Happy Birthday Blog!

This Sunday will mark
1 year since I started this blog, and weight loss journey.
In that year, I have lost 45 pounds, and gained knowledge, health and happiness.

Here are some of my favorite posts, over the past year:

*THIS one just makes chuckle. I still can't wear those.

*THIS was when I started to feel like I could actually do this.

*Last Valentines Day was when I really understood that eating healthy can be fun, and DELICIOUS!

*got a gym membership.

*Conquered my fear, and got in the pool at the gym for the first time.

*Climbed a mountain.

*Was finally able to wear high heels, after losing 40 pounds!

It has been an awesome ride! I'm excited to see what this year has in store!

THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart, to all those who have read along with me. And thank you to everyone who has left me comments. They always put a smile on my face, and have helped carry me through some hard times in this journey.

I heart you. Each and every one of you.

My Christmas Gift

Every year, on Christmas morning, my husband and I take pictures of each other tearing open our gifts. He insists on taking a picture of each and every Christmas present. When the presents have been opened, and all the "Oohs" and "Ahhs" have been said, I sit on the couch, and review all the pictures. And that is when I ruin my Christmas. One picture after another, I see a fat roll I didn't know I had, or a double chin I didn't realize was so big.
(Here I am on Christmas morning in 2008, trying on a jacket my husband got for me that didn't fit. Even though it was an extra large.)The rest of Christmas day would be spent with tears in my eyes. I'd be filled with regret, disgust, and hopelessness. Every year I would make a promise to myself, that next years Christmas morning photos would be double chin and fat roll free. And with that, I would never look at that years Christmas pictures again. I would pretend they never existed. I would pretend that the whole Christmas morning, at 200+ pounds never existed. I would simply look forward to next year. But guess what? Next year would be exactly the same.

Except for this year....

I spent most of my Christmas Eve this year, worrying about the Christmas morning pictures that would be taken. I had absolutely convinced myself that I was 206 pounds again. I had convinced myself that each and every picture would be included with fat rolls and double chins. On Christmas Eve, I tried bracing myself for the pain that I would feel, when I sat down in the morning to review the pictures. Christmas morning came, we went down stairs, tore into our gifts...and out comes the camera. And of course, my husband insisted on taking a picture of each and every present like he does every year. Afterwords, I sat on the couch as usual, to review the pictures. I braced myself to see something horrible. Instead, I saw something absolutely wonderful. I might even say, Beautiful.No double chins.

This was the first Christmas in 5 years, that I didn't cry when I saw our pictures. This is the fist year that I didn't spend the rest of the day in a depressed funk because of my weight. Instead, I spent the day feeling blessed and grateful for all the blessing I have in my life. I spent the day thinking about how far I've come, and how proud I was of myself. This year I didn't erase a single picture of myself. I didn't try and erase the entire Christmas morning from my mind. Instead, I played it over and over again.

I have lost 45 pounds this year.
That is one totally awesome gift!

I got in the pool

First of all, I went to the gym. That was an accomplishment all by itself.

While I was packing my gym bag, I put my bathing suit in there, just in case I actually got up the guts to go into the pool.

And I did.
It was awesome.

I got over my fear, of getting in a bathing suit in public. I stopped worrying about what everyone would think of me, and I just did it. I did it for ME.

My joints feel so good in the water!
Not perfect...I can still feel them grinding and such, but being in the water puts me in a lot less pain then when I'm on the treadmill, or elliptical.

I discovered something, while I was in the water:

I ROCK!And I can do anything I set my heart to.

Funks, and Changes

I hate funks, don't you?
The past couple weeks, I've been lost in one.
I've been in a blogging funk, diet funk, exercise funk, emotional funk...just about every kind of funk there is.

I thought it was the stress of getting everything ready for my husband and I to go to the temple. But when that was over, the funk stuck around. Then TOM showed it's face this week, so that must be the reason for my funk.

