So. In all the traveling and craziness that was summer, I have gained 4 lbs. This is not one of those situations where you look and say, "Now how did I do that?," where the weight just snuck up on you. Nope. This is one of those situations where you look and say "How did I not gain 400?" Dude, I subsisted on nothing but fried seafood, fudge, and chicken salad for an ENTIRE WEEK. By all accounts, I should have my own gravitational pull at this point. So, comparatively, 4 lbs. is not that big of a deal. Except that it is. I have worked hard to lose weight, and to let it get out of control again is not something that I want to do.
I started Weight Watchers way back when I lived in CA because I wanted to be in better shape before we moved across the country. I lost between 20 and 30 pounds before we left, and then kept it up until I got pregnant with Alice. When I got pregnant, I gave up on WW, but I still monitored what I ate and tried to move a lot. This made my last pregnancy the easiest one. I only gained about 25 pounds and I was moving up until the last day, which was great. After Alice's birth, I decided not to do anything formal, but to listen to my body and monitor what I ate and to try to exercise when I could. This laissez faire approach worked well, and I managed to get down to what was my original goal and to make some healthy changes.
However, I want to lose about 10-15 more pounds and to tone up a bit. As I have gotten smaller, I have determined that I am a petite woman and that my original goal is a bit high for my height and structure. I used to think that I was built larger like my dad, but I am becoming more aware of my body and that no longer seems to be the case. Therefore, I think 15 (well, 19 if you count the 4 pounds I put on over the summer) more pounds is a very reasonable goal. So I am going on WW to get it off for good.
And this time...my husband is joining me! I am so jazzed. Matt has always been super thin--when we started dating, he wore a size 28 pants. He has had a couple of times when he has gained weight (mostly connected with extended trips to Russia--land of sour cream and blini stands), but he lost it quickly just by upping his walking. However, now that we are older, he is finding it harder to control it that way. Plus, he feels that his metabolism is (finally) slowing down, and he wants to avoid more severe weight problems in the future. So, I finally talked him into it. He is (obviously) doing the WW for Men program, so I am eager to see how that differs from my own program. Further, we are hoping to use both of our programs to teach our kids more about healthy eating and to improve the health of our overall household.
On this blog, I will post a weekly update on our progress (on Wednesdays, because we started on Wednesday and because I like alliteration). The entries will mostly focus on me and my week, but I will mention how Matt is doing as well. Matt is much more of a private person than I am, so I'm sure he would not want details splashed all over the internet, so I'll just give the basics so that others who may have husbands who want to try WW online can find out about it. I am also hoping to do a "Healthy Recipe of the Week" of something new that we have tried with our entire family.
DISCLAIMER: This week's recipe is not healthy. In fact, it is probably one of the least healthy thing you can put in your mouth, other than the fact that it contains some fruit and calcium. I am posting it because it is delicious and because I am bidding adieu to non-healthy food for a while, or at least, I am vowing not to bake one of these suckers and have it sitting in my refrigerator for when my willpower gets low. I will definitely try to refocus my baking energies on things less sinful for the time being. But I made this on Sunday, and it is so, so freaking good.
Lime Cheesecake with Rasp-berry Pur-ee (The kind you find in a secondhand store!)
2 cups gingersnap crumbs
2 1/2 cups sugar, divided
1/2 cup butter, melted
4 (8 oz) pkg. cream cheese (yes, 4)
5 large eggs
1 tbsp. grated lime rind (if you don't have a microplaner, don't even attempt this recipe)
1/3 cup fresh lime juice
1 1/8 tsp. vanilla extract, divided
1 (16 oz.) container sour cream (yup)
1 (10 oz) pkg. frozen raspberries, thawed.
Stir together the gingernsap crumbs, 1/4 cup sugar, and butter.
Press crumb mixture into bottom and up sides of a lightly greased 10 in. springform pan. Chill 1 hour.
Beat all that cream cheese at medium speed until smooth.
Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating until blended after each addition. Gradually add 1 3/4 cups sugar, beating until blended.
Stir in lime rind, lime juice, and 1 tsp. vanilla. Pour mixture into crust.
Bake at 325 for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until outside is set but middle is still a bit wobbly (kind of like Prince's hips). Remove cheesecake from oven; cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes.
Stir together remaining 1/2 cup sugar, 1/8 tsp. vanilla, and sour cream. Spread over cheesecake. Bake at 325 for 10 more minutes. Cool on wire rack for 1 hour and then cover and chill for 10 hours.
Process raspberries in a blender until smooth. Serve with cheesecake.
Recipe courtesy Southern Living 2000 Annual Recipes.
This thing would be perfect to take to a summer picnic. Especially if it is a picnic populated by people that you care about enough to prepare something for, but not enough to where if they died of sudden heart failure after eating it, you would be overly upset.
And finally...a giveaway. Not my giveaway. I am nowhere near having my shit together enough for that. The giveaway is sponsored by the amazing Dr. BabyMamaDrama at A Voice of Reason and (in)Sanity. It is all about stuff that will help you as you get healthier--a t-shirt, a water bottle, a gift certificate to Walgreens and Neutrogena sunblock products. I'm sure it would be good penance if you do decide to make the cheesecake. I myself am particularly excited about the water bottle because my family is currently trying to break our terrible addiction to plastic water bottles. Comment to sign up for it and stick around to read some of her blogs--I am a big fan.
So until next Wednesday, ya'll. Have a healthy week!
(Oh, I will be back with more inane banter tomorrow probably--just next Wednesday on the WW thing. Get it? Kind of? Cool.)
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