas:

{Breakfast ideas}

  • Baby pancakes (frozen but not the Kroger version, they get hard and gross)
  • Egg
  • Waffles (frozen but not the Kroger version, they get hard and gross)
  • Yogurt
  • Cheerios
  • Fruit (Abbey loves Bananas, Strawberries and Oranges in the morning)
  • Cottage cheese

{Lunch ideas}

  • Grilled cheese on wheat bread
  • Quesadilla on wheat tortilla
  • Purdue chicken nuggets
  • Mac & Cheese (Abbey loves the Velveeta shells & cheese and I buy the single packs at Sam’s)
  • Sliced deli (ham, turkey)
  • Baked beans
  • Taco meat + cheese
  • Cottage cheese
  • Veggies (Abbey loves/likes green beans, corn, sweet potatoes)
  • Fruit (Abbey loves Avocado and can eat an entire half, mandarin oranges in light syrup purchased in bulk at Sam’s, and again with bananas, strawberries, and grapes)

{Dinner ideas}

  • Pretty much anything that we have for dinner! Check out my Meals at Home blog post for recipes and ideas that we make and Abbey eats with us. 
  • Spaghetti
  • Chili
  • Cottage cheese
  • Veggies
  • Fruit

{Snack ideas}

  • Cheese sticks
  • Gerber Graduates snacks (all are favorites for Abbey)
  • Squeezy fruits
  • Nutrigrain bars
  • Cereal (Cheerios)
  • Fruit
  • Goldfish (any variety)
  • Oyster crackers

{Great Resources}

I hope this was helpful for you as a guide to come up with other great food ideas for your little one (s). As always, please leave suggestions in the comments so that we can all learn from you and what you feed your family.