I think sometimes you just have to fight through your funks. That's what I've been trying to do today. I already feel better, and I think this funk is going to be leaving soon :)

I want to be better.
I know that I can be doing more, in every aspect of my life. So, I have a few changes that I want to make. They deal with my blog, my healthy lifestyle, and my life:

BLOG:

*A while ago, I set Mondays and Thursdays as my blogging days. But sometimes, I want to blog on a Monday, and a Tuesday. For some reason, I told myself I could only blog on Mondays and Thursdays. Weird. So, I'm going to change that. I'm still going to blog every Monday and Thursday for sure, but if there's something I want to blog about on a Wednesday, I'm gonna blog about it! But be prepared for some fairly random posts, from yours truly ;)

*I never really explained what my cooking/baking habits were before I went on my diet.
Before switching over to my new healthy lifestyle, I never spent time in the kitchen. I had a couple dishes I could make, but other then that, we relied on the good chefs at Mc Donald's to provide our dinners. So, when I went on a diet, I had to learn how to cook and bake. There was so much I didn't know how to do, and it took trial and error to get me where I am now. But, I'm still a Deliciously Healthy cook/baker in training. There's still a lot of things I don't know how to do, and things I have never tried to do, because they intimidate me. I want to take you on a journey with me as I concur the kitchen! Every 2 weeks, I'm going to pick something new and challenging to try in the kitchen. I'm going to call it, "Brittany's Kitchen Adventures"! I'm going to do them the 2nd and last Monday of each month. I will blog about each kitchen adventure, whether it was a success or not. Some of the things may not be new, or challenging to you. They may be new to me, but easy to you. But I am starting from the bottom pretty much, and I have a lot to learn! There's bound to be some disasters, but hopefully a lot of Deliciously Healthy successes!

*Why do I weigh in on Mondays? Aren't Mondays already pretty cruddy enough? I'm going to switch my weigh in day to Thursdays for now. I do my sneak peak weigh ins on Thursdays, and for whatever reason, I like weighing in on a Thursday :)

Healthy Lifestyle:

*I think I've gotten a little too comfortable. I love my healthy lifestyle, and eating deliciously healthy, but sometimes I feel like I've made it a little too much of a lifestyle, and not a diet, where I'm trying to lose weight. I feel like it's almost more weight maintenance at this point. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE that this is simply my new healthy life, and that I'm comfortable with living this new way for the rest of my life, but I am still in the, trying to lose weight part of this journey. I need to kick it up a couple notches.

*I have been having this nagging voice in my head telling me I need to eat cleaner. I've tried to ignore it, but it just seems to be getting louder... Dawne, has made me feel like this is actually something I can do. I'm going to take a shot at it. I don't think I'm ever going to be a clean eater, but I want to be a tidy eater ;) This isn't something that I'm going to dive right into. I'm going to take it one baby step at a time, and eliminate one thing out of my diet, at a time. I don't want to overwhelm myself. After all, this is a lifestyle change. I will blog about this clean eating journey as well. It will be called... Hmm, I haven't come up with a name for it yet. Any suggestions?

*I eat way too much sugar! I'm going to start keeping an eye on my sugar intake. From now on, I'm only going to allow myself one, deliciously healthy sweet treat a day.

*I have been a major slacker in the exercise department. I am going to go to the gym 3 times a week from now on. If I don't, I need you to kick my butt!!

Life:

My husband got a new job, where he is going to be traveling a lot.
Desperate housewife anyone? I'm suddenly going to have a lot of time on my hands, and I need to find things to keep me busy.

*I'm a pretty shy person. Sometimes I can fake it pretty well, but it's hard for me to talk to people I don't know very well. I'm going to force myself out of my shell, and make an effort to meet new people, and build stronger friendships.

*Charity has always been close to my heart, but sadly, I don't do much of it. I want to amerce myself in service. Because I have been given much, I to must give.

*I got a sewing machine for my b-day, and I haven't done a single thing with it! I wanted one so badly, yet it has been sitting in my basement for 3 months. I want to take a sewing class, so I can start having some fun, and work on projects!

There you have it. Funks and changes. You still awake? ;D

I'm excited to go in this new direction, and I hope you all enjoy the ride!

