Dieting and Children

I have problems with my weight for a while now. I mean, I'm not like, super morbid obese or anything, but I definitely have some poundage to shed. I was relatively thin before I got pregnant, and I'm sure you've heard this a million times, but I went from 150 to 220 in 9 months. I gained 70 pounds. To this day, I find it unbelievable. What I find even more unbelievable is the fact that I now weigh 180 lbs. I had a hard enough time staying thin before the baby, when he came, it totally got put on the back burner. I have had spurts where I was eating healthy and working out, but it just didn't last. My previous dieting technique was to not necessarily starve myself, but certainly not eat enough to satisfy my hunger.

Previously, I vowed to myself that I would never, ever, ever do the Atkins Diet. Any diet where you could eat mounds of bacon really seemed like a crock to me. Most people know how it works. You don't eat carbs, you eat a crap-ton of protein, and you lose weight like a mad person.

I will say right now that I am very easily persuaded, which I suppose is a good thing for a person wanting to go on a diet. I read several chapters of the Atkins Diet book, and was convinced that it was the diet for me. I am blessed to actually like vegetables, which are the staple food for the Atkins Diet.

I am in the very early stages now, this is like, my second day. I know this blog is primarily about raising children, but since the class I am writing it for is nearing the end of the semester, I am deciding to switch gears a little bit. I may make this a diary of sorts. How to combat weight loss, while still caring for your children and live a normal life. We'll see how it goes. I am really anxious to lose weight and feel better about myself. I want more energy to play with my son, I want to be less irritable, I want to be thin again, darnit! Just because I had a baby doesn't mean I am doomed to a life of out-of-shapeness. I am determined. This time, I mean it!

Having a Worry Free Life with Kids--Is it Possible?

Let me just answer that question right off the bat; in my experience, no. It's not. What happens, and again, this is only my experience, is that life goes on fairly uneventful for most of the time. And you forget that life can be unfair, evil, and scary. Until something happens. The most recent thing that happened wasn't necessarily directly affecting me, but really hit close to home.

7-month-old Mauled to Death by Rottweiler

As if this story didn't absolutely break my heart, I work with the father of the child. It was, and still is completely devastating to me. Granted, I am a very emotional person, but when something like that happens to a baby, I lose it.On top of that, it is a reality check right to the face. My family and I suddenly become so incredibly mortal in my eyes. I start to think about the things that could happen, and how lucky I am that nothing has happened. Leaving my son at daycare, I fear the worst. If my boyfriend doesn't answer the phone, I fear the worst.

I know it's normal to worry, and the way I see it, better safe than sorry. That expression didn't about for no reason. I just know that freak accidents happen, and of course, you think "that will never happen to me." In my eyes, as soon as you begin to think like that, something will happen.

But how do you live a normal life? You have to balance in between worrying and not becoming paranoid. Although at the end of the day, being paranoid may be the safest thing, it is not certainly not the most healthy way to live. But when bad things happen, it definitely makes you think for a while. I will always be better safe than sorry. But I'll try my best to not be super-paranoid.

My Attempt at Creating Food

I go through these periods where I just don't care what I eat--which basically means I don't care if it's healthy. Then, I get to a point where I actually start craving HEALTHY things. Which is a good thing in and of itself, but since I am terrible at cooking, it makes it harder to be able to cook meals that taste good. I am hoping to start out simple, and expand my horizons. And there really is nothing more simple than a sandwich, or in this case, a wrap. I took a few simple ingredients and made a pretty delicious lunch out of it. (Oh, I am also clearly lacking in the creative department, and really can't think of a name for it.)

Spinach-Turkey-Hummus Wrap

4 Slices of Turkey
2 Tablespoons of Joseph's Red Pepper Hummus
Baby Spinach
Spinach Wrap
Mayonnaise or other dressing

Put Ingredients into the wrap, and enjoy!

Now all I have to start working on is making my own hummus...

Having a Love Life After Kids--Is It Possible?

This is a question that I will not be able to answer, so this blog post will post likely me complaining with not real answers or info. I am out of answers.

For the most part, my life revolves around my son. I don't have much free time between working 2 jobs and going to school. So when the time is there, I enjoy spending it with my son. But, then, there is still my boyfriend. I love him dearly, but things just aren't the same. I think it's mostly our situation, but I just feel like our relationship has been put on the back burner. I wish it wasn't like this, I want to know how to fix it. But there just isn't any time. I envy people that still have great relationships. It has just been so hard, we are both so worn out, it is just extremely difficult to find time to fix things.

What can I do? Any advice?

Super Duper Easy Recipe time!

I love all food, and the easier the food, the better! This isn't all that healthy, but you could definitely replace the beef with ground turkey and that would cut back on the fat!

SLOPPY JOES