About Moi

About Moi
My Name is Brittany, and I'm 23yrs old. I was diagnosed with Lupus when I was 15, and then diagnosed with RA, when I was 18. I also got married when I was 18, and I'm enjoying my happily ever after with my hubby! When I got married, I was slim and trim...But not for long. After getting married, I started to gain a LOT of weight! In 1yr, I gained 50lbs! Finally, I went to the Doctor, where I discovered I have low thyroid. After being put on medicine, my weight gain slowed down, although over the next 3yrs, I gained an additional 26lbs. When I was 20yrs old, I got yet another diagnoses of Poly Cystic Ovarian Syndrome. That's 4 diagnoses in a 5yr period, if you lost count. They all effect my weight, in one way or another. Add on top of that, my love affair with food, and every 1 of those 76lbs gained was accounted for. Being 76lbs over weight is unhealthy for anyone, but it was especially unhealthy for me, and my health issues. Since starting this blog, in Jan-2010, I have lost 40lbs! I'm a new, slimmer, and healthier me! Before losing weight, I was told I needed knee replacements. Losing weight was the ONLY tool I had to help me hold off on that life changing surgery. Since losing 40lbs, my knees have never felt better! My husband and I are also trying to start a family, but my PCOS was not going to make it as easy as 1,2,3, as I didn't have periods on my own. My doctor had told me if I wanted a baby, I HAD to lose weight. Since losing 40lbs, I've had regular cycles for the first time in my life! Which is very important when trying to have a baby ;) This journey of mine is more than me simply wanting to wear skinny jeans. It has been a quest to becoming :Deliciously Healthy, so ALL of my dreams can come true! I'm almost half way there! With each new day, I get closer and closer to my goal of 120lbs, and becoming :Deliciously Healthy!

Friday, March 19, 2010

I Enjoy Being Deliciously Healthy

Hello!(I'm a nerd;)

I'm still being a complete blog slacker aren't I?
I'll do better, I promise ;D

Tuesday was my weigh in (is it Friday already?). It had me at 182. What do you know, I'm down 2 pounds from last weeks weigh in. It's like clock work!! Because of the (crazy) goals I set for myself a while ago, this 2 pound loss every week, may have caused steam to shoot out of my ears by now, but it hasn't (I promise;). I'm happy with it. I'm at peace with it.

This week, I think something finally clicked:
I'm not on a diet!
Seriously. I'm not. LOL!
I'm simply making healthy choices, and living a healthier lifestyle. This week, the majority of my focus has been on putting Deliciously Healthy fuel into my body, and figuring out how I can eat cleaner, by making simple changes. Eating healthy, and being healthy, came way before thinking about calories, and weigh-ins. This week, it's been a lifestyle, NOT a diet! I'm eating Deliciously Healthy, and I'm loving it!

Who knew you could live and be healthy, love what you eat, AND lose weight? Being healthier is gratifying and worth it, all by itself! Losing 2 pounds a week on top of that, feels like a little extra bonus. I'll take that little extra bonus with a smile on my face, and be grateful for it! :)

I'm not saying that this journey isn't hard for me, and that I don't still day dream about cupcakes, and chocolate donuts with pink sprinkles (MMM).
This is my new lifestyle. A lifestyle that is healthy, and has more meaning, then simply the numbers on the scale. I see the bigger picture now, and seeing the big picture, gives me the strength, knowledge and motivation, to eat Deliciously Healthy, and enjoy doing it.

So, that's where I am this week. 182, happy, healthy, grateful, and content!
I'm not making any promises for next week! I kid. I kid ;D

Now, it's time for a Deliciously Healthy recipe!
Are you ready for this? Because it's awesome!

I had a few things in my fridge, that were going to go bad if I didn't use them soon. I had low-fat ricotta cheese left over from my stuffed shells, spinach, mushrooms a friend gave me, and 1lb of turkey my husband put in the fridge for some reason, so I had to cook it soon. Hmmm.... What can I make, that uses all of those ingredients?

(Light bulb moment)

Spinach and Mushroom Lasagna!!It was delish! My husband loved it! My husband always says he doesn't like "diet food". His taste buds are my Deliciously Healthy, gauge. If it's healthy enough for me, and delicious enough for him, it can make it onto my little blog. He licked his plate (it's sad, but I'm not kidding), so it passed the test!