Hello Jaw Line

I haven't seen you in a while.
The other day, I got my teeth whitened (Yay!).
It took some pleading to get the husband to fork up the $ for this,
oh so important procedure. So, to show him my appreciation, I texted him this picture, saying "thank you!"

Then I posted it on Facebook.
That was when I noticed something...

I have a jaw line!!
I was more excited about that, then I was about my new pearly whites! It put a smile on my face all day!

I feel like the old me again.
The me that had a jaw line, and thought nothing of it.

When I look in the mirror now days, it's like I'm seeing an old friend. I think to myself, "Hey! There you are! I haven't seen you in forever!"
It feels good.

I will appreciate this jaw line of mine, each and every single day.
Cause I missed it. Like a lot.

My 40 Pound Milestone

As of this morning,
I have lost 40 pounds!

Moi at 206 (2009):Moi at 186 (March 2010):Moi Today, at 166! :
I have lost 40 pounds!
Me.
The girl that used to eat fast food for breakfast lunch and dinner, and who thought she couldn't cook, let alone cook a healthy meal.
The girl with PCOS, Lupus, Rheumatoid Arthritis, and Low Thyroid.
The girl who had the cards stacked against her.
And the girl who had never exercised, and thought she would never be able to.

Yes, that girl.

I did it!

I did it with moderate exercise, starting a weight loss blog, and by
eating Deliciously Healthy. I broke up with my old, abusive relationship with food, and I started a new one. Now, I don't just get joy through eating food, I get joy through preparing it, experimenting with it, taking pictures of it, sharing it, and of course by enjoying each and every Deliciously Healthy bite!

By eating Deliciously Healthy, I have become
:Deliciously Healthy.
40 pounds ago, I only had a period once or twice a year, due to my PCOS. Since eating Deliciously Healthy, and being on this weight loss journey, I've had 7 periods out of 9.
All. On. My. Own.
40 pounds ago I couldn't walk long distances, or be very active because of the RA in my knees. Now, I can go on long walks, and practically run up the stairs! I can climb mountains, and enjoy this beautiful life of mine, with less pain.

I am 40 pounds lighter.
:Deliciously Healthy.
And very, very proud of myself!

I love myself inside and out!
And that is a beautiful feeling.
Thank you so much for all your support along the way!
I know I could not have come this far without this blog, and all of you!I heart you.

I'm almost half way there!

Today, I Climbed A Mountain.

We drove up to the beautiful Rocky Mountain National Park today.
It is so BEAUTIFUL up there, and I love going!

Last time we went, was in July 2009.
I weighed 206.I returned just a little over a year later, weighing 167.
39 pounds lighter.
When you drive to the top of the mountain, there's a long walking trail that takes you the rest of the way to the top. Last time, I got about 10 steps in before my legs were burning, and I was huffing and puffing. 10 steps in, I gave up. I turned around, and waited for everyone in the car. I was embarrassed. I felt like I was missing out on life when everyone came back talking about how pretty it was at the top. I wondered if I would ever be able to see what they were all talking about.

Today, I climbed that mountain.

It was hard, but I did not give up! I got all the way to the top, and got to soak in all the beauty!
Today, I didn't have to get left behind, and wait in the car.
I didn't have to miss out on life because of my weight.
Today, I wasn't embarrassed, or ashamed.

I simply got to enjoy life.
Today, I felt proud,
and accomplished.

A New Dress For my Anniversary

Thursday was Our 5th wedding anniversary.

I thought a new dress was in order for this special occasion.
I had visions of a black dress, since I've never owned a little black dress (and I've heard it's a must have:)
I went to the store, found one I liked, tried it on, and it fit. Not only did it fit, but I liked the way I looked and felt in it.
It was as simple as that.39 pounds ago, I would have had to go to multiple stores, and would have cried in multiple fitting rooms. I would have walked out of the store, sad, fat, and empty handed. For the rest of the night I would have thought about how much weight I had gained since our wedding day (as I've done on all 4 of our previous anniversaries), instead of enjoying the night with my husband, and celebrating our marriage.

