I am back to writing down everything I eat which I find is a real help with keeping me accountable for what I am putting in my mouth and curbing cravings.  I have to remember that I don’t need a bunch of carbs and I do need lots of vegetables and protein. So I am trying to focus on eating mostly vegies, fruit and protein and only having a carb at two of my meals and avoiding carbs when snacking.  I know that most don’t follow this type of plan but I think I mean a different thing than most when I talk about avoiding carbs.

So a sample day is like this.

• Breakfast: 2 eggs, whole wheat English muffin
• Snack: carrots and hummus
• Lunch: lamb and salad
• Snack: Kind Bar, 1/2 apple
• Dinner: Steak and Shrimp, green beans, corn bread
• Snack: small ice cream

Weeks 8-16 = 1lb gain, 167lbs

Weeks 17-22  = 2lb gain, 169

Weeks 23-24 = 1lb gain, 170

Weeks 25-40+ = 1lb gain per week ending pregnancy at 186

What do you think, I also planned this out with my first pregnancy and once the second trimester hit I stopped weighing myself and just gave in to eating whatever I wanted to.  I am really dedicated to not gaining a bunch of weight this time and to really being conscious all the way through about what I am eating.

This is the official post to let you all know that I am pregnant again!

We are due on October 31st and this time around I will be continuing to post food and weight topics here but general pregnancy updates will be posted at my other blog, Mothering My Way.

Since I am considered overweight going into this pregnancy I am going to aim to keep the weight gain at a minimum around 20 lbs total.  So I am going to do this goal style and each week list goals I would like to accomplish including weight gain goals and follow up throughout the week to see where I am.

Last pregnancy I stopped really weighing myself around week 12 and I think that was a big mistake, I had a few months where I put on way to much weight in one month and overall I gained 60lbs which I am still 5lbs away from loosing all of it.  I would really like to not have to spend most of next year trying to get back to where I am now just to still have another 30lbs to loose.

Goals for this week:

1. Track food everyday
2. Drink 64oz water per day
3. Exercise 3x this week, running
4. Weight next week 166

So I have lost a total of 52.2 lbs since December 23rd, 2008.  I am very proud of myself that is the most weight that I have ever lost in my life and I keep thinking to myself if I keep going and get down to 118 I will have lost 100lbs.  I have not weighted 118 since probably elementary school so this is kind of a stretch for me and I am keeping my current goal of 140 for this year.  But we will see how it goes.

Ingredients:
4 cups spaghetti squash
1 egg
1/4 cup grated Parmesan Cheese
1/2 cup tomato sauce
1 cup mushrooms
1 red pepper
8 oz ground turkey
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions:
1. Cook 1 spaghetti squash (I poke several times with a knife and microwave whole for 10 minutes). Cut open, clean seeds from center and discard.

2. Scrape flesh into a bowl and let cool for a bit. Add 1 egg, 1/4 cup grated Parmesan Cheese, and salt and pepper to taste and mix well.

3. Spray a pie plate or shallow casserole with non stick spray and spread spaghetti squash mixture to form a thick “crust”. Bake at 400 until the crust begins to brown, approx 30-45 minutes minutes.

4. Top with 1/2 cup marinara sauce or tomato sauce, and any pizza-type toppings you desire (veggies, turkey pepperoni, sausage, olives). Finish off with 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese, and 1/8 cup grated Parmesan. Bake an additional 20 mins. until the cheese is melty and bubbly and beginning to brown.

5. Cut into wedges and serve. Serves 4 generously.

I got this recipet from the fabulous people at 3fatchicks South Beach Forum.

Today I was thinking all about the greatness of eating one of these and because I didn’t want to buy a whole dozen I instead went to Starbucks and got an apple fritter. AH! Why do I do this to myself? Anyone.

Here I am doing good and trying to recover from overeating this weekend and I go and eat a freakin donut. I hate my brain sometimes.

So Lent starts tomorrow and everyone is supposed to give up something important to them for lent. I am giving up. . . Fast food and Starbucks. It will be hard, I’m going to Florida on Thursday morning so I will have to find a way to deal at the airport. But I am committed no fast food or Starbucks for 40 days and 40 nights.

So my question is what are you giving up?

I joined the ranks of millions of Americans who are Overweight!!!

This is the link to the original recipe and my version is below.

Brown Rice and Lentil Casserole

Ingredients
3 cups broth (chicken or vegetable)
1 cups green lentils
3/4 cup brown rice
1 can diced tomatoes, Italian style
1 can mushrooms
1/2 cup frozen chopped spinach, still frozen but broken up
2 tsp Italian seasoning
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp pepper
2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Add broth, lentils, brown rice, tomatoes, mushrooms, spinach and spices to 9×13-inch glass baking dish. Stir together and cover tightly with foil.
3. Bake at 350 for 2 hours.
4. Remove foil and sprinkle shredded cheese over the top and return to oven and bake uncovered for 20 more minutes, or until cheese is completely melted.
5. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving with your favorite vegetables

That is a huge number for me. I don’t think I have lost that much in one month ever maybe.  I have just been really focused on what I eat and writing everything down in my new little notebook has really made the difference.  I think that if I don’t want to write something down I shouldn’t be eating it.

I have joined the 3fatchicks.com forum for the South Beach diet and they are doing a lot of great things with accountability. One is a daily challenge for 64 days, the challenge I chose was to exercise or meal plan. Which I have been doing great at 3 days in a row so far. The other is monthly weight goal, so my weight loss goal for February is 5lbs. I think I can do it again. Especially with the impending trip to Mexico just on the horizon.

My montra while I have been working out has been 150 by May. I have also been thinking about the Road Ends 5 Mile latley and I want to do not just good but great this year.  The first year I ran it I got 1:13:19 as my time.  Last year at 190lbs and 4 month post partum I got, 1:31:44.  It was a really bad time.  This year my goal is 1 hour.

So here is a cheer for February at the end of this month I’ll weight 163 and hopefully be able to run 1 mile without stopping.