Here's What You Need:
~8 ounce package whole wheat lasagna noodles
~1 pound lean ground turkey
~1 cup chopped onion
~1 1/4 cups low-fat ricotta cheese
~4 egg whites
~1 cup chopped mushrooms
~1 package of spinach, cooked. Or you can use 1 10 ounce package of frozen spinach, thawed and drained.
~3/4 teaspoon salt
~1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
~1 14 ounce jar of low-sodium spaghetti sauce
~3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

This is What You Do:
Heat oven to 35o. Cook noodles according to package. While noodles are cooking, cook turkey, and add the chopped onion to the turkey. Mix together in a bowl, the ricotta cheese, and next 5 ingredients. Pour 1/2 cup of the spaghetti sauce, in a 11X7X1 1/2 baking dish. Lay 4 of the cooked noodles on top, overlapping each other. Spoon out half the mushroom mixture, and spread over noodle layer. Poor half the turkey and onion mixture, over the top. Lay down 3 noodles, to create a new layer. Spoon out remaining mushroom mixture, and spread over the noodles. Pour the remaining turkey and onion over the top. Lay down 3 noodles, and pour the remaining spaghetti sauce over the top. Cover loosely, and bake for 50min. Uncover, and bake for an additional 10min.

Here's What I'm Thinking:

6 servings
~About 390 calories, per serving.

****

Deliciously Healthy Tip:Since I've been cooking healthy, I've noticed that I seem to be getting rid of a lot of egg yolks! It seriously pained me to dump them down the drain! That was until I learned you can give them to your dog! Egg yolks are easy on their stomachs, helps their metabolism and muscles, and it makes their coats nice and shiny! We have 3 dogs: A Cairn terrier, Lab, and a Greyhound. I read that egg yolks are especially good for Greyhounds, so I give the majority of them to her. I would check to make sure that it's okay for your specific breed, but if you have a dog, and hate wasting egg yolks, this can be a great alternative! :D
(Note: It's not healthy however, to give your dog only the egg whites. You either want to give them the egg yolks, or a whole egg.)

I hope you all have a FANTASTIC weekend!!
And remember: It's not a diet, it's a lifestyle.
Whoever came up with that phrase, is a genius. Probably a skinny genius ;D

15 comments:

Unknown said...

wow great job with all your weight loss!!! I know you'll be able to fit into that dress :) Also thanks for sharing the yolk knowledge!

my blog: mollymariegetshealthy.com

divad said...

I'm so glad you've realized that 2 pounds a week is normal, healthy and doable, as opposed to your ever so unrealistic previous goals! :)

You're a good cook...hubs is lucky!

Maybe we should go dress shopping together!

Jenn@slim-shoppin said...

Yeah Brittany!! You are right, its NOT a diet, its just eating the best thing for your body and eating healthy foods isn't torture, for me, it tastes SO MUCH better than greasy, gross foods!

I am so proud of you and you are so close to the 170's! That's so exciting!

x said...

good job on your loss and great tip[ on the egg yolks i have 140 lbs of dog over here and I feed them all kinds of things :) one loves soy milk.

Anonymous said...

You "sound" great. I'm so happy this is working for you.

That lasagne sounds delicious!!!

Tiff said...

That's a cool tip about giving the egg yolks to the dogs! It looks delicious! And you are definitely rocking; it's funny, once you get the basics down it's really not that hard, right?

Tammy said...

Just caught up on your last 2 posts...you've lost 4 lbs since I've been by your blog!! Glad the jury duty is over with, and good for you for eating healthy through it all. Your recipes look divine! :)

135by2012 said...

I am so making the lasagna recipe either this week or next. I have a ton of ground turkey and trying to find interesting ways to cook it. I'll let you know how it comes out. :)

Andrea @ CanYouStayForDinner.com said...

congratulations my dear! you are seriously so inspiring! I love how happy you are at this time and how full of life you seem to be! Great lasagna recipe- I'll be sure to try it!

Meg said...

Great job on the weight loss!! You are rockin' this, girl. :)

The lasagna looks so tasty...I'm going to have to make that one night. And I'm glad you put the tip in about the eggs! I always feel bad about that too, but now our doggie can have a treat. LOL

Corletta said...

You are doing so well! Keep the good work up momma! I love your enthusiasm! It really gives me a push in the right direction as well!

Emily said...

Hi! I recently found your blog on that "top 25" list. I read through a lot of your posts but the one that struck me most was the RA pain that you are dealing with now that you aren't on medications. I'm all about healing foods, and I have read in a lot of places (can't find the sources now that I can use them, of course) that claim papaya is really beneficial for reducing inflammation of RA. You should try it! It's the papain enzyme in papaya, apparently. If you can't find papayas (or don't like them) I'm pretty sure that papain comes in supplement form, and you could ask your doctor if there's any reason you shouldn't take that.

Sorry to ramble off-topic here, but I hope this helps you alleviate some of that discomfort! Good luck with your journey! :)

Unknown said...

Great job!!! Congrats on the loss, and thanks for the tip on the egg yolks!

:Deliciously Healthy said...

Thank you Emily for the tip! I was just thinking that I need to research foods that can help with RA! I think I like papaya...I haven't had it in a while ;) I'll definitely try it!!

Thank you so much for the information, and for stopping by my blog! :D

Emily said...

You're welcome! I hope it works for you!