Not this anniversary. This anniversary I felt beautiful all night long (as my husband kept telling me so), and I thought about what really matters....How much I LOVE my life with my husband, and how far we've come since getting married at 18 and 19, 5 years ago!

A New Size + A Switcheroo!

Today I went shopping with my Sister-in-Law, to get ready for our family reunion!
I was absolutely itching to get in the store, so I could try on a size 14 pants!

I walked into Kohl's, went straight to the ladies department, and started my hunt for size 14 pants! I draped each cute pair I came across, on my arm, to take into the fitting room.
It was weird.
It seemed like I was shopping in la la land.
"Is this really happening? Surely these aren't going to fit."

Once I had a decent pile of pants hanging over my arm, I took a deep breath, and decided it was time to head to the fitting room.

That's when my heart started racing.
And I think I even started to sweat.

I took forever to find a stall I wanted, even though the fitting room was completely empty. I was nervous, and I was stalling. Finally, I picked one. I locked the door, took another deep breath, and selected the first pair of pants I wanted to try on, which were capris. These were a little less intimidating then jeans. I held them up, and let out a chuckle. "You're not going to fit into these Brittany. It'll be okay if you don't"

I was surprised they made it up my legs. Even more surprised when they made it past the junk in my trunk, and I totally couldn't believe it when I comfortably buttoned them!
They fit!I was ecstatic!
Next, I tried on size 14 jeans, that created a bit of a muffin top.It was a little discouraging, but then I tried on another size 14 jeans, and they fit perfectly!WooHoo!

I've gone from a size 18 to a 14!!
I'm so stinkin' proud of myself!

These are the moments in this weight loss journey, that make everything
so worth it!
I wish I could capture that feeling in a jar, and eat it up each and everyday!

Next stop: size 12!

**

After all that shopping, I had an infusion appointment at my doctor's office.
I was on Enbrel, a once weekly home injection, but I've switched back to Remicade. Remicade is a light form of chemotherapy, given through an IV. The infusion lasts 2 hours, and I have to get it every two months. I was on these infusions for a couple years, but stopped last December, due to the fact that I knew we were going to start trying to get pregnant in a few months. In December I switched to the injections, thinking it would be safer if I got pregnant. As it turns out, studies have shown that Remicade isn't harmful during a pregnancy! Which is great, because I like the infusions way more then the injections! I would have an allergic reaction every time my husband gave me the injection, they hurt A LOT, and I just didn't like being poked every week! I'm going to stop the infusions when I get pregnant, just to be on the safe side, but at least I know that getting pregnant on Remicade, won't hurt the baby!They gave me the ever so fabulous, Strawberry Shortcake band aid! ;)
The infusion days themselves are hard though. You can get sick during the infusion. The side effects can range from having a fever, the shakes, headaches, vomiting, and all sorts of other unpleasant stuff! They're also guaranteed to make you
super-de-duper tired! Because of the fact that I haven't had the infusion in a long time, they had to give it to me ultra slow, to reduce the chances of me having side affects. Instead of taking 2 hours, it took 3 1/2!! I had a few moments there where I thought I was going to puke, but I kept my mind off it, by reading all of your blogs on my iphone! So thanks for getting me through it! ;)
The medicine also seems to put my mind in a fog. I took 3 wrong turns getting home from my appointment, on a route I've been taking for over 2 years!

Although today was a little rough, I'm super excited to start feeling the medicine working! These past few days I've felt like the tin man from Wizard of Oz! Now that I've been "oiled up" hopefully I'll be all set!

**

I also just found out that I've been given The Versatile Blogger Award, by Amy at Lite and Fit!!!Thank you so much Amy!!

I'm going to work on it this weekend, and be back on Monday to share!

Thank you again!
xoxo

My Deliciously Healthy Memorial Day

Today I made chicken, fruit, and dessert shish kabobs for memorial day!
They were delish! I was able to escape memorial day, without hamburgers and ice cream cones!For the fruit shish kabobs, I used srawberries, watermelon, and blackberries (I had a sudden craving for oranges, and wish I had bought some to add to the mix).

