Battle of the Bulge: Take Two

Well it's Wednesday and I am on my third day of diet and exercise post Cooper.  I gained a total of 47lbs while I was pregnant with Cooper (the exact same amount I gained with Ryleigh, crazy huh?), but when I started this diet on Monday I had already lost 22lbs. so that leaves 25lbs left to lose.

Now before I move on, I'd like to take a moment to congratulate myself on something.  I worked really hard to lose weight after Ryleigh and I ended up losing about 60lbs total with her. And when I became pregnant again 19 months later, I had only gained 7 of those 60lbs back.  I mean, that's pretty good, right?  Now, I wasn't living quite as healthy of a lifestyle as I started out with when I began dieting, but I am proud that I was able to stay below the weight I was at when I got pregnant with Ryleigh : )

So, this time around my goal is to lose 32lbs, which will take me down to the weight I was at when I lost those 60lbs all those many months ago.  I have already signed up and started tracking my meals using Weight Watchers.  I used this a couple months after having Ryleigh and it worked really well for me.  I will also be exercising at home when I can because while Ryleigh can go to daycare, Cooper will not be enrolled until April when I go back to work.  I hope to have lost all 32lbs by the time I return to work on April 8 since I know that it will be very difficult to work, exercise, diet and take care of 2 children once the time comes.  I'd really like to be in the "managing" my weight process at that point, not in the losing process anymore.

So now that the goals are set and the first post has been blogged, I am now officially holding myself accountable for what happens with this weight loss.  I will be posting my progress weekly on Wednesdays, so be sure to check in and see how I'm doing.  Feel free to offer words of encouragement and also feel free to scold me when I've done bad : /  Also say a prayer for my poor husband who will have to endure my culinary change.  It will be hard for him, so keep him in your thoughts as he is forced to diet right along with me.

Since I started my regimen on Monday but have decided to blog on Wednesdays, I'll go ahead and post my weight loss over the past three days.  So far, I have lost.....

1 pound

Yay!  This makes me excited to see what I can accomplish in a whole week : )  See you next Wednesday!


Baked Ziti with Turkey Sausage
makes 8 servings   8 WW points/serving

3/4 lbs. uncooked turkey sausage, casings removed
1 medium uncooked onion, chopped
1 medium green pepper, chopped
28oz. canned diced tomatoes
10oz. frozen green peas, thawed
2 Tbsp tomato paste
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp fennel seed
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
12oz uncooked whole wheat pasta
6oz shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Crumble the sausage meat in a large saucepan and brown over medium heat, stirring often, about 4 minutes.
Drain off any fat, then add the onion and bell pepper. Cook, stirring often, until softened, about 3 minutes.
Stir in the tomatoes, peas, tomato paste, oregano, basil, thyme, fennel seeds, salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer, then reduce the heat and cook uncovered 5 minutes, stirring often.
Stir in the cooked pasta and half the cheese. Spread evenly into a 9- X 13-inch baking pan. Top evenly with the remaining cheese.
Bake until the cheese has melted and the casserole is bubbling, about 20 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes at room temperature before slicing into 8 pieces.

Yields 1 piece per serving. Recipe from weightwatchers.com