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!

Sunday, March 7, 2010

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

19 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wow you look great :} Im going to have to try that recipe out, it looks delish!!

Jessica - cbgblog said...

Woooohoo for 20 pounds lost! You look amazing! WAY TO GO!

divad said...

So glad you're back! I'm so jealous of your jury duty. I know most people dread it, but I have always wanted a duty like that - especially a murder trial...Whoa.

Fantastic weight loss through it all. I'm so happy for you. You look great, but most importantly, you FEEL great.

Becca said...

Welcome back, I missed you!

Also, you look hawt.

Meg said...

Yay! So glad to see you back! And you look so beautiful...congratulations on the 20 pounds! That's awesome!

I'd love to hear about jury duty. I've never been called for it, let alone serve on a murder trial. I bet you have one interesting story. :)

Unknown said...

wow your progress photos are great!!! You're so pretty! Keep it up!

my blog: http://mollymariegetshealthy.com

Unknown said...

Those are several big YAYS!!! Congrats on the loss, the milestone and the non-scale victory!!! Keep it up, lady - you're going strong!

Anonymous said...

How exciting to sit through a murder trial. Wow!!

Your before and after pics....AMAZING!!!!

Carole said...

Wow - murder trials, 20 pounds, and stuffed shells! What a post.

You are doing great! It really gets easier all the time, doesn't it? Eating good food is such a treat.

The stuffed shells are too much work for me. I don't have that kind of time most of the time. I'll just do a baked mostaccioli and a big salad.

Thanks for stopping by my blog. Glad to know you're back. 3 weeks of jury duty! Bet you made some new friends. I look forward to reading more about it...

Sean, Jen, Carson and Addie said...

You look beautiful and I love you! I'm so proud of you!!

Tiff said...

Holy Guacamole that is a lot to be proud of!!!! Um and by the way- you look FABULOUS in your pics and can totally tell a major difference! You are doing soooo great and I can't wait to see what your next 20lbs will bring! :)

:Deliciously Healthy said...

Thanks everyone!! :D

Anonymous said...

No problem! I just love your blog posts!!

Corletta said...

Ma'am...all I can think to tell you is that...I LOVE YOU SO MUCH! You are so wonderful and so encouraging. I LOVED everything about this post. I swear...you and me...we would be best friends if we were in the same city. Ok...enough chessiness! Great job on the 20 pounds...you are a hott momma!

Andrea @ CanYouStayForDinner.com said...

Congratulations!! This is such an exciting time for you. I really find you to be so dedicated and inspiring! Not only are you feeling better inside, but you are so beautiful outside. You always have been. I just love seeing someone changing their life in so many positive ways and all the happiness that brings. Great job, girl!!
And the stuffed shells look awesome! I just made some the other night and hadn't had them in years! What a comforting dish!
THanks for your sweet comments lately, they mean so much!

The Chubby Girl Diaries said...

You look amazing!!! I mean you looked adorable in the before picture but the after picture is you turning into one hot soon-to-be-someday momma! :)

I am SO proud of you!! The pasta shells looked yumm-o!! I think you need to be the next Rachel Ray!

Keep up the awesome work!!

~Kellie

:Deliciously Healthy said...

You girls are just too sweet! :D

XOXO

Bella said...

Yay!!! You've got so much to celebrate, and it's wonderful. Congrats on making good choices, losing 5lbs while on jury duty, and for getting past the 20 lb milestone!

There is a marked difference in the before and after pics! You're gorgeous in both, but much slimmer in the after. Yay!

Deborah said...

You have a lot to be proud of..you look GREAT!