Then, for the dessert shish kabobs, I dipped strawberries, and marshmallows (cut into 1/3) in dark chocolate (I dipped the strawberries, and marshmallows half way into the chocolate)! It started out with strawberries, marshmallows, and bananas, but I wasn't feeling the bananas, so I left them out.
They were yummy! :
On a side note: I think it would be cute to put strawberries, marshmallows, and blueberries on a skewer for 4th of July!

Later on in the evening, the hubs took me shopping to get some workout gear!
Why do I need workout gear you ask?

Because I got me one of these! :A gym membership to Bally Total Fitness!

I've wanted to join a gym for forever but didn't because, A. with my RA I thought I wouldn't be able to really do much there, and so I was worried it would be a waste of money. And B. because I was/am horrified to go!

Now, after losing 35+ pounds, my knees have been feeling a lot better! I think I may actually be able to incorporate working out, into my weight loss plan! That's so exciting and rewarding for me! I've come so far (a tear;)! I'm proud of myself for facing my fears, and taking the first step: Getting the membership! Tomorrow I'm going to take the second step, and actually go workout!

My original plan was to get a gym membership, just so I could use the pool to do laps. That's still my main plan, as I think it'll be a great workout, and easy on my joints. Although while I was taking the tour of the gym, I saw some workout machines that I may be able to do with my arthritis. That would be a great bonus, if I'm able to take advantage of those spiffy little things! ;D

I'm still pretty darn nervous for tomorrow, but I'm working though it...
I feel like I'm in 1st grade, and tomorrow's my first day of school, lol!

I'm mostly nervous to swim. I can swim, but I don't know how to do the professional kind of swimming. I feel like a complete armature, and I totally don't know what I'm doing! You get a free session with a personal trainer, so I'm wondering if I can ask them to teach me how to use swimming as a workout. I feel stupid asking for that. I'm going to try talking to someone about it tomorrow. Hopefully I'll get it all figured out soon.

I also did my weigh in, on this Memorial Day.
171.
That's a 1 pound loss. I did pretty darn good this week, so I'm kinda confused. I know that the further you get in your weight loss, it tends to slow down a little bit. That's why it made me nervous that my weight loss started out at about 2 pounds a week. I thought, "Oh great! What's it going to slow down to?!" I feel that after losing 36 pounds, my weight loss has slowed to 1 pound a week. Although thus far, I've had little to no exercise. I'm hoping working out will give me the boost I need, to get back to a 2+ pound loss each week!

Well, that's it for me!

Wish me luck for tomorrow!

Hope you all had a great Memorial Day!(Flickr)

**Workout Update!**

I just got back from the gym! I survived!
It wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. Everyone didn't stop what they were doing to watch me enter the building, or pull up chairs to watch me workout, like I thought they would!
That's good ;D

I did 10 minutes on that thingy... what's it called? The elliptical?
And 10 minutes speed walking on the treadmill (well, at least speed walking for me)
I had planned to do more, but by the end of it, I seriously thought I was going to pass out! I have to take baby steps, to get to my goal... I'm not sure what that goal is, but I know it's more then 10 minutes on each machine, lol! I'd say for the first time working out in years, I did pretty good! It felt good to work up a sweat, and feel my heart racing!

I'm pretty darn proud of myself!

Woo Hoo!

I'm feeling a little sick today (Boo!), but I wanted to share a few things I have to celebrate!

First of all, we had a great, Deliciously Healthy Easter! WOO HOO! I hope you all did too!!

Secondarily, we had a great time visiting with my father-in-law!
As soon as he walked in the door, I announced that I was eating healthy! LOL! My husband laughed at me. I felt like I needed to just get it out there, without realizing how completely random it was! He was respectful, and supportive of the fact. While grocery shopping together, he would point out things that were healthy, and things that I should stay away from. It was kinda funny.

I ate really well when we were at home. When we went out to eat (3 times) I did pretty good sometimes, and not so good other times. But I think that's okay. The times I didn't do so well, I would try my best to make up for it at home, by eating REALLY healthy the next day.

I'd say it was a pretty successful week! I'm glad my father-in-law was able to come visit. I totally didn't need to stress about working in my diet while he was here, the way I did! I learned that you can enjoy visitors, and still eat healthy! Phew!

Another woo hoo, goes to my hubby! He graduated with his bachelors degree. He received high honors, with a 3.9 GPA!! WOO HOO! Is it bad of me to take a tiny bit of credit for that? Who do you think helped him study? MOI! ;D
Joking aside, I'm REALLY PROUD of him!!

I had wanted to wear my goal dress to my hubbies graduation, but I can't quite fit into it yet. That meant that I had to go dress shopping...I was seriously dreading it! The last time I tried dress shopping, I was 206, and it was a very depressing experience. I was expecting it to be much the same this time, forgetting that I was 25 pounds lighter!! It wasn't painful at all! It was quick, and easy, and no tears were shed in the fitting room. I walked out with this dress (in a large!):
My next big woo hoo, goes to my favorite Aunt, Aunt Flow! She is making an appearance this month!.... I'm pretty sure at least.

Hmm, how do I put this? I've seen glimpses of her, but she's not 100% here yet. You get me?
My poor blog readers have to read about me, and my period all the time. Sorry guys ;D

Last month, I was really upset that "it" didn't show up. Every day I would cross my fingers, hoping I'd have a period, but the month of March ended without a cycle. It was a huge let down for me. I just wanted my body to work the way it's supposed to, 2 months in a row. I had given up that I was going to have one for the month of April, May or June. I had convinced myself that having one in February was just a fluke. So, I'm pleasantly surprised, and proud of myself (in a funny way) that aunt flow came all on her own this month!! Since eating healthy, I've gone from having a period 1-2 times a year, to having one in November, February, and April!! WOO HOO!!

My last woo hoo, goes to my weigh in this morning. It wasn't exactly what I wanted to see, but I'm very happy with it.
My weigh in had me at 180! That means that in the week I had company over, and started my period, I still managed to lose 1 pound!! WOO HOO!

Even though I have a headache, and am not feeling so hot, I'm very happy, and pretty proud of myself today, as I reflect on everything there is to celebrate!!

***

Wondering what the heck to do with all your hard boiled Easter eggs?Eating Well, has the answer for you!

YAY!!

I Chose "YAY!!" To be the title of this post, because I have a lot of things to celebrate, and be happy for! :

Remember how I told you that I had some business I needed to attend to, and I promised I'd tell you all about it, when I was done? Well, I'm finally done!

A few weeks ago, I got jury duty. Big whoop right? Well, as my luck would have it, I got picked to be on the jury for a murder trial! Out of 300 people! What are the odds?! It lasted 3 weeks, and it's finally over! YAY! I had planned to tell you all about it in more detail, but I think it's smart to keep quiet for a while...

I'm happy to be back to life before this whole thing began.... and back to blogging again! Thank you for sticking by me, even though I've been a total blog slacker! On most nights, I just wanted to eat dinner, and crawl into bed. Towards the end of the trial, the judge ordered us to stay off the Internet, so I couldn't even blog if I wanted to!

During this whole trial, I had some :Deliciously Healthy triumphs, that I'm pretty proud of! :
1. When I first found out that I was definitely on the jury, the thought came to my mind, to go of my diet, until the trial was over. I wanted comfort food! But then I remembered, that life throws you curve balls, and you have to learn to work around them. I was determined to not let this curve ball, throw me off track! I'm happy to report, that over the course of this 3 week trial, I lost 5 pounds! ...And I'm pretty darn proud of that!
2. Everyday on our lunch break, we would walk around downtown Denver, and get lunch. It was a lot of fun walking around the city, but there weren't a lot of healthy options to chose from. My 2nd triumph, is that I learned how to eat out, while sticking to my diet! This is something I never thought I had the strength, or willpower to do. I thought for certain, if I had to chose a salad, or a big juicy burger, I would always chose the burger! It actually wasn't that hard! I just said to myself, "Brittany, you deserve more then a greasy burger! You deserve to be happy and healthy!" It worked every time! ...YAY!

***

My 2nd big YAY, goes to the fact, that I've passed up my first 20 pounds lost, milestone! YAY!!

Last weekend, the oh so beautiful scale said "186" Which meant I had lost 20 pounds, since around October- 09' when I weighed 206!

This weekend I weigh 184! The scale has definitely lost some of the beauty it had last weekend, but I'm still very happy with my 2 pound loss this week! I seem to lose 2 pounds every week. I wish it were 3, but hey, at least it's something! ;)

Before meets After...

Here's me at 206:
( This one's pretty telling, isn't it? ;)
And Here I am now, at 184! (22 pounds lighter):This is a milestone, that a little voice inside my head, told me I'd never reach. But guess what? I totally did! When I stepped on the scale the morning that I found out I had lost my first 20 pounds, I gave myself a little pat on the back! Literally ;) Everything has been worth it, to feel the way I felt when I stepped onto the scale, and saw that I hit that beautiful milestone. Those cinnamon rolls that I turned down, the donuts I had to pass up almost every morning while on jury duty, the pizza add I got in the mail that made me drool...NONE of those things could have brought me the satisfaction, joy, and the complete sense of accomplishment that I got from reaching my first 20lb milestone! ....No cheesecake in the world could have compared to the joy I felt when I got my period last month, or the way I felt when I got my very first compliment, or how rewarding it felt when I bought a size 16 pants!
It's so worth it! I'm so worth it!

THANK YOU
to everyone who stops by my blog, and gives me support! I know that my blog is one of the major reasons why I've (finally) been successful this time around! I heart you guys!

***

My 3rd big YAY, goes to the fact that I've been feeling great lately! I can definitely feel a difference in my knees, now that I've lightened their load! I first went on this diet, because I wanted to be healthy. To be healthy so that we can have a baby. To be healthy so that I can function with less pain. To be healthy, so I can stay far away from even more health problems, like diabetes. And to be healthy, so I can hold off on knee replacements as long as I can.
It's working. I can feel my body changing, and becoming healthier... I feel healthier! I realize more and more as the days go by, that the numbers don't define my journey. I'm a healthier person now, then I was before, and next month I will be healthier then I am now. But, since the scale doesn't have a brain, it neglects to tell me that part ;)

Eat Deliciously Healthy. Be :Deliciously Healthy.

***

And lastly, I tried a delicious new recipe! YAY!

I heart Italian food. After seeing one delicious Italian restaurant commercial after the other, I decided that I had to do something about it!

So, I made, Jumbo Stuffed Shells!
And it was everything I hoped it would be! :
You Will Need:

~12 jumbo pasta shells
~1 cup fat-free ricotta cheese
~1 1/4 cups finely shredded low-fat mozzarella
~3 tablespoons reduced fat parmesan
~1 large egg white
~1 1/2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh parsley
~1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh basil
~1/2 teaspoon finely chopped garlic
~2 1/2 cups low sodium marinara sauce
~1 tablespoon reduced fat parmesan
~Salt and pepper

Here's What You Do:

Cook pasta according to package. Drain, and place shells side by side on wax paper. In a bowl, mix Ricotta cheese, and next 6 ingredients. Evenly spread out 3/4 of a cup of the marinara sauce in a 10 inch round, or 11x7 baking dish. Spoon in, or use a pipping bag like I did, 2 tablespoons of the mixture into each shell. Place stuffed shells in a single layer, in the baking dish. Spoon the remaining marinara sauce over the top. Sprinkle parmesan over the marinara sauce. Cover with foil, and bake for 20-25 minutes.
**This would be awesome with some Italian seasoned lean ground turkey! You could either make meat balls, or mix it in to the marinara!

Here's What I'm Thinking:
~About 100 calories per stuffed shell.
**I had 3 shells, and a side of steamed asparagus. I rounded it all out to be about 350 calories.

***

I'm headed to bed.
Tomorrow I have A LOT of catching up to do on all my blog friends!
I can't wait to see what you guys have been up to!

